Pedersoli Sharps 1874 Trouble loading.

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LRplinker

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Breech block does not seem to lower enough to load in shell. Does anyone have this model they could send some pictures in the lowered loading position? This one sticks up about a 1/16 of an inch to high. Bought it used but unshot.
 

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Does the extractor activate at that position? If not Maybe it's a bit sticky and needs a little further push.

Go gently though. Maybe it needs a tear down to look for burrs or something out of position.
 
Something not right there .My breech block drops about 1/16 inch below the loading ramp .Having just replaced the lever spring I don't recall if that may have changed with the new spring after it broke. I would remove the fore stock and see what you can see. Tried to post a photo but no luck so far....
 
vagrantviking said:
Does the extractor activate at that position? If not Maybe it's a bit sticky and needs a little further push.

Go gently though. Maybe it needs a tear down to look for burrs or something out of position.
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My extractor sits idle with lever open at rest. It doesn't engage till I nudge the lever ahead past the resting position. I agree with the Viking ,field strip and I'm thinking you will find the problem. FYI on my rifle I find I have to remove the fore stock and loosen the lever spring screw to let some of the pressure off of the lever pin in order to take it down without a struggle .I am wondering also if the firing pin block plate has possibly shifted and could be jamming the action....I have seen this happen on a Shiloh Sharps before.
 
This is the 1st position. If I go to the ejector position where you can feel it work against the spring it will go down further allowing it to load but you have to hold the lever against the spring pressure. It is definitely not binding the block has been out of it and everything moves very smoothly.
 
LRplinker said:
This is the 1st position. If I go to the ejector position where you can feel it work against the spring it will go down further allowing it to load but you have to hold the lever against the spring pressure. It is definitely not binding the block has been out of it and everything moves very smoothly.
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I'll bet that someone has replaced the lever spring and maybe used the wrong one. I don't know about the Pedersoli springs, but the Shiloh ones are different depending on the barrel size ( std, heavy, bull ). The way they are supposed to be set up on a Shiloh is basically to back them off until the loading groove in the breech block is at the right height when the action is open. I have one Shiloh that has been switched from a Standard weight barrel to a Ron Smith bull barrel and I have a spacer under the lever spring ( where it screws into the barrel ) to get it so it works with both barrels. You might need to make a little spacer like that. Basically a washer.

Chris.
 
Something off for sure - has the lever, block, pin and extractor been installed properly? Seems a bit funky to change springs if it hasn’t even been shot. My guess would be disassembled and reassembled incorrectly?
 
gunlaker said:
I'll bet that someone has replaced the lever spring and maybe used the wrong one. I don't know about the Pedersoli springs, but the Shiloh ones are different depending on the barrel size ( std, heavy, bull ). The way they are supposed to be set up on a Shiloh is basically to back them off until the loading groove in the breech block is at the right height when the action is open. I have one Shiloh that has been switched from a Standard weight barrel to a Ron Smith bull barrel and I have a spacer under the lever spring ( where it screws into the barrel ) to get it so it works with both barrels. You might need to make a little spacer like that. Basically a washer.

Chris.
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Hmmm, that might also explain the small indentation that was in my original lever spring...When I put the new spring in and it seemed to function properly I never gave it much more thought as I didn't notice its 'position till now !!!! I'm thinking if the lever stopped in that indentation the block would be better aligned with the ramp.
 
Pedersoli Sharps 1874 Long Range 45-110. If you want more space push the lever further and the breech block will go down about ¼" more.

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Thanks for all the info. Had a better look at the mechanics and decided to take a slight bit of material out of the lever where the spring sits and now it drops low enough. Thanks for all the help gents.
 
LRplinker said:
Thanks for all the info. Had a better look at the mechanics and decided to take a slight bit of material out of the lever where the spring sits and now it drops low enough. Thanks for all the help gents.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth I did have to file the back end of the replacement lever spring to align the screw hole and to get the spring to sit flush. I have found that it is prudent to test fit any replacement Pedersoli parts to make sure they will fit. I have had to return a firing pin block as well as an ejector which were unusable. In their defense they were very quick to make it right with replacements.
 
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