1859 Armi Sport Sharps .54 Round Ball Loads

hporter

Active Member
I took my 1859 Armi Sport Sharps out a while back after having Charlie Hahn do his chamber fix. I had an absolute blast with it. But shooting 450gr xmas tree ringtail bullets eat up lead supplies fast.

I had been thinking about trying to shoot round ball loads through it. Last time out, I had loaded the xmas tree bullets in the Hahn cardboard tubes, xmas tree bullet in hand made paper cartridges, and a Lee hollow based mini in home made paper cartridges. The Hahn paper tubes where hands down the easiest to load and shoot. So I wondered if I could load a round ball into the end of it.

So I looked at Track of the Wolf, and they had .562 balls for $15. But then I took a quick look at Midway USA and old Uncle Larry had the Lee .562 double cavity mold on clearance for $25. Being able to make as many as I wanted to appealed more than just buying a bag of them, so I ordered the mold.

I received it this week and ran to the garage to cast a few up. These Armi Sport Sharps have huge throats, so I rolled it down the chamber and it dropped easily down to the ball seat. I then stuck a Hahn tube in behind it, and it fit perfectly. This was getting interesting.


The xmas tree weighs around 459 grains without lube.

Xmas tree weight.jpg


The .562 round ball weighed almost exactly 200 grains less.

Round Ball Weight.jpg

So last night I did an experiment gluing these round balls into empty Hahn cardboard tubes.

Glue Experiment.jpg

All three worked well. They held the ball pretty well pulling straight out, but any rotational force and the ball broke free too easily.

So I decided to glue in a grease wad over the powder, glue the top of the grease wad and place the ball on the glued cardboard tube and on top of the grease wad with glue over the top face. That way if the ball breaks off the tube, the grease wad may stay in place and keep the powder from coming out.

I use my Belding and Mull Visible powder measure when loading black powder. I can't imagine a better measure to use with Black Powder. I was using Old Eynsford 1-1/2 FG, the same powder I used on the last outing that worked well.

Measuring Powder.jpg

I always work over a rubber oil drain pan to pour my black powder to keep from getting it all over the bench.

Pouring Powder.jpg

I use a cheapo Harbor Freight electric pencil engraver to settle the powder. I hold the tip to the brass funnel, and you can see the powder settle out of the funnel down into the case. It works very well.

I set the Hahn cardboard tube in a loading block to load.

Powder.jpg

Then I took a grease wad, and set it over the powder and compressed it down into the tube with a wooden dowel. I buy the felt for these wads from Duro-felt, in their clearance section. I bought a cheap set of metric hollow punches on Amazon, chuck them in my drill press and drill through the felt into a 2x4 below. It goes quickly enough, and it much easier than using a mallet. Next they go into a small tin cup on a coffee cup warmer with an inch or so of SPG lube melted in the cup. I fish them out with tweezers and lay them on a paper thin poly cutting mat to dry. The lube just wipes off the mat, so it is easy to clean up.

So over the powder goes the wad.

Grease wad.jpg

I included a ladies hair curling paper in this photo with the wad over the powder, because I forgot to mention you shove those down the tube with a dowel, with the bottom inside surface of the tube coated with glue to provide a bottom to the tube that the musket cap can fire through. And then let them dry. So after compressing the wad down into the tube, I then took a small child's paint brush and coated the top of the wad and the top of the tube. Then I just pressed the ball into the top of the tube and compressed it well.

I started with 45 grains of powder, the same charge as what I used with the xmas tree bullets. But there was too much powder in the tube and the ball was being lifted up by the volume of powder and the wad under the compression. So I backed the adjustable powder tube for my measure a little, and settled on 43.5 grains as being optimal. There is a little space at the top of the grease wad, as the ball sits partway into the tube when seated.

Here is the finished round.

Finished Round.jpg

I loaded thirty to try out, and then I loaded 4 more tubes and glued a grease wad over the top. I want to start the next outing out with the Sharps by rolling the balls down the chamber and just setting the tubes over the ball. I am curious if that would be easier, pending how well the balls stay glued to the tubes.

Complete.jpg

So I am hoping these shoot well. I know the point of impact will be different, so I will have to compensate some.

I had fun this morning setting this up and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee. So I thought I would share the experiment.

I will report back after my next outing with the Sharps. Hopefully these will be an economical alternative to shooting the bigger heavier projectiles.
 

Missionary

Well-Known Member
Fine written report with good photos !!
We also shoot RB more in our carbines. Not like we are trying to shoot down horses or troops hiding behind breastworks. Cans and gongs at 50 yards still get rolled with authority. Plus ya get two shots with RB instead of one harder to cast slug.
 

Ian

Notorious member
The B&M is simply fantastic for metering the flaming dirt. I'm curious, does the cardboard split when fired and allow itself to be pulled out of the chamber with a finger, or does it burn up like the paper cartridges?
 

hporter

Active Member
It comes out the barrel like confetti. I laughed the first time I shot one.

I shot a bunch of cartridges last time out, with no issues of having to clean between shots. I was impressed. If I would have been in the Civil War, I would have been very comfortable being armed with the Sharps. The reliability and lack of gumming up really impressed me. Even my cap and ball revolvers can't go that many shots without fouling to the point where they are tough to shoot.

I bought some cigarrete rolling paper for the first time in my life this week...... I made some new tubes tonight trying rolling paper in lieu of the hair curling paper for the cartridge base. It is less robust and tears easily, so I think I wasted my money. For giggles, I lit one of each with a lighter to see how they compared burning rate wise. Both were very quickly consumed, but I think the curling paper burned a little faster with less ash.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ian