![]() ![]() Thank you for your answers Dan and Hidehunter. Surplus and "leftover" parts from the percussion rifles were sometimes 'recycled' and used in the 1874 models. ![]() These conversions were done by the original Sharps company and others. Many percussion era (1863 and earlier) Sharps were converted to fire metallic cartridges. There are numerous, but minor technical differences. The 18 Sharps are similiar in apperance and the basic operation of the breechblock and lock mechanism is the same. So the design of the '74 Sharps (metallic cartridge version) actually goes back to 1869. And to make matters even more confusing the 1871 "1874" Sharps was a slightly improved version of the 1869 model. I don't know how the law works in your country but the "1874" Sharps was actually introduced in 1871. In short, the 1863 loads something like a metallic cartridge rifle and fires like a muzzleloader. The breechblock has a flash hole leading from the cap to the powder charge. Once the breechblock is closed the rifle is fired by the use of a percussion cap. As the lever is lifted the edge of the breechblock shears off the back of the paper cartridge. This paper cartridge is loaded (as a unit) in the breech just like the '74 Sharps. It uses a 'cartridge' made of paper which contains the measured powder charge and bullet. It is not a muzzleloader nor is it a metallic cartridge rifle. To expand on what mrrangerman said, the 1863 might be considered a 'transitional' design. ![]()
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