A Couple of Qs on the Uberti Sharps 1874

[South-Eye Ned]

I recently purchased an Uberti Sharps 1874, and am pretty excited about it.  I intend for this to be my jumping-off point for beginning to reload my own cartridges, but that will have to wait a bit.  But, for now I have a couple of questions.  Please, indulge me if you know the answers.

1.   I bought the Sharps third-hand, and as a part of the sale, received a box of 50 reloaded cartridges marked .45-70 govt on the brass, but the cartridge has a COL of 3.003" and not the standard spec of 2.550", as indicated in the usual manuals.  These are black-powder cartridges, BTW, but isn't the length too long?  It fit in the chamber, but I did not try to close the block.
2.  I was told by the seller that the cartridges were reloaded by the original owner to fit his competitive shooting specs.  Are there different specs for competitive shooters that are noted in some other source other than the standard spec manuals?  I have the Sierra and Lyman Handbooks.  

 

Thanks for your expert answers.  (Guessers go away!) 

 

I am South-Eye Ned

 

[Ozark Shark]

You might want to get a copy of Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West by Mike Venturino.  Lots of very specific load data for your rifle.

 

 

[South-Eye Ned]

3 minutes ago, Ozark Shark said:

You might want to get a copy of Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West by Mike Venturino.  Lots of very specific load data for your rifle.

 

 

Ah, thanks.  I will investigate.

[Ozark Shark]

Check out this article.  I think it will answer your question on OAL.  http://www.buffalorifles.org/bpcr.html

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

45=70 bullets come in all shapes and weights. As the weight goes up the longer the bullet gets. 3.003" is OK as more of the bullet is going into the chamber/barrel. DId they give you any load info? Powder type and grains, bullet weight?

Ike

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Can you chamber the round and close the action?

OLG 

[Griff]

25 minutes ago, irish ike, SASS #43615 said:

45=70 bullets come in all shapes and weights. As the weight goes up the longer the bullet gets. 3.003" is OK as more of the bullet is going into the chamber/barrel. DId they give you any load info? Powder type and grains, bullet weight?

Ike

Is it possible to contact the original owner and get this info?  

13 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Can you chamber the round and close the action?

OLG 

Step one to determining if loads are proper.  If so, and they ARE black powder rounds, you are probably safe.  However, I would tear down at least one round to determine the powder type (granulation if BP is not difficult to visually identify), charge weight, and bullet weight.   (Trust BUT verify)! 

1 hour ago, Ozark Shark said:

You might want to get a copy of Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West by Mike Venturino.  Lots of very specific load data for your rifle.

Plus 1,000!

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

1 minute ago, Griff said:

Is it possible to contact the original owner and get this info?  

Step one to determining if loads are proper.  If so, and they ARE black powder rounds, you are probably safe.  However, I would tear down at least one round to determine the powder type (granulation if BP is not difficult to visually identify), charge weight, and bullet weight.   (Trust BUT verify)! 

Plus 1,000!

 

It may well be a BP want-to-be powder.

The OP indicated he as of yet doesn't reload. 

I for one will never/ever fire somedangbodies reloads in any of our guns.

Respectfully, 

OLG 

[South-Eye Ned]

33 minutes ago, irish ike, SASS #43615 said:

45=70 bullets come in all shapes and weights. As the weight goes up the longer the bullet gets. 3.003" is OK as more of the bullet is going into the chamber/barrel. DId they give you any load info? Powder type and grains, bullet weight?

Ike

Powder type is 1.5F Swiss Black Powder, but no other details.  The brass alone I measured and is according to manual specs.

[Griff]

7 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

It may well be a BP want-to-be powder.

The OP indicated he as of yet doesn't reload. 

I for one will never/ever fire somedangbodies reloads in any of our guns.

Respectfully, 

OLG 

One needn't reload in order to disassemble a cartridge...   And, yes,  firing someone else's reloads is a definite shortcut to disaster.  But... I have disassembled someone else's reloads and then after verifying the makeup, reloaded them right back up and fired 'em...  the OP did say:

2 hours ago, South-Eye Ned said:

I intend for this to be my jumping-off point for beginning to reload my own cartridges, but that will have to wait a bit.

No reason to put this off, beginning sooner saves time and money later... Besides, you need something to do while you're "social distancing"! 

[South-Eye Ned]

30 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Can you chamber the round and close the action?

OLG 

Yes

[South-Eye Ned]

12 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

It may well be a BP want-to-be powder.

The OP indicated he as of yet doesn't reload. 

I for one will never/ever fire somedangbodies reloads in any of our guns.

Respectfully, 

OLG 

That is one of the precautions that I read regarding someone else's reloaded cartridges.  Frankly, I may just set them aside since I don't even know the reloader.

[South-Eye Ned]

8 minutes ago, Griff said:

One needn't reload in order to disassemble a cartridge...   And, yes,  firing someone else's reloads is a definite shortcut to disaster.  But... I have disassembled someone else's reloads and then after verifying the makeup, reloaded them right back up and fired 'em...  the OP did say:

No reason to put this off, beginning sooner saves time and money later... Besides, you need something to do while you're "social distancing"! 

It has to wait because I have to borrower my brother's power drill to set up the press.  Texas temporary ordinance says no driving around unless you are going to the store, gas station, or doctor.  My brother does not qualify as one of those.  Of course, I could have him come over to my house - I don't care if he might get arrested.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

9 minutes ago, Griff said:

One needn't reload in order to disassemble a cartridge...   And, yes,  firing someone else's reloads is a definite shortcut to disaster.  But... I have disassembled someone else's reloads and then after verifying the makeup, reloaded them right back up and fired 'em...  the OP did say:

No reason to put this off, beginning sooner saves time and money later... Besides, you need something to do while you're "social distancing"! 

 

Removing compressed charge of real BP by novice is not the best idea

OLG 

[South-Eye Ned]

Excellent advice from EVERYONE!  Thanks all.

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

This is the round I shoot out of a Pedersoli 45-70. Its a 535 grain bullet over 65 grains of Swiss 2f. Its COL is 3.006".The first band is less than the bore diameter allowing me to push the bullet in until it touches the lands with the second band.

 

[Cat Brules]

How about this:

 

- Don’t fire those cartridges at all!  You have zero knowledge about these 3rd-hand reloads.   .45-70 certainly isn’t something I would risk having blow up on me.

- Set them on the shelf until you have enough experience to safely dismantle them, then toss the powder.

- Either that, or just throw away the cartridges now.

Cat Brules

[Silver Creek Jack]

14 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

It may well be a BP want-to-be powder.

The OP indicated he as of yet doesn't reload. 

I for one will never/ever fire somedangbodies reloads in any of our guns.

Respectfully, 

OLG 

This x 1000!  SCJ

[Kid Rich]

Firing those rounds or not is up to you.. I would recommend that you do NOT discard them. If the original owner was a long range shooter and had worked up a load for that rifle you may save yourself hours of work by dismantling those rounds one at a time and recording what is in each round, bullet weight, powder weight, cards, filler, lube cookies. Whatever is in there find out including position of same components. You are an experienced shooter and should be familiar with cartridge components. If you have any questions PM me and I can call you or at least give you some guidance as to what to look for.

kR

[South-Eye Ned]

4 hours ago, Kid Rich said:

Firing those rounds or not is up to you.. I would recommend that you do NOT discard them. If the original owner was a long range shooter and had worked up a load for that rifle you may save yourself hours of work by dismantling those rounds one at a time and recording what is in each round, bullet weight, powder weight, cards, filler, lube cookies. Whatever is in there find out including position of same components. You are an experienced shooter and should be familiar with cartridge components. If you have any questions PM me and I can call you or at least give you some guidance as to what to look for.

kR

Okay; will do.  Thanks!

[Waxahachie Kid #17017 L]

One thing to always do, if you are given handloaded blackpowder cartridges.  Pick each one up and shake it slightly.  If you hear it rattle, like a half empty salt shaker, then discard it, it is unsafe to shoot.  If you hear it rattle, that means the charge is not compressed, and there is an air gap between the powder and the bottom of the bullet.  You already may know this, but perhaps there may be some out there who do not.  Blackpowder "likes" to be compressed a little, and there should be no gap between the powder, and the bottom of the bullet, just as there should be no gap between the powder and the patch/ball in a muzzleloading firearm. 

Just sayin'

My Two Bits.

W.K.