40 sbn

[Mike]

Perhaps I should say a little more about the .40/70 BN I had. After all, my previous comment is completely negative and I'm really not that kind of guy, am I? Okay, my .40/70 BN was my 3rd Sharps and I wanted the .40/70 because (I thought) it should fire bullets that were lighter than what a .45/70 generally uses, at higher velocities, and do all that with less recoil. Two paper patch bullet molds were ordered for it, 330 and 370 grainers, but I could not find accurate loads for either of them. Perhaps if I knew then what I know now... Also, the rifle seemed to have a more savage recoil than my .45/70 (which I still have) even though those lighter bullets were chronographed at slower speeds than the heavier bulleted .45/70 loads. There was nothing comfortable about that rifle. Performance was lacking in every respect. So, I sold it to a friend. This friend, and we're still friends, had the same troubles with this gun right up until the day he had it re-barreled to .45/70. After that it shot pretty well. Since that time I have been tempted more than once to get another .40/70 BN (I still enjoy such temptations) because I really want to like that little cartridge. My experiences with the .44 Sharps bottlenecks, both .44/77 and .44/90, have been pretty good, and I don't see the bottleneck as any particular problem. Also, the .40/70 BN is a Hartford Sharps cartridge and that makes it more inviting to me. I do have two of the .40/70 SS rifles and seeing Jamison come out with properly headstamped brass was a delight. If Jamison or Star Line should make .40/70 BN brass available I'd probably fall to that temptation... Now, please continue with positive comments about the .40/70 BN and you might trigger my memory about something I was doing wrong with my rifle. Actually, I hope you do. Shoot sharp, Mike