Sheridan-
I've been playing with a Chiappa Little Sharps in 218 Bee for about four years. Most of that time has been spent learning about reloading for it.
I mounted a small 10X Unertl on it for developing loads. With factory ammo it can do 1-1/4" 100-yd 5-shot groups. A couple of mechanical problems were obvious from the first firings.
The extractor fit is sloppy, and it's pretty easy to get the cartridge rim in front of it, leading to a nice jam. I made a washer-shim that solved 90% of the difficulty.
The firing pin hole in the face of the breech block is oversize. This allows the primer to expand into the hole when the cartridge is fired, resulting in a primer that looks cratered. The crater can expand sufficiently to lock the breech. Real effort on the lever can get it open, but it will shear the primer bulge. This can leave bits of shavings in the firing pin hole, which can make the pin stick, requiring disassembly of the breech block. This primer problem can be solved by snapping the hammer on the fired cartridge, but that's a bothersome bit of fiddle-dee-dee.
I've corresponded with others who have experienced the extractor slop, so it might be expected in many of the Chiappa versions. Possibly the Hornet-chambered Lyman Ideal version has the bugs worked out:
[color:#0000ff]http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/centerfire/idealsharps.php[/color]Good luck.
--Bob
