Edition 2016-4 Published by C. Sharps Arms Co., Inc.

C. Sharps Arms at Quigley

John Pat Lori Don Mike Photo by Les Cramer

Manufacturers of A WORLD FAMOUS SERIES of Classic Metallic Cartridge Rifles and Classic Sights

P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, MT 59011 Phone: 406-932-4353 Fax: 406-932-4443

2016 www.csharpsarms.com * info@csharpsarms.com 2016

THE AMERICAN SHARPS SHOOTERS

Publisher: C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc., John R. Schoffstall – President

Mike Nesbitt - - - Editor (miken54@aol.com)

Allen Cunniff --- Field Contributor (tpigskin@comcast.net)

Dangerous Don McDowell - - Field Contributor (ranch13@hotmail.com)

Table of contents: Page

QUIGLEY DOIN’S by Mike Nesbitt …..……………………………….………………. 3

OLD WEST CENTERFIRES by Bob Gietz ........................................ ...…………9

Outstanding Products ……………………………………………..………..;;…..12

USING THE LYMAN 310 TOOL by Allen Cunniff.. ........................ ,,.…….…. 17

“Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason,”—Mark Twain

QUIGLEY DOIN’S!

By Mike Nesbitt

My partner Allen Cunniff and I rolled into Quigleyville at least a day

earlier than we had before. That was well planned and we wanted to have

some extra time for sighting-in and other doin’s. Time can be precious at

Quigley, so much to do, so little time… But we got there with a bit of time

to spare, picked a good site for the tent, and moved in for the week. After

we got our camping chores done it was “business as usual” at Quigley.

Of course, business as usual at Quigley is really something else. Let

me admit that I went to Quigley to shop among the vendors just as much as

doing some shooting. This year there were almost 50 vendors along

“Traders’ Row” and there were several of them that I made a definite point

in visiting. Yes, I did some shooting too and I had a personal goal to reach

but let me say more about that and the shooting later.

The first thing we did was to register for the match. This year the

administrators of the Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match started a new Photo by BJ Lane’s Images

policy, that you must be registered for the match before you can use the range for practice. Frankly, that only

makes good sense and we should all be in favor of that new rule. At the same time we selected our shooting

group, Red F, which is the group many of our old friends were shooting in. Shooting squad selection was done

later and squad selection can be important if you want to keep the same shooter/spotter teams together. Getting

our documentation taken care of gave us a good start.

Before trying to tell you more, let me say this was the biggest and the best Quigley match ever. There

were 697 shooters, coming from 37 states and four other countries. And it was the 25th annual Quigley shoot.

In recognition of the 25th shoot, a new match was added which was not part of the main shooting match. That

side-match used wooden buckets for targets and shooters got to take a chance on hitting one for $5 per shot.

Yes, this, we might say, came right out of the Quigley Down Under movie. I don’t know if the wooden bucket

match will be continued in future Quigley doin’s but I really do think it should.

Allen and I both tried one shot each at the wooden bucket. We both missed. That was on Thursday and

everybody who shot at it missed on Thursday. On Friday the powers that be at Quigley moved the wooden

buckets in a bit closer and hits started being made. The wooden bucket shoot was held on those two days

because once the actual Quigley match gets started there simply isn’t time for other things. I’ll have more to

say about the wooden bucket match in just a bit and for this story about Quigley I’m already ahead of myself.

For the first time I used a rifle that was already experienced at Quigley, my heavy C. Sharps Arms

.44/90 Model 1874 Hartford with the 32” barrel. That means I had notes from the year before to rely on and

sighting-in the rifle all over again was not necessary. Even so, Allen and I got some practice in to check those

notes. And, once again, I did better during practice than I did in the match.

To speak very generally, scores were usually lower this year than for last year. The top shooter, Bill

Clendenen, was the Quigley Champion this year with 42 good hits. That’s two hits less than what Wes Daems

shot last year and this year Wes had his score drop a bit, down to 38 hits. Why the scores were generally lower

can only be guessed at. We might say it was the wind but there was certainly plenty of wind last year too.

While the scores can seem to be lower, the individual scores for some shooters actually climbed and the

shooting was certainly very good throughout this year’s event.

On Thursday, Allen and I were on the firing line, by target #1, the buffalo, getting some good shots in

during practice or sighting-in time, when Buz Coker and Amanda rolled up in one of the 4-wheelers. That was

a good time to ask Buz about some of the specifics for the wooden bucket match. At Quigley one of the general

rules is that you shoot the complete match with just one rifle (with just one barrel as Amanda reminded me).

That rule mainly prevents shooters from using special offhand rifles for the offhand shots at the 350 yard

“bucket,” the metal silhouette. With the “answer man” right there, I asked if that rule also extended to or

included the wooden bucket match. I was quickly told no, the one-gun rule applied only to the main Quigley

Buffalo Rifle Match and the wooden bucket match could be shot while using a different rifle.

That was good news to me because for no particular or practical reason, I wanted to use my .44/77 rifle

in the wooden bucket match. Rifle performance had nothing to do with that desire. If, by some strange chance,

I was able to take a bucket home, I wanted to win it with my .44/77 simply because it is my favorite rifle.

Buz also told us where the wooden bucket match was being shot

from and that shooting was already in progress, so Allen and I decided to go

and give it a try. The buckets, two at a time, were hanging from stands at

undisclosed distances. You had to guess at the distance. I made a (bad)

guess at 550 yards and set my rifle’s sight for that distance. Actually, the

buckets were about 200 yards closer than what I had guessed. That cost me

only $5 and no one else hit a bucket that day either. Hitting the bucket,

anywhere, was the goal and if you hit it, you won it. One of those buckets, I

think they had a total of seven of them, would make a fine trophy from the

25th Quigley Match.

Wes Daems was there when we tried our shots at the wooden bucket

and he was waiting to take a second shot. He

missed both times and decided to try again on the

next day. We didn’t know it but they moved the

bucket closer for Friday’s shooting. Wes was

back there with his .45/90 and he got rather

serious about it. I warned him that I’d be picking

on him about this. As it turned out, Wes did hit

one of the buckets on his 8th try. Simply being

practical about it all, that means Wes paid $40 for

a bucket with a hole in it! On the other hand, he

has a good trophy from Quigley that only he and

six other shooters have. Dan Steinmetz was one

of those other shooters and while I don’t have all

of their names, I do salute them all for such good

shooting.

Wes Daems touches off his .45/90 at the wooden bucket The wooden buckets were awarded to the

shooters who hit them at the award ceremonies on Sunday. It was at that time Buz Coker told the crowd that

the wooden bucket match had brought in over $1100. They were considering what do to with that money, such

as donate it to the ILA, when news that one of the Quigley shooters had to be called back to his home state

because his house had burned down. That’s when they decided to donate the money (plus more after the hat

was passed around) to that shooter to help him to recover.

So far I’ve mentioned only the shooting but there is far

more than that at Quigley. We won’t go any further in this

story until we talk about the vendors, what I like to call

Traders’ Row. This year at Quigley there were 50 traders and

some of them I was looking forward to seeing. One of those I

had looked forward to seeing was Carolyn’s Embroidery from

Miles City, Montana. Carolyn’s specialty, at least at Quigley,

is shirts and hats with a

Quigley logo plus the date

embroidered on. Her work is

well known and this year she

sold out of the embroidered

baseball caps and almost sold

all of the shirts. I got two of

Carolyn and her embroidery those shirts.

Next on my list was Dean Becker and I needed another of his wooden boxes for Sharps 500 Unprimed

Cases, for the .44/90 this time. Of course, there was Buffalo Arms Company and once again they were handing

out new catalogs. MVA was there, in their same spot, and I had to part with some money at their tent too.

What I got from MVA was one of their “Rough and Ready” rear sights for the Remington rolling block, so how

I must make another rolling block rifle. (Another good reason to make another rolling block came my way

before we left camp.) Steve Brooks had his assortment of bullet molds at sale prices (but none for the .44

Sharps). Vigilante Lube was there too and Allen got a good batch of lubes, both for cartridge shooting and for

muzzle-loading. There were too many traders to mention them all but we most certainly stopped at GOEX

Powder, 7X Leather, Sagebrush, BJ Lanes Images (the photographer), and, of course, the lemonade stand.

More comments must be made for C. Sharps Arms and the fine display they had on Traders’ Row. This

year C. Sharps showed up with a large wall tent simply full of new rifles and shooting plunder. In addition to

having those items for sale, they had a staff of three people on

hand. That was very good and I saw a lot of people going

through the C. Sharps catalog. It was on Saturday that John

Schoffstall came to this doin’s and I know he received

compliments for bringing C. Sharps Arms to Quigley in this

outstanding way. There was hardly any minutes throughout the

day when the C. Sharps Arms tent wasn’t busy.

One other non-shooting doin’s needs to be mentioned

and that lets me introduce Les Cramer. Les is a shooter who I

met via the internet. He asked for recommendations about a

rifle and I tried to give him the help he asked for, simply telling

him what rifle I would get for myself. Les got his rifle, a

Model ’74 Hartford in .50/70, and he with his daughter, Emma,

came to Quigley from Illinois, mainly to see the sights and to

show his new rifle to me. That was terribly nice of him and we

gathered back at our tent where Allen and I camped to have

some good conversation. Les also was kind enough to take the

picture of the C. Sharps Arms “crew” in front of the tent on

Traders’ Row. Les says next year he’ll come back to shoot and

Les Cramer and Mike compare Sharps rifles we’ll see some shooting from him then.

On Saturday the Quigley match really got started. Our group began their shooting at the “octagon” out

at 600 yards and for Allen and me that was a pretty good start. Allen hit that first target six times and I hit it

five times myself. That wasn’t a bad start at all, far better than how Allen and I had started out for last year’s

match.

Once again I must compliment the way this big match is run, getting nearly 700 shooters through the

course in a matter of hours. A big part of those compliments go to the scorekeepers, they are very busy people

while the match is in progress. Our group’s scorekeeper was Becky Berdahl, the same scorekeeper this group

has had for the past three years, and she seems to never tire.

There were several well-known

shooters in our group which means

while you weren’t shooting there was

still plenty to watch and that really

helps pass the waiting time, waiting

for your squad to be called up for a

relay. In this group were Kurt

Altenburg, Dakota Dick Savage, Wes

Daems, and Dave Gullo. That just

names a few of the shooters, of course,

and there were almost 60 shooters in

the entire group, divided into ten

squads of six shooters each. Dave Gullo firing for score on the first day of the match

Allen got a nice little award on target #3, a “Straight-8” pin for

hitting that target with all eight shots. That was awarded right on the

firing line just after his squad completed their shooting, presented to

Allen along with a hug from Becky. Every shooter who hits the

selected target with all eight shots receives a “Straight-8” pin, a small

hat or lapel pin in the shape of the particular target it is awarded for.

Allen immediately attached it to his hat.

The most awarded “Straight-8” pin is for the octagon, the 600

yard target. The least awarded, as we should guess, is for the bucket

at 350 yards, the offhand shot. As I understand it, only three Straight-

8 pins for the offhand bucket have been awarded in the history of the

Quigley matches.

No “Straight-8” pins have come my way, not yet, but I was

very pleased with my own shooting. My personal goal was to beat my

last year’s score and to hit the 350 yard bucket. Both sides of that

goal were met and actually exceeded, but not easily.

While shooting at the bucket, on

the second day, I had fired four shots, Scorekeeper Becky and Allen

all misses, when I realized the ammo being used had the 515 grain bullets,

which were being saved for the 805 yard shots at the buffalo. I quickly

changed ammo, to use the 470 grain bullets which the .44/90 had been

sighted-in for at the 350 yard range. It’s a good thing I changed ammo, those

last four shots gave me two good hits on the bucket and that made my day!

Our group’s last

target was the buffalo at

805 yards. It was Sunday

afternoon by then and

that’s when the wind got

the most vicious, coming

from the left. I was one

of the firs shooters in this

relay with

The bucket at 350 yards Allen just behind me,

spotting my shots. Allen reported that my first shot, with

the 515 grain bullets, hit to the right, a few feet in front of the At 805 yards this isn’t a real big target

buffalo’s nose. Based on that, I held some hard Kentucky windage to the left for my next shot and was

rewarded with a hit. The wind was gusting with no particular pattern and my other six shot gave me just one

more hit. Even so, I was still very pleased with my shooting.

Allen’s turn for the buffalo came

several minutes later, he was in the squad

shooting the last relay. And he did so well

that I almost want to say the winds had died

down a bit. I won’t say that or even suggest

it (not any more than I already have…)

because Allen got five hits at that long

range target with his .45/70 and all of the

credit for that goes to him. And, just a

moment after Allen fired his eighth shot at

the buffalo, the Range Safety Officer bent

down to tell him how he had just fired the

last shot of the match and that was a good

Allen takes a shot at the buffalo during practice with his .45/90 hit.

The shooting was over but that didn’t end things at Quigley. There were a lot of things to do, such as

some final shopping or simply breaking down the camp, while the shooting scores were finalized in preparation

for the awards.

One part of the awards was changed this year and a new

procedure helps to make a very good time saver. That is in the drawing

and distribution of the door prizes. After all, there were several hundred

names to go through. Instead of calling each of those names, this year the

names were listed and posted on the bulletin board. Shooters could go to

the list, which was in alphabetical order, and look for their name. My

name was listed so I went to the specific place at the registration desks,

where my name was checked off as I was handed an envelope which

contained a $50 certificate from Treebone Carving. Wow!! I’ll use that

toward another rolling block stock. Allen got a new hat and a coffee

mug, both from Swiss powder. That is a good way to handle the door

prizes and most shooters got some pretty good stuff.

Then came the awards. At the Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle

Match there are several winners in a fairly large number of categories. In

addition to the shooting awards, winners from previous years at Quigley

Wes Daems with his dog “Quigley” were called to the front and honored again. Plus, there was the drawing

for the new Shiloh Sharps rifle plus other guns that were donated to the cause. This was the 25th Quigley doin’s

and a few of those shooters had participated in the Quigley matches up to twenty times.

Here are the top ten shooters with Bill Clendenen on the right.

And so ended our nearly a full week at The Quigley. If you want to see more on the shooting scores,

vendors’ line-up, or history of these matches, go to the web site for the Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Matches

at www.quigleymatch.com. That’s quite a web site, I go there often. That can fill in the corners because I did

not spend a great deal of time talking about the match or the several lists of winners. After all, “The Quigley”

isn’t just a rifle match, it’s an experience.

“The Second Amendment is on the ballot in November,” - Donald Trump

Old West

Centerfires By Bob Gietz

This was the penultimate match for our 2016 Old West Centerfires season

and eight shooters participated. The weather for this event was simply the best,

we experienced a very bright but overcast morning. That was just about as bright

as things can get while still having no shadows. The sun did make an appearance

as the match progressed but that didn’t hurt anything at all. In addition to those eight shooters, we enjoyed the

help from Dave Dolliver in scoring targets and Tony Yaklich in keeping the coffee hot.

Our shooting was done at short range, 100 and 200 yards, at bullseye targets. I think all shooters began

with their 100 yard targets before moving out to 200 yards. This might not sound as “Sharps” as a long range

match but there is still plenty of challenge and shooters must still do their part. In addition, it’s a lot of fun.

One shooter who we think might be having the most fun is Allen Cunniff. He was the first to the prize

table and he walked away with the bacon after shooting a score only 14 points below the possible 200. That’s

very good shooting and he was using the special half-round .45/70 he got from C. Sharps Arms just over two

years ago. Ever since getting that rifle, it has been his very favorite and he uses it over and over. (It shows!)

Just two points behind Allen was Mike Nesbitt shooting his 13 pound Hartford model in .50/70 with

the 32” long barrel. That rifle is almost a twin in profile to his .44/90 and we can see that Mike does like

those heavy guns. He likes the

lighter ones

too. While this is the first appearance for this heavy .50/70 in these

matches, we won’t be surpised at all to see Mike bringing it back again for the next one.

Don Kerr has done some practice and it paid off for him in some very good points, only

another two points lower, putting him in third place for this match and adding nicely to his season’s aggregate

score. Don’s rifle is an 1874 Hartford target model by C. Sharps Arms in .45/90, which is probably the best

dsigned rifle, with it’s pistol grip and shotgun butt stock, for this type of shooting on our fiing line.

Next came Bob DeLisle, still

shooting his Pedersoli ’74 in .45/70. Bob

likes that rifle and it most often performs a

bit better for him. He will quickly admit

that any slack in his scores is his fault and

not the gun’s. In the future we might be

seeing Bob shooting behind some small

confetti just beyond his gun’s muzzle

because he’s going to be trying some paper

patched bullets.

Sliding into 5th place was “Loco

Jeff” Ritter and this time he brought an

accomplice along, his son. Jeff’s son is

another “Jeff Ritter” who will be known in

these pages as “JR Ritter.” Jeff and JR

shared a rifle, which was just fine because

that didn’t add any time at all to our single

and comfortably long shooting relay. (All

targets were posted at once and the shooting Jeff and JR Ritter with the rifle they share in this match

simply continued until it was done.) JR has his own rifle, a Pedersoli Highwall in .45/70, but we’ll wait and see

if he gets the itch to get a Sharps and if that itch will be scratched or not.

Just two points below Jeff in the scores for the day was Jerry Mayo. This was Jerry’s second match with

us and this time he was shooting his own rifle, a very nice C. Sharps Arms .45/70 Hartford Sporting Rifle. Jerry

didn’t just buy that rifle and then look for accessories, he bought it “lock, stock and barrel” complete with all

the things that go with it; dies, molds, brass, even some powder and bullets. And he has gotten some good

practice with his rifle so his score is higher than what he earned in his first match. His scores will go higher

next time too, we can expect that..

And only one point

behind Jerry came Sam

Snelson with his

.45/100. Sam has

missed a couple of the

matches in this season

and he usually scores

closer to the top. Lack

of practice is the biggest

culprit for his slightly

lower standings, we can

guess, which simply

means he’ll do better

next time. It was good

to see Sam back on the

firing line with us and

good to hear the roar of

his big rifle too.

This takes us to the

bottom of the scoring list

for this match with more

mention of JR Ritter.

Let me point out that if

you have never shot short range black powder cartridge matches before, it’s a brand new ball game. Even most

highly experienced black powder cartridge shooters will not usually do well during their first match with us,

things are simply different. It is quite common for a new shooter to be at the bottom of the scoring list and there

is no shame in that, they’re just starting. Let’s watch to see what JR does next time.

Scores for this Match Name Rifle/Cartridge 100 yd. 200 yd. Total Accum.

Allen Cunniff 1874 C Sharps Arms .45/70 96-6X 90-2X 186-8X 560-16X

Mike Nesbitt 1874 C Sharps Arms .50/70 92 92-2X 184-2X 864-10X

Don Kerr 1874 C Sharps Arms .45/90 96-2X 86-X 182-3X 830-7X

Bob DeLisle 1874 Pedersoli Sharps, .45/70 83 92 175 708-8X

Jeff Ritter 1874 Shiloh Sharps .45/70 84 80-X 164-X 871-6X

Jerry Mayo 1874 C. Sharps Arms .45/70 77 85 162 263

Sam Snelson 1874 C Sharps Arms .45/100 87 2X 74 161 518-6X

J. R. Ritter 1874 Shiloh Sharps .45/70 79 73 153 153

Not shooting in this match Mike Moran 167-2X

Lew Gaiser 156

Skip Steinmetz 184-6X

Jim Dickerman 730-14X

Chris Steinmetz 143

Will Ulry 171-2X

“The more laws, the less justice,” Cicero

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS: by Mike Nesbitt Book Review: Bullet Lubricants for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle

Bullet Lubricants for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle

By Paul Matthews

98 pages, softcover, 9 X 6 inches in size, $22.50 + postage

ISBN 1-879356-85-6

ISBN 978-1-879356-85-6

This little book is full of great reading and I do wish

Paul Matthews was still with us so he could read my sincere

compliments. It’s about bullet lubricants for black powder

rifle cartridges, of course, but it also talks about what those

lubricants do as well as what the lubricants go through while

doing their jobs. It is far more than a cookbook about lubes.

Matthews begins this book by tell us what the best

characteristics for a good black powder cartridge lubricant

are. He does this not by recommending specific ingredients,

not just yet, but by talking about what that lube needs to do

and what the lube is subjected to during the “to the muzzle”

travel of the bullet. Even at black powder velocities, the

lube on or behind those bullets is accelerated fast enough to

expose that lube to nearly 12,000 Gs.

He also talks about rifle barrel length and how a soft

lube might be used up too quickly for good performance in a

rifle with a 34” barrel. If that is the case, he suggests trying

a stiffer lube rather than adding more lube.

Deeper into the book, Matthews talks about good

ingredients for making your own bullet lubes and compares

tallows and greases from animal fats as well as beeswax and

other waxes. I’m not planning on making any lubes (mainly

because I’m too pleased with BPC Bullet Lube from C.

Sharps Arms to bother with making my own) but it is still

very nice to know how.

After talking about how to make the lubes, Matthews

tells about his two favorites. The first of these he labeled

his No. 1 Black Powder Lube. It was developed for

shooting in silhouette matches. His other favorite was

called Black Powder Premium. He would switch back and forth, depending on how he felt about his rifle and

the lube’s performance. Matthews made his own lubes ever since 1949.

Near the back of the book is a short chapter titled “Testing the Black Powder Bullet Lubricant” and that

is a very good chapter to read whether you make your own lubes or just buy them like I do. The true mark of a

good bullet lube is shooting accuracy, certainly, but there are some interesting ways to judge that. A single

group really isn’t enough and test firing should be spread over several days, with weather changes too.

Bullet Lubricants for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle by Paul Matthews is published by Wolfe

Publishing. It is priced at $22.50. Copies are available directly from Wolfe Publishing Company

(www.riflemagazine.com), or where I got my copy, from Buffalo Arms Co. (www.buffaloarms.com). If you

want to make your own lubes for not, this is a good and interesting book to have.

NEW BULLET FOR THE .44 COLT

FROM ACCURATE MOLDS

In the previous edition (2016-3) we talked about the copies of the Colt Richards-Mason conversion

revolvers by Cimarron and this will be somewhat of a continuation of that story. You might recall that we were

shooting bullets out of those .44 Colt revolvers that were really intended for the .44/40. Those bullets

performed well enough, no complaints there, but they really didn’t look quite right. That sent me on a search

for another bullet style that would look right at home in the .44 Colt and still perform like it should.

That’s when Tom Ellis at Accurate Molds was contacted. He took

my description of the wanted bullet and turned it into his #43-220N.

(Mayb that “N” stands for Nesbitt?) This, in my opinion, really has the

look of a slug Colt might have used if their old .44 had ever been

updated, back in those early years, to be used with an inside lubricated

bullet. This new bullet weighs 220 grains, which is in the ball park for

the old .44 Colt, when cast with a 30-1 alloy.

You might agree that

this new bullet looks like it

fits in a Colt cartridge. It has

a fairly long rounding nose

that ends with a .018” flat

point. Of course, it was

designed to be used with black

powder loads. There is one

Profile courtesy of Accurate Molds fairly generous lube groove.

Above that is a nice wide crimp groove and for my loads, I fill the

crimp groove with lube too, then simply crimp into the top of the

groove. A little extra lube never hurt a black powder shooter. In

profile, this bullet just a bit longer and slimmer ahead of the lube

groove than the standard bullet for the .45 Colt.

This bullet drops from the mold at .430” diameter and for my

shooting they were sized to .429”. The overall length of this bullet is

.675” and more than

half of that length, .375”, .45 Colt and .44 Colt

is ahead of the crimp groove. That leaves only .300” below the

crimp groove which gets seated into the cartridge case. This means

the rather shallow seating of the bullet will not require very much

compression with black powder loads. My use of 25 grains of

powder, usually GOEX’s Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F, fills the case to

about .20” below the mouth of the case and that gives .10” of

compression when the bullet is seated. No other steps for

compression are taken, just the seating of the bullets over the

powder with no wads.

I have absolutely no experience with an original .44 Colt

and I’m relying on some old “documentation” for historical

information. My best documentation is a reprint of the 1916

Winchester catalog which includes the .44 Colt. It is listed as

using a 210 grain bullet, outside lubricated of course, over 23

.44 Colts with the new bullet grains of black powder. And I have heard, without documentation,

of old .44 Colt loads using from 21 to 27 grains of powder under similar weight bullets. My choice of using 25

grains of powder seems to do very well and I’ll stay with it.

Some general handloading comments might be of value. For loading my .44 Colt cartridges a set of Lee

dies were obtained for the .44 Russian cartridge and then simply adjusted for the somewhat longer .44 Colt.

Brass by Starline is generally available and a good quantity of that was bought from Buffalo Arms Company. A

special shell holder is not needed because the Starline .44 Colt brass fits the RCBS #2 shell holder, the good old

.30/30 size, just perfectly. You might say that nothing special was needed to reload these historic cartridges.

The real special things about the .44 Colt

with these bullets, in my opinion, is the shooting.

They simply shoot very well. With 25 grain of

black powder, the gun barks with authority while

still being rather easy to handle with only

moderate recoil. Most of my shooting is done at

just 15 yards or less and I’ve come to expect 10-

ring accuracy at this short distance.

As already mentioned, my favorite loading

uses 25 grains of Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F powder for

an average velocity of about 768 fps out of the

.44’s eight inch barrel. That isn’t the most

powerful loading but power isn’t my main

concern. Other factors in good performance

outweigh power and if I find a need for more

power, I’ll probably grab another gun.

A smokeless loading was also tried with

good favor, using 5.8 grains of Unique. That load Five-shot group fired offhand with black powder loads

gives a velocity of 600 fps and pressures are light enough that the empties just fall out of the chambers, no

ejector rod needed. In order to tell my loads apart, I “paint” the primers black on my black powder loads with a

marking pen.

Good shooting combined

with a pleasing authentic-like

appearance is how I’ll describe

this new bullet for the old .44

Colt. If this bullet interests you,

or any of the wide list of available

bullet styles, visit the web site of

Accurate Molds at

www.accuratemolds.com and

take a good look. This bullet,

again, is #43-220N and Accurate

Molds does have several bullet

designs made especially for black

powder. You can also write to

him by sending a note to Tom

Ellis, Accurate Molds, P.O. Box

315, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110.

Bullets and loads along with the new Accurate Mold Tom does not give his telephone

Colt .44 black powder loads with bullet #43-220N, 8 inch barrel number but he does promise to

25.0 grains of KIK 1 1/2Fg (by volume) ----------------------618 fps reply to all emails within 48 hours.

25.0 grains of Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F (by weight) ------------768 fps

25.0 grains of Olde Eynsford 2F (by weight) -----------------815 fps

“To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.”

- Teddy Roosevelt

MORE WOOD FROM TREEBONE, FINISHING FROM C. SHARPS

Another Remington rolling block has rolled off the bench here, this time it’s a fairly lightweight, round

barreled .50/70. Once again, the wood came from Treebone Carving and the metal finishing, bluing and color

casehardening, was done by C. Sharps Arms.

This rifle has a 28” barrel and a total weight of just 9 ½ pounds. That makes it my lightest .50/70,

obviously the easiest rifle of the bunch to carry. While it might not be seen too much at the range or in shooting

matches, this rifle is a candidate for seeing more time in the woods. We’ll have to see about that…

The stocks, as you can see in the photo, feature Treebone’s crescent butt plate and the schnabble forearm

which give the gun a totally different flavor from the .44/77 rolling block I built last year. In addition to that,

this rifle’s action was left with a round top and the military block and hammer. Some of the early rolling block

sporting rifles were round top, such as Custer’s .50/70, and while I personally do appreciate the “octagon” top, I

also enjoy some variety.

Treebone does not “pre-carve” the half-moons on their crescent butt stock but there is enough thickness

to the stock in the wrist to leave them in, as I did. And, by the way, I studied several pictures of original

sporting rifles trying to see how big those half-moons should be. They were all sizes which makes me believe

they were all individually cut by hand.

After fitting the wood to the rifle, the metal parts were sent to C. Sharps Arms tor their attention while I

finished the wood at home. Once again, I am delighted with the attention they gave the metal. The bluing on

the barrel, hammer and block is simply their standard blue, plain but very nice. The action and butt plate

received color casehardening which is simply outstanding.

I’ll combine my words of praise for

both Treebone and C. Sharps Arms in

this single short feature instead of

stretching it out over three editions like

I did with the .44/77 rolling block.

That doesn’t reduce my enthusiasm

about these products or services, not at

all. If you need some pre-carved wood

to fit to a rifle that you are working,

give Treebone Carving a good try.

More than likely, you will become a

repeat customer like me. Visit their

web site at www.treebonecarving.com.

Of course, to ask about any custom

work at C. Sharps Arms you are invited

to contact them either by email at

info@csharpsarms.com or just give

them a call at 406-935-4353.

“We have the best government that money can buy.” Mark Twain

“If you want a real friend that you can trust in Washington, get a dog.” - Harry Truman –

USING THE LYMAN 310 TOOL

By Allen Cunniff

The buffalo hunters of the late 1800s required a tremendous degree of self-

sufficiency due to their often isolated work environment. Limited transportation

demanded essential tools and equipment be portable and able to perform complex

tasks using minimalist design. Several tools designed to allow the shooter to

reload ammunition were developed and often included as standard equipment with

the Sharps and Winchester rifles of that era, including the products of the Ideal

Tool Company.

Patented by John Barlow in 1884, the Ideal Tool was a reloading tool

resembling a nutcracker and designed to perform all steps necessary to reload

ammunition in the field. Each tool was designed for a specific caliber, necessitating multiple tools to handle a

range of calibers. One great advantage of the Ideal Tool was the company’s willingness to produce custom tools

by order to meet a customer’s specific needs. Some production models even incorporated a bullet mold into the

design, along with de-priming/priming, sizing, seating and crimping functions. Compact and efficient, the Ideal

Tool continued development into the 20th Century with the most popular being the #3 (for rimmed cartridges)

and #10 models (for rimless cartridges). After the Lyman Gun sight Corporation bought the Ideal Tool

Company, Lyman refined the design to develop the Lyman 310 Tool. The Lyman 310 Tool was designed to use

interchangeable dies to allow loading either rimmed or rimless cartridges for a broad range of calibers while

remaining faithful to the original design.

The Lyman 310 Tool continues to be a staple in the Lyman catalog. Available in a variety of calibers,

the complete tool includes a set of cast aluminum handles, a case head adaptor, and a four-die set including a

decapper/neck resizing die, neck expanding die, priming chamber, and bullet sizing die. Each component in the

die set is constructed of steel, and threads are specific to the 310 tool itself; standard 7/8x14 threaded dies are

NOT compatible with this tool. The caliber-specific case adaptor remains in the handle throughout all stages of

reloading while the dies are replaced at each stage.

The handle’s key features include the strong hinge,

threaded die turret, steel anvil which acts as the

working surface for the base of the cartridge, and

adjustable extractor which engages the cartridge

rim/groove.

The appeal of the Lyman 310 Tool is

primarily to those shooters seeking to recreate the

essential low-tech practices of the time, and who

derive satisfaction in the personal connection to each

round produced by hand. In that regard, the primitive

yet efficient design is faithful to the task at hand. Fit

and finish of the component parts is generally good to

excellent, with some minor exceptions. The

The 310 Tool, dies and handles, seen on Allen’s shooting box interchangeable case head adaptor is screwed into the

bottom of the die turret until it is seated and cuts for the extractor and lock screw lined up with the

corresponding parts on the handle; in the tool tested, it was necessary to back the adaptor off about 7/8 turn in

order to properly align the cuts. This did not appear to cause any problems in function during use. Additionally,

the fine threads cut into the steel dies and aluminum die turret were coarsely cut, making it necessary to lightly

coat the threads with anti-seize compound in order to facilitate installation. Subsequent installations were easily

accomplished. Although the cast aluminum construction of the handles may cause concern as to their strength,

these tools have been made of aluminum continuously since 1958 and have proven durability. On high-stress

points, such as the anvil on which the base of the cartridge is pressed into the die, steel is used for durability.

In preparation for loading, cases should be annealed and inspected for cracks or flaws. During testing, a

variety of cases, both recently annealed and not, were used. Annealed cases were decidedly easier to work than

non-annealed cases. Cases must be lubed and case mouths lightly chamfered to facilitate neck expansion.

The tool is set up in the conventional way with die settings determined through trial and error. When

using the Lyman 310 Tool, principles of reloading are quite similar to more contemporary tools. The sizing/de-

capping die sizes the neck of the case only, and the depth of sizing determined by the seating depth of the bullet

used. For this test, using Lyman’s #457132, 535 grain Postell bullets, seating depth used was .650”. The depth

of the sizing die was set approximately by visually inspecting the depth of reduction on the brass case. Sizing

the case can require a substantial amount of effort if attempted in one stage, both in compressing the handles to

size the case as well as in opening the handles to remove the case from the die. Sizing is much easier when done

in stages, compressing the handles and opening them in short stages until the case is fully neck sized. This

enables the case to be more easily extracted. Part of the force necessary to size cases can be attributed to the

amount of reduction exerted on the case. My .45/70 cases were reduced in neck diameter approximately .012”

during sizing. Although this displacement is restored during the neck expansion step, it still represents a great

deal of work on the brass case and may necessitate more frequent annealing. When sizing the brass, de-capping

occurs simultaneously and effortlessly.

The next stage uses the supplied Neck Expanding die with its two-step stem. The stem sizes the inside of

the case neck to a specific diameter, then makes a shallow secondary expansion of sufficient depth to assist in

starting the bullet into the case mouth. In the case of the .45/70 die set, expansion is listed at .457”. By adjusting

the stem, the secondary expansion depth is set, normally about 1/16th inch from the case mouth. The neck

expansion process is accomplished easily, although a distinct “click” was felt on secondary expansion as the

step enters the case mouth. Chamfering the case mouth in advance helps reduce this sensation somewhat.

Following neck expansion, the Priming Chamber is inserted into the die turret. The Priming Chamber is

a cutaway die body in which the case head is seated, along with a priming ram. Primers are positioned one at a

time into the channel used by the priming ram and seated by squeezing the handles of the tool. Care must be

made to ensure primers are properly oriented.

The seating depth of the primer is adjusted by

screwing the Priming Chamber in or out

accordingly until proper depth is achieved.

Charging the cases with black powder

was accomplished in the usual way, with

experimentation to determine maximum

volume. There is no powder compression plug

included with this tool, but through trial a

maximum volume of 58 gr of 1 1/2g Swiss

powder along with a .030 John Walters fiber

wad was used. At that volume, minimal

compression was necessary when seating the

bullet, reducing possible distortion of the

bullet itself. Of course, a greater volume of

powder is possible when seating the bullet at a

shorter depth. That loaded round looks pretty good, ready for shooting

Seating of the bullet is the final step and that is easily accomplished using the bullet seating die. The die

comes with a single bullet seating screw which has a “top punch” face suitable for a round-nosed bullet. Depth

of the seating and crimp are adjusted as you would using conventional dies. All bullets fit snugly into the case

mouths and they seated with mild tension.

Finished cartridges are, aesthetically, on par with those produced in a single-stage press. Some minor

scratches can be seen on the cases but nothing that would impact case life. Loads produced using the Lyman

310 Tool proved to be reliable and accurate, and they chambered quite easily into my C. Sharps Arms Model

1875. Using Starline and Remington-Peters brass previously fire-formed in the Sharps, 50 rounds were loaded

and fired at distances of 100-200 yards. All rounds functioned properly, with reliable ignition. Up to 25 rounds

were fired consecutively without cleaning. A blow tube was used between most shots. No leading was noted

during cleanup (a consistent trait of the

Vigilante lube), and accuracy was

excellent, with consistent grouping on

par with loadings using more

contemporary tools. Even when no

fouling shots were fired, bullets grouped

consistently without unexpected

variation.

Load:

Rifle: C Sharps Model 1875

Bullet: Lyman’s #457132 Postell,

535 gr, sized to .458”, 1:20 alloy

Lube: Vigilante

Cases: Starline & Remington-Peters,

previously fire-formed in this rifle

Wad: .030” John Walters’ fiber wad

Powder: 58 grains of 1 1/2g Swiss,

minimal compression Here’s Allen reloading with the 310 tool in front of the tent at Quigley

Primers: CCI 250 Large Rifle Benchrest

Bullet Seating Depth: .650”

No crimp

Pros:

1. Compact design is easily transported. Everything needed fits into a single pocket.

2. Easy to use. Setup is essentially equivalent to traditional single-stage press.

3. Consistent results. Cartridges produced meet accuracy expectations of proven loads.

Cons:

1. Priming process is slow, with each primer fed by hand.

2. Neck sizing and expansion works brass excessively and may contribute to work hardening. May require

more frequent annealing.

3. Sizing requires strenuous squeeze of handles and force in opening to extract sized case. Multiple, shorter

strokes aid in sizing/extracting brass.

4. Minimal powder compression capability limits amount of powder that can be loaded.

5. Seating plug best suited for round nose bullet profiles, can deform edges of flat nosed bullet.

On the whole, I am very pleased with the results achieved using the Lyman 310 Tool. My reloaded

cartridges produced consistently met standards of performance on the range, and the loading process is simple,

straightforward, and faithful to the traditions of the buffalo hunter. I do hope you can forgive me for comparing

the Lyman 310 tool with press-mounted equipment, with magazine fed priming tools, but in actuality I was

comparing my reloaded ammunition with ammo reloaded with those other tools. The ammo turned out just

fine, so I certainly give the Lyman 310 tool a hearty recommendation.

These reloading tools are generally available from several outlets and they are available direct from Lyman

as well. Lyman’s listed price is $77.95 for the handles and another $85.95 for the dies. you can see them at

www.LymanProducts.com.

Sources:

1. http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/dies/lyman-310-tool.php

2. http://ps-2.kev009.com/ohlandl/310/310op/history.htm

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under.'-Ronald Reagan