Smoothbore Harpers Ferry Pistol

[evildog]

I'm thinking of having my 58cal Pedersoli Harpers Ferry pistol reamed out to make it a smoothbore. Any of you done that? Would you do it again?

 

[phoenix511]

Why ream it out and to what diameter? The originals were 54 cal, the Pedersoli is about 58 cal, so you can't ever make it like the original.

The Pedersoli Harpers Ferry is a fairly nice flinter, but with some lock geometry issues, plus most new versions require you to grind the back side of the flint to assure the half-cock does not sit on the frizzen.

You would need to find someone with a lathe, the ability to remove the breech plug without damaging the barrel, a reamer to remove the rifling (maybe 0.590" or so), a polishing scheme to remove the reamer chatter marks, and now what have you got?

If you like Harpers Ferry 1803 pistols, be prepared to spend some $$$$ with a custom builder to get a modern replica. It will be historically accurate, not an Italian "almost" version.

I'd leave it alone and save my $$$.

 

[evildog]

Just arrived today so haven't even fired it yet. The thought I had in mind was to get rid of the rifling so that I could load it via paper cartridges the same as my Brown Bess. Probably just jousting with windmills again.

 

[Bear Rider]

Why would rifling interfere with use of a paper cartridge? Civil War rifles were loaded from paper cartridges.

 

[evildog]

Yes, but they were generally loaded with a conical bullet rather than a round ball. The Brown Bess load uses the paper wrapping as a patch around the ball similar to the cloth patch used in loading from the horn. It works well in smooth bores, just not sure how well it might work in a rifled barrel. Guess there is really only one way to find out for sure... load up a few paper cartridges and see how they compare to the more conventional cloth patch load.

 

[Bear Rider]

It might work. Ever heard of paper-patched bullets?

Alternatively, try tying your cartridge in two sections, with the powder in one section and a patched ball in the other. I've heard of people soaking patch material in moose milk and then letting it dry.

Or you could simply use the cartridges for pre-measured powder charges, and carry ball and patch separately.

 

[evildog]

To me the beauty of a paper cartridge is the ease of loading... just rip off the end, pour the powder down the barrel and then jam paper wrapped ball down. I roll mine using recycled newsprint paper dipping the ball end of it in melted Crisco... they're good for a couple of months. I've been known to roll an inner powder cup from waxed paper, keeps the powder from being contaminated by the Crisco should it eventually wick through the paper. The wax paper cup is discarded on loading.

My understanding of paper patched bullets is that they are press fitted into the bore from the muzzle. A lot more trouble than I'd care to go through in the field.