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Loading PP bullets is time intensive compared to grease groove, and subject to more untamed variables that will affect the rifle's performance downrange. However, it is THE traditional load for the buffalo Sharps as marketed by the company in the days of the buffalo harvest, both from Hartford and well as Bridgeport.
There is a great deal of satisfaction in pulling down on a distant target at the end of that heavy 30" octagon barrel and whacking either paper, metal, or hair with a load that you've lovingly crafted for that rifle.
I have two of these beasts. The first is a Shiloh Farmingdale #3 Sharps that weighs a light 9 pounds or so. This rifle has relatively shallow six groove rifling and almost 1/2" of freebore. It is designed for PP. My load for this rifle, bottom to top, is CCI large rifle primer, newspaper wad set inside the case to keep fouling at a minimum on the inside of the case head (Yes,the value of this step is debateable), next is 9 grs IMR 4759 (again, primarily for cleaning purposes), 95 grs. Swiss 1 1/2 fg black powder, milk carton over powder wad, grease cookie approx. .2" thick of SPG blk pwder lubricant, Hoch .449 PP bullet with hollow base and .65" in length. Bullet weighs 249 grains and is essentially pure lead. Bullet is wrapped with 2 wraps of 9# onion skin .002" paper for a final diameter of .457". Prior to hand fitting this patched bullet, I have run a consistant .12" of compression to obtain both consistant seating depth of the bullet as well as consistant height of the powder and wad column. Lastly, I run this whole cocktail through the sizing die just tapping it to achieve enough neck tesnion to hold the bullet in place. Care must be taken to not cut the paper patch. However, dried patches (spit patch wet) are really pretty tough. This load slides into the Farmingdale very easily and is 4.22" in overall length. Accuracy at 100 yards is 1 1/2" to 2" and the drop at 200 yards is maybe only 8".

The second rifle is a C.Sharps with 34" barrel and weighs 16 pounds. It doesn't have much of a throat so I've had to proportionately reduce the 4759/Swiss or Goex black loads accordingly. However, the ratio must remain the same. NOT OVER 10" smokeless powder as a primer charge under the black. OACL is 3.76". Basically, I think this C. Sharps prefers a grease grooved bullet.

Cleaning the old buffalo rifles is easy enough to do, and the brass can take as much or as little time as you want to devote to it. Everybody has their on secret formula for cleaning brass and bores, but when it's all said and done, they all work just fine with a little bit of car.
None of my Sharps have ever been defiled or violated with a smokeless load jumping
 
Posts: 442 | Location: Montana territory | Registered: 02 July 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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