The one thing I love about Confederate made guns is the use of brass in the design. It gives such a beautiful contrast to the standard bluing that you can instantly tell it apart from the Union used firearms of the time.
Fact is that if they were using any kind of melted down copper alloy they could access it could be bronze, brass, gunmetal or whatever else you like to class it as. Would make an interesting study just to see how consistent it was
Still my favorite breechloading carbine/rifle of the period. Typically I used a muzzle-loading Richmond carbine in competition, but my dad almost always used a Sharps. At least when he wasn't farting around with his Smith, Maynard or Burnside. But I would fiddle with the Sharps carbine whenever I could get my hands on the thing when off competition. I don't even want to try to venture a guess at how many little nitrated paper tubes I put together back then. Well into the thousands, if not the tens of thousands. There were a few other oddball loading methods people had come up with over the years. One I remember distinctly was a plastic tube that was loaded with the ball and charge that you would place partially into the chamber, then push in a rod with a piston that would feed the ball forward and seat it while dropping the charge into the chamber. A few people used something along the lines of that, but most people would eventually just end up back with the good old paper cartridges after a season or two. It was just so much less to have to fiddle around with in the long run. I actually remembered the other common method. People would make a very long(Like 5 inch plus) tube out of newspaper, then fold over and staple the end of it. When loaded, the top lip of the gas check would cut off the rear of the tube. The issue with those was that the paper wouldn't always completely evacuate or burn up. So you had to peek the chamber every time prior to loading to make sure there wasn't something still burning that could cause a cook-off. Again, most people ended up back with the nitrated paper tubes since they were far more likely to be completely consumed in firing. Thinking about it actually makes me want to go visit my parents and cast up some bullets, lol....
Very good video as always! I hope one day you get the chance to explore and recreate the cartridges of Samuel Johann Pauli that was so ahead of his time I guess original Samuel Johann Pauli firearms are expensive and difficult to find but the world needs a in depth video about his works😊
My english is not good enough to understand the speach of this big lecturer easy. And i have to use subtitle. ...when we can hear the shot in the video we can read [applause]...it's great!!!
The Tanegashima were used between 16th and 19th century, they were copies of Portuguese matchlock muskets that wound up on Tanegashima island. The Japanese quickly realized their superiority to contemporary Chinese and Korean gunpowder weapons and produced them in mass. Some historians estimate there were more firearms in Japan in the 17th century than in all of Europe. It was used to invade Korea with great effect, with the Japanese inflicting massive defeats on Koreans and their Chinese allies, though the invasion ultimately failed due to naval defeats. The Japanese introduced some improvements to the design but by the 19th century, at the end of the Edo isolation, they were still copies of 16th century matchlocks and were hopelessly obsolete compared to firearms of the time period. A video might be nice, but I don't think the Tanegashima muskets were anything special or significantly different than other 16th century matchlocks.
Great video CB I have a Pietta 54 cal calvary carbine it has the ladder type rear sight and very much like what your shooting I believe it is closer to a union copy some of these rifles had a sliding breach bushing or ring that would seal the chamber and they were prone to get stuck I believe that's what you were mentioning about the improvement to stop powder from escaping perhaps. What little I have fired mine I used the cartridge that would be cut to expose the power by tge breach block they are indeed interesting rifles and a lot of fun to shoot .Thanks for sharing your video on tge rifle and the history on it.😊👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Just wanted to add for cleaning solution I use 1 part hydrogen peroxide 1 part rubbing alcohol 1 part Murphys oil soap. It works great an old black powder gun maker and he made some beautiful rifles told me about this cleaning solution.
I have the Chiappa 1859 Cavalery Sharps. After a few shots I have spray the breechblock with Robla black powder solvent to open it. Accoring to the manual it schoul have a sliding chamber bushing but i never have been able to move it, not even when i bought the riflne new. Shoots great after i enlarged the diameter of the nipple to 1mm and drilled the flash channel larger.
I have the new Pedersoli 1863 Sharps Sporting and here's my observations so far: Whatever they did to the ignition channel, it sucks. I have to boost caps with priming compound to get reliable ignition. I've finally just found some RWS caps, which hopefully will work better. Starched linen will enable you to make way more consistent cartridges. I'm using a Christmas tree ring tail bullet, but I suspect it's too heavy at 510grains. Originals were closer to 460gr. I can get a ~3" group at 100 meters, but I'm sure it can be improved. I got a new mold for a lighter bullet and just got my hands on some 1.5F swiss, which should also be better than the 2F Schuetzen I've been using. Black Powder Cartridge has some interesting articles on shooting originals.
Knowing that the Confederacy had some very dire straits issues with raw materials and that they had practically no industries before the beginning of the war between the States, we have to admit that the qualité of the confederate revolvers, rifles, carbines was rather pretty decent.
Chief-of-Ordinance Josiah Gorgas transformed the Confederate economy and they managed to build an industry from the ground-up within a few years to supply their entire armies east and west. Incredible feat which is overshadowed by the transportation/food shortage issues the CSA faced. It was getting it to armies which was a problem.
@@WestTNConfed Yeah, unfortunately for the CSA he was one man with a limited range of control. Meanwhile the rest of the country's elites didn't seem to take the war seriously - the planters insisted on planting more cotton to get rich off of until (and despite) a law banning them from doing so. They also prioritized getting European luxury goods from the blockade runners, so ships came back with worthless nonsense in their holds that could have been allocated to more guns, ammunition, supplies, etc. I guess that's good though since the war wasn't as bloody nor did the CSA have a chance to actually win.
Would the original cartridge have been 100% powder or did they use cornmeal also? Was the 1860s version of the black powder larger in volume than modern Swiss powder?
I hunt with a 1863 Pedersoli using linen, paper, and paper tube cartridges in 54 caliber. I have found that homemade cardboard tubes are relatively easy to make and are superior hunting cartridges compared to paper, linen or even laquered linen cartridges. Not historcally correct but with accurate powder charges and no filler, they deliver accuracy equal to what i can get with any opensighted rifle -regardless of chambering. Good work on the channel.
Hi, what is that little trick with tapping on gun for? I own a model 1859 and am still learning how to shoot it as efficiently as possible. Thank you for this video.
Hi Winchester have model Black Power version and caps percussion and have magazine caps percussion and Spencer Black Power version and percussion caps and have magazine caps percussion !! Regards Artur Poland
Shooting a bit left I see. I was viewing intensely and wondering if maybe they got the front sight off, or rear sight aperture. Then I saw your trigger pull. Try using the tip only. Breath in, breath out, breath in, almost breath out, fire and repeat. Give this method a try sometime. I have the same carbine and yes, the trigger pull is a bit stiff. If it continues, then with a brass hammer and punch, lightly tap the rear sight to the right. We all have a different sight picture. Give it a try.
I have two .54 Sharps made by IAB. One carbine and a rifle. After a ton of research we figured out what the check plate needed to seal properly without an O-ring. Now both guns function flawlessly. I got 60 rounds out of my carbine and had to stop because I ran out! The O-ring is a great solution to a modern problem but not right. Overall very nice rifle and great video as always… Learned a little bit more about making cartridges for these things!
The 'poor man's Sharps'........very dull to look at, and very 'down-market', compared to this earlier version seen here from two years ago - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q89ym85TZfg.html
This eliminated the need for a ramrod of course, but it really didn't offer enough advantages to compare with more modern repeating rifles like the Henry and Spencer. Sharps/S.C. Robinson were stopgap measures on the way to cartridge employing repeating rifles.
She's a SHOOTER! Some Day! I will need to make these rounds! Thank YOU SR! I missed your Steel got Rung Giggles! Cutting ragged holes! what More could you want? Does your repro cut your end off well? I take the Baby's Bottom slaps as a Powder adjustment similar to any other capper or stoner? FYI I have not proven or tested yet? as a Hydro Tech I will replace my fillers with noncompressible DIY Lube to see about fouling, Cleaning, Performance? first I will fill base of my Maxie's similar as the wood plugs of old. But I need to Smoke my already rolled! FIRST! and I sped up my paper loading via Loading LONGER fromed tubes on Copper mandrel tube of correct sizes, filling/chaging the end, cut to size after fill, slide down, repeat. I never have to handle empty papers or linnen. "Lately I Run" my projo end wild enough to cover the whole projo, drop in projo tootsie roll twist glue the end trim, lube dip go. Some I do projo 1st with my copper tube mandrel, then drop charge, I use hair paper too! found it larger and Rolled!
I don’t have a Sharps but for my rifle, musket and pistols, I much enjoy making paper cartridges. It is relaxing and you perfect your methods and keep improving. Your channel is Wonderful and I Thank You Kindly! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Stuck breech block was a problem with my Pedersoli Sharps. I had to send it to Larry Flees to get it to shoot more than 5-10 shots before locking up. What is the date of manufacture of your Sharps? Does the chamber liner freely slide back and forth in the barrel?
I bet misfires have to be treated carefully with paper or linen cartridges, I wouldn't want to open the breech straight away until I was sure I wouldn't lose my eyebrows.
I always wondered why there was never a Sharps carbine or tifle that was modified to use a Chassepot style needle rifle cartridge. A block with an inertia type "needle" should have worked very well
@hekpacobctac616 I appreciate it my friend, all I need is another gun like a need a hole in my head. We can still buy most black powder rifles and have them shipped to your house in most counties here in New York, but gun laws are getting really tough around here.
@@stevensheldon9271 I know that the case for most muzzleloaders but didn't know if that's the particular reason he's doing it on this one or if it's a pressure issue
