Anyone here play with any of the paper-cartridges Sharps rifles and carbines?
Cabelas is blowing out the Pedersoli 1859s for $899 right now, so I had to scratch this very old itch. Will have Charlie Hahn go over the breech seal, and there is a nice Christmas tree ringtail mould on the way from Moose Moulds. Can't wait to get out and "stink up" the range with this rascal.
I have been fortunate to own two original Maynard Second Model carbines, and a Merrill, but have never played with the Sharps except in the later 74 models.

Of course I have one; a Pedersoli 54 cal, model 1859 rifle. I use paper cartridges I make with gauze in the back so no cutting off of the paper is required, which is the later type issued by the Army. I have to use a thick wad in it as it will hold almost 100 grains of powder which I don't need. I do not know why you need it "gone over". Just clean it and make sure the chamber sleeve moves. There is a tool for that.
I am going to make some brass cartridges when I get time; been saying that for 15 years or so too. they are a lot of fun to shoot. My lever spring was made from a surplus Italian truck spring so I needed to grind it thinner.

I own four Shiloh Sharps 1863s in .54-caliber. I have neither seen nor shot a Pedersoli or Uberti 1863. On the Shiloh Sharps Forum, [biased???] forum members report that the Perdersoli 1863s tend to jam with fouling quickly compared with the much less complex Shiloh 1863s. It is also mentioned regularly, when the subject arises, that cleaning the Pedersoli breech is not easy.

One the other hand, the 1874 Pedersolis are well thought of, albeit of distinctly lower quality than Shilohs and C. Sharps.

Two final observations:
1. Shiloh has suspended production of 1863s. Notice the term "suspended" rather than "discontinued." To put this in perspective, the last time Shiloh "suspended" 1863s' production, the suspension lasted more than five years. Shiloh is a very small limited production manufacturer. One supreme bottleneck is that the times I visited and wandered around the back, I detected only one man who inletted and checkered stocks. And he did his work completely by hand.

2. Shiloh informed me that manufacturing 1863 breeches, specifically the fit of breech block within breech, is much more time consuming than fitting 1874s. Probably this accounts for periodic production suspensions AND Shiloh 1863s' superior resistance to fouling.

Hope this helps.

Cutting the breech sleeve in half and putting an O ring in, makes them very easy to operate. Of course, Shilohs are made better, but are vastly more expensive and not available anyway.

Naphtali, I have read many of your posts on the Shiloh forum. I used to hang out there a lot, but got sick and tired of the "inner circle" and their sophomoric behavior.
My 1859 carbine will be here in a day or two. I was forewarned about the gas seal issues with the Pedersoli, and will likely send it to Charlie sooner than later.
Tom, what lube do you use in your 1859 rifle's chamber to keep that chamber sleeve moving?

CLP.
I too, got sick of the Shiloh elite and their Pedersoli bashing.

So no compatibility issues between CLP and black powder?

It is just between the piston and the barrel. Anything to keep it free; if it becomes stuck, that is what makes the breech block hard to open.

But, here is the easiest and best fix; forget about the sliding chamber sleeve; let it stick in place. Remove the breech block face and polish the tube part that holds it in until it slides easily, Mill or file off about 1/16th inch from that tube, and put an O ring in the hole in the block. Then, the breech face is always pushed up against the chamber sleeve. I am not sure why the Italians didn't make them like originals so the gas can move the breech face instead of the chamber sleeve. It is not a matter of precise machining; it is one of design. They thought a sliding chamber would seal better, which it does, until it sticks, which can be after a few shots. Anyway, it is an easy fix.

Or the other way is to remove the barrel and remove the breech chamber sleeve; it won't come out otherwise. Cut off the rear 3/8ths inch of it and put in an o ring in the space. Lock tite the forward part into the chamber; it no longer needs to move.

Calling Charlie Hahn tomorrow to order paper tubes.