The 1863 is a nice rifle. Here's some things that work for me in my rifles.
The Sharps has a very tight chamber and using Starline brass I don't need to re-size after firing. I'd full length size them, fire form, then trim and chamfer. After that you shouldn't have to do anything besides cleaning to the brass.
I cast my own bullets and use a .460 sizing die to just basicly lube them. I shoot 500+ grain bullets and have never worked with anything lighter. The Sharps has a short " ball seat"
( throat ) and you'll want to allow a short jump to the lands.
The 405 grain bullet isn't good for any long range work, you'll want 500 or greater.
Two styles that work very well are the original 500 grain round nose. Lyman mold #457125
Or the 535 grain Postell, Lyman#457132
Good "Store Bought Bullets" can be had here. They will be lubed with the proper lube for either smokeless or black depending on your request.
http://www.montanabulletworks.com/
I only use black powder in my rifles as smokeless is just a passing fad.
Good choices are Swiss, Schutzen and Goex. The 45-70 will like 2F or 1 1/2 F. I've never had much luck with cartridge grade.
I use Remington large Pistol primers for consistancy.
Powder can be bought from many sources. I buy mine a case at a time from these folks so as to have all the same lot number.
http://www.mainepowderhouse.com/
http://www.buffaloarms.com/
You'll want to slowly pour the powder into the case so it settles. I've used drop tubes and not used them, never saw much difference either way.
There's no real need to weigh charges, you can if you wish but it's mostly done by volume.
As an interesting side note, If you look under the bottom steel rotor on an older Lyman 55 measure, you'll see graduations stamped there. These are for black powder.
Once you charge your cases you need to seat a wad. They're available in poly or veggie and in .030 and.060 thicknesses. I use .060 poly ones and they protect the base of the bullet well.
Next will come the Vodoo Magic, or compression of the powder column. This is what will give you a clean burn and accuracy. You'll need a compression die for this.
http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,3330.html
Here's how I do it.
Pour enough powder into the case so that with the wad and the bullet are seated to the OAL you want, and there's no air space in the case.
Then begin to add powder and compress it to maintain the OAL. Different powders will like different amounts of compression. Swiss seems to like around .020 while some older lots of Goex liked almost .25!
Powder compression is very much like ladder testing. At some point you will see groups tighten up then begin to open again. You will also begin to notice the sound of the report changing. It will go from a soft "wump" with no compression to a sharp crack as burning efficency increases.
When shooting the rifle powder fouling will need to be controled. There are two ways to do this.
One way is to use a damp patch after each shot. Windex with vinagar works well as does plain old water.
Another way is with the use of a blow tube. A blow tube can be easily made from an old case and some PVC tubing. Just cut the head off an old case and glue in a 12 inch peice of tube. Depending on humidity levels you'll want to blow two to five deep breaths down the barrel after each shot. The moisture in your breath keeps the fouling soft.
This would also be a good time to mention "The Lube Star"
This is a star thats formed on the crown of the barrel if your bullet holds enough lube to carry it through the barrel.
One thing about bullet lubes. It's VERY inportant not to use any petrolium based products with black powder as a thick nasty tar like substance will form in the barrell.
Clean up after shooting these old rifles is a breeze. Mine only take 5 patches and I'm done.
One wet with windex one dry. Another wet with windex and two dry. I then coat the inside of the barrel with Crisco or bullet lube.
You didn't mention sights. If you plan on shooting 500 to 1000 yds you'll need a good verieir tang sight and a spirit level front sight with inserts.
Again, Buffalo Arms is an excellent source
From a bench at our club, I can put ten out of ten shots onto a ram at 500 yds using sights. On a good day I can keep them all on his head.
BPCR shooting is loads of fun. I'll halp you anyway I can so feel free to ask.
Craig aka 45Bpcr
