Sharps linen cartridges lube?

[JakobS]

I picked up a Pedersoli 1863 .54cal Sharps Sporting rifle last year and been having a hard time to make it shoot consistently.
I've gone through 3 different boolit types and my last effort was with this one:

Using 1.5fg Swiss and dipping them in SPG lube.
Linen is 3oz (I think?) and sized with wall paper sizer. End cap is cigarette paper.

(Earlier batch with older boolit mold).

First iteration was with 2Fg Schutzen and a 510gr boolit and load testing had me settle on 60gr. I tried both cornmeal and wads for filler.
I thought I had it mostly sorted as had a session with ~3" group at 100 meters, but then the last test before taking it out hunting, I could barely keep it on paper. Nothing else changed, as far as I know.

Some reading suggested that the boolit was too heavy, so I bought the mold above, which is very nice and casts way more consistent and I also got some Swiss 1.5Fg, which again was suggested to be superior to the Schutzen.
Velocity definitely went up, as I was now shooting way higher.
Winter came, so I only got out again last weekend, with a load variety from 45gr to 65gr and I learned nothing.
I could barely keep it on paper at 100meters and by the time I gave up and changed to 50meters, I didn't have enough left to learn anything conclusive, but even that looked odd. 2 nearly touching, 1-2 fliers, 2 nearly touching, etc.

Before making another batch, I went back to re-read these articles:
https://www.blackpowdercartridge.com...y-test-part-ii

(There's 4 of them, 3 behind paywall)

I have similar boolit mass, he had best result with 65gr 1.5Fg, so my other variable is now lube.
Should I only apply lube in the grooves?
Anyone else had any success with the Pedersoli's?

[Nobade]

I tried linen cartridges and gave up on them, no benefit over paper and a lot harder to make. For a bullet I have settled on the Guy France design from Moose Moulds, sized to .540" to fit the throat of my rifle. Lube is Gatofeo #1, 1 part mutton tallow, 1 part Gulf canning wax and 1/2 part beeswax. Melted and dip lubed after building the cartridges. It dries fairly hard and transports well, and works great as a bullet lube.

Is your rifle leaking gas? I had a Pedersoli that did, and it wasn't terribly accurate. Traded it for a Shiloh and that works a lot better. If yours is, Larry Flees can modify it so it works correctly and you will see an improvement since the pressure on the bullet will be the same every time.

[JakobS]

I have no issues making the linen cartridges. It's another 5 minute step to size them, but that's about it.
I'm in Canada, which makes sending it to the US for modifications a real pain. I have noticed that the indentation on the breech plate is now very uneven, so maybe it's leaking more than I thought.

[Nobade]

Those are good looking cartridges, much better than mine came out! You could test the rifle by possibly wrapping paper or other material around the action when you fire it to see if that gets burned or blown away. Mine was leaving fouling on the shooting bench and set my sleeve on fire once.

[varsity07840]

I would try whatever bullet you're using with lube only in the grooves.