Suscess at last! 40/50 Sharps Straight

[RicinYakima]

My first made to order rifle was a C. Sharps Arms Model 1885 in 40/50 I ordered in 2009. I have been loading for it, cussing it, putting it away since then. Never could get it to shoot smokeless, black, synthetic or any other powders with bullets from 265 to 400 grains. Since I was heavy into Military Rifle CBA benchrest matches, I only got to play with this rifle a couple of months in the fall after benchrest season. Today I got my first sub-MOA ten shot group with a KT-6 Weaver scope.


It was a long road, under clouds some times, but this is the sunshine at the end.

 

[Ian]

Well, it certainly appears that you have cracked the code for it. Congratulations for making some "sunshine" in January

 

[Ben]

I know that has to be rewarding !

Ben

 

[RicinYakima]

Yep, lets me know it didn't p......s away $2800!

 

[Ian]

Oh my....That's purty.

 

[fiver]

I read K-6 weaver and thought what the hell? why would you do that? no wonder it won't group.
nevermind.

that is a nice package.

 

[RicinYakima]

Fiver, I broke two Unertl's and a Lyman super target spot on that rifle. I admit they were all pre-WWII, but one Unertl had a lens separation, one had the crosshairs break and the STS had the cross hair ring screws strip out of the tube. That 1960's KT 6X worked on my .358 Norma for load development, so it is trustworthy.

 

[fiver]

I missed the T.
I was thinking an older one of these.

 

[RicinYakima]

Fiver, I am a romantic! the newest scope I own is a 1975 Leupold 20X BR scope.

 

[Glen]

Good stuff Ric! What twist do you have in that barrel?

 

[RicinYakima]

One in eighteen, I believe that is Badger's standard. It will shoot the 400 grain SAECO point first at 1100 f/s, just not close together.

 

[Glen]

My Contender is nowhere near as accurate as your Sharps, but it does more than well enough for me to hunt with. Originally, I had that 10" gun with open sights, and I could count on it to group roughly 1 1/2" at 25 yards with good loads. As time marched on, I felt the need to scope that gun, and while I have done fairly little group shooting with it since, I seem to recall that it will hold about 1 1/2" at 50 yards now. Mine has a 1 in 16" twist, and I have shot bullets ranging from about 210 grains on the light side, up to about 350 grains on the heavy side. It seems "happiest" at about 300 grains, which suits me just fine. What really surprised me was how poorly this gun shot with any load using Re 7. 4198 was OK, 3031 was OK, H322 was OK, but if I poured Re 7 into the case groups blew up. I would have thought that Re 7 would have been ideally suited for a case like this. My favorite loads use lightly compressed charges of 4895 -- VERY uniform. Thanks for sharing your results.

 

[RicinYakima]

Glen, H4895 was the best powder with the SAECO 400 grain bullet, about 2+ inches. But it is the load that broke the screws out of the crosshair holder on the STS. Recoil was heavier than 500 grains out of the Trapdoor from the bench. Ric