Crossfire
When I set out to buy this gun I knew a little about the history of the cartridge....but not much.....
My reading led me to understand that:
1. It was developed somewhere between 1878-1879
2. It was not of much use on the buffalo herds as they were all but gone by then
3. The question of who chambered it first stirs up some controversy
4. It can be a challenge to load and shoot accurately
Like i said, not much.
So why did I go this route? Simple. I became fascinated by the rifle ever since I saw my first one at a young age. This one came up for sale at a time when I had the funds to buy it.
That 3 1/4 case actually came about probably in 1880 or maybe just a touch later. There are a very few rifles out there that were factory chambered for it, but they are extremely scarce.
The thing came about when the big heavy single shot rifles were rapidly becoming obsolete, even Sharps was marketing a bolt action rifle when the closed shop.
But with all that said we have them to deal with today. Looks as tho you're off to a decent start, but fouling control is something that has always been practiced, but something very few of the internet experts today share much info about when some one new comes along asking how to make Ol smoke pole work....
When running over 100 grs of powder I seriously doubt maintaining accuracy without wiping is going to happen. Take another page out of history,, and even the mighty 2 7/8 case was factory loaded with 90 grs of powder for sporting purposes, they knew that shooting more than that without wiping was a disaster waiting to happen. That's also a lot of the rational behind Freunds conversions on the 74 model Sharps.
Next time out be mindful of diligent fouling control and you'll likely see groups tighten and stay that way.
