Thanks to all

[Big Daddy]

I have been a lurker on this and other boards for a little over a year now. I have had an import 45/70 sharps for about 30 years and tried unsuccesfully to get it to shoot for the 1st year or two and then gave up.

After discovering the various BPCR forums on the net in 2004 it gave me impetus to try to load for this rifle again, long story short. I have tried various techniques, bullets, and material and have finally found a load that works for me. It only took a year and 50 pounds of lead, lost hair, fingernails and lots of patience. I know I'll hear plenty of catcalls about this but I am unable to find Goex locally and can't justify buying 25# at a time on the net, my load is 43 gr. by whgt (55grains volume) of 2f T-7, with a Lee .459 405 HB (416 gr. with Lead) this load is giving me 1344 av. velocity with 6 SD. I can shoot 5 shots from a bench into 1.25 groups at 100 yards consistently.

I took the Sharps with me to Nebraska on my annual Muley hunt in November and was fortunate enough to tag a 5X5 with a 24.5" spread on the first morning. The shot was 225 yards, bullet went in just behind the near shoulder and smashed the opposite shoulder, I found the bullet just under the skin on the opposite side with very good expansion. This Deer went about 90 yards. This isn't my biggest Muley but it is the most satisfying because I got it with the 45/70 and open sights.

Got back to Michigan and went Whitetail hunting & shot an 8 point ( Eastern count) that was facing directly at me in the brush, I held just below the throat patch and dropped him in his tracks at 75 yards, the bullet went completely through the Deer lengthways!

My next goal in this addictive sport is to purchase a Shiloh, I'm saving my pennies but with 3 kids in College I think I'm going to be speaking Italian Sharpese for a while!

[Ken Hartlein]

Nothing wrong with that. I'm a little supprised about the amount of powder in your load, but I don't know what t-7 is so........... Most of us shoot between 60 and 70 grains by weight in the 45-70 rifles. Maybe you could find a shooting friend or two to split a 20lb case of goex. You'll be supprised how fast 10lbs of that stuff dissapears when you start shooting.

[Lee Stone]

You can buy real gunpowder from Powder Inc. in 5 pound lots.

http://www.powderinc.com/

[dakotasharps]

I am assuming your reference to 2f T-7 is Triple 7? If you can get it to shoot that well, my hat's off to you. And if it shoots that well (SD of 6), don't worry about what other people think.

[Big Daddy]

Dakotasharps. it is indeed triple 7, I put it on my Chrony with two 10 shot strings and those are the numbers I got. I have also shot 43gr. of Pyodex with about the same accuracy but havent put it on the chrony yet. I was quite surprised at the velocity I thought I was getting somewhere around 1200 before I used the Chrony. I'm going to try 3F triple 7 next in the same volume to see what the velocity increase is.

[dakotasharps]

I dabbled with Pyrodex, etc. and noted the velocities were always 100-150 fps or so higher than they would be for a similar volume of BP, but I also had problems with a very large extreme spread and high SD which caused problems at long range.

If you don't mind, let us know what you are using for primer, case, lube, wad, compression, etc as there are some guys here who can't get BP either.

[pete]

Congatulations on those deer. It is rewarding isn't it?

[Big Daddy]

Dakotasharps, I'm using Winchester brass full length sized and expanded with a .456 plug, Bullets are pure lead at .458 Lee 459 405 HB mould (416gr.) Fed. 210 primer. Was paper wad, SPG lube (pan lubed) bullet seated .590 deep to front driving band , OAL 2.565, this gives about .10 compressiion on 43gr wt of 2F triple 7 (55 gr. vol) drop tubed thru a 30" tube attached to my uniflow measure should be the equivelent to 63-64 grains of BP.

Pete it is very satisfying, I think I'm going to have orphan the rest of my modern rifles!!!