How did the old timers reload 50 140 sharps?

[Black Vic]

Hi there. I shoot a 50/140/3.25" myself. It's a C.Sharps 1875 with a 34" No.1 Badger Barrel. It has a 1/24 twist rifling and when I calculated the bullet to work long range it turned out to be 1.625" long with a .875" bore riding section, semi spitzer design weighing 792 grains out of 20/1 lead/tin. I use 120 grains of Goex FG; one milk carton wad & one paper card wad. This load chrono's at 1275 to 1300 FPS at the muzzle. This is a very accurate load but I must say it's difficult to shoot an entire long range match of 60 to 80 rounds without a lot of Tylenol for your head banger head ache. As far as reloading goes, once you fire form your cases and trim them to length; you never need to touch them again. My cases expand enough that I don't have to expand the necks to get another bullet in after firing. I simply re-prime; drop a charge though a drop tube; push the wads in with a dowel and sit the bullet in with my fingers. Real quick and works great! Try it!