what is the averave weight size every one is shooting in the 50/90. i know twist makes the diff. but just was curious as to what every one is shooting?
what is the averave weight size every one is shooting in the 50/90. i know twist makes the diff. but just was curious as to what every one is shooting?
My preferred boolit weight for the 50/90 in either grease groove or paper patch is 600gn. Have harvested moose and deer with both. If you consider that 45 cal shooters are using boolits up to about 550gn a 600gn 50 does not seem that heavy.
It would take even more weight/length in a 50 to match the ballistic efficiency of the 500+ gn 45's
With smokeless my load is a 560 gr. paper patch at a little over 1,800fps. I am delighted with the speed, power, and clean shooting nature of this load.
I weigh #278 but then I'm nearly 6'7"
I'm much bigger then anyone else I know that shoots the 50-90.
ogre, what twist do you take?
I have fired my shooting buddy's 505 Gibbs Custom on a 1917 Enfield receiver many time. However I will not shoot it sitting at the bench. It's a handful off hand but my body soaks up a lot of that recoil and it does not hurt me as much as my 50-90 Sharps. Come to think on it some I realize that I always shoot the 50-90 from a rifle rest. However I stand up when I use it. I made my shooting bench so I could shoot standing rather than sitting down. So I believe that shooting a Winchester 1885 50-90 Sharps with a 695 gr Creedmore boolit on top of 95 gr of Swiss 1 1/2 BP produces more recoil than a 505 Gibbs J-Word of 500+ grains every day of the week.
All that being said I love that darned rifle cuz it has excellent accuracy with iron sights out to over 500 yds. When it hits a steel target it does so with authority and sometimes knocks the entire target and stand over. We actually have a buffalo sized target of steel which takes two of use to carry and when hang it way out there and whale away at with all kinds of rifles and such. If you hit it you are rewarded with a loud CLANG sound bouncing back to you some time later. If you miss, no clang and big dust cloud appears near the target.
Those big heavy boolits really buck the wind well and stay on target. When you get down to the .223's and such the wind really plays havoc with your accuracy. I have played with my 357 and .44 Special enuf at 200+ yds on the bull that I now have the confidence to shoot at a paper target at 100 yds with these pistols. Now I just need to work with my 327 Magnum and .30 Carbine Ruger BH's some more to develop the same level of accuracy.
Pax Nobiscum Dan (Crash) Corrigan
Currently casting, reloading and shooting: 223 Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, 30 Carbine, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 WCF, 303 Brit., 7.62x39, 7.92x57 Mauser, .32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, 380 ACP. 9x19, 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, 38-55 Win, 41 Mag, 44 Spcl., 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 454 Casull, 457 RB for ROA and 50-90 Sharps. Shooting .22 LR & 12 Gauge seldom and buying ammo for same.
Say Dan if your friend with the 505 is ever in need of boolits for it I have a mold for a 600gn RNGC designed for the 505 Gibbs. I have fired it up to 2400 fps from a Gibbs and it shoots darn good.
Just a reminder of what we do here at BS acres for the newer folks.
thanks for the input. i dont exactly have a 50/90 but i do in a way. i custom built my self a nice sidelock .50 with a 36 inch barrel on it. it is a 1/28 twist so it is slightly slow in the twist for the 50/90. yesterday i swaged up a bunch of cores that weighed 530 grains to .50. then reduced them to .492. i set the sights at 60 yards. i use freezer wrap paper with the single wrap chase system and it kept 1 inch groups at 60 yards. that was with 80 grains by volume. i use a 60 thousands poly wad between bullet and powder. i do have a core mould for about 560 grains and i think i will cast up a few cores and swage those. i did try 90 grains and 100 grains behind the bullet and it stayed on center from left to right but shot a little higher each time.i really got excited with the accracy of it and the recoil wasnt all that bad. like posted above, when it hits it really smacks the target. it cuts through the wind and really reaches out their at dirt clumps in the field behind the house. i can see im going to lay some of my other guns aside for a while and shoot this one also. the one thing about this gun that is nice is i dont have any brass to clean. also the single wrap chase system is so easy to do and works so well. i learned it off the internet a short while ago. i bet if i fit a long range tang sight on the back i could shoot it way out their with accracy. anyways thank you all for the input and you guys are all right, the 50/90 is quite a gun. we have a month long muzzleloader season here in western ne. and i think this year this gun will be the one i use for it.
I would not want to carry my Sharps out hunting at all. It weighs over 12 lbs. And with that long barrel it would really be a chore. I need to find a gun bearer somehow.
Pax Nobiscum Dan (Crash) Corrigan
Currently casting, reloading and shooting: 223 Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, 30 Carbine, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 WCF, 303 Brit., 7.62x39, 7.92x57 Mauser, .32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, 380 ACP. 9x19, 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, 38-55 Win, 41 Mag, 44 Spcl., 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 454 Casull, 457 RB for ROA and 50-90 Sharps. Shooting .22 LR & 12 Gauge seldom and buying ammo for same.
I carried a M60 on my shudder for 2.5 years with 3 belts of 7.62 M-13 over some of roughest terrain you will ever hunt on makes my Sharps a creampuff to carry
My bullet for my .50 sharps weighs 720 gr. the other 680 gr.
i have a 1/22 twist side lock that is very manageable with a 31 inch barrel and it shoots a 686 grain bullet paperpatched. recoil isnt uncomfortable also. my 1/28 twist .50 with the 36 inch barrel isnt awkward to handle or carry. i think thats the advantage of a side lock over a bpcr, is that can be just as powerful and accrate with out the weight. i have shot a 704 grain bullet in the first one mentioned but i setteled on the 686 as it seemed best for that gun. the stocks shape contributes to the recoil. my sidelocks with more power dont recoil as much as my cpa 45/70 paperpatch rifle. thanks for all the input. i think ill settle in on 530 grains for the 1/28 twist gun, and 686 for the 1/22 twist.
When my new Shiloh Hartford 50 - 2 1/2" gets here later this year (hopefully.) It will be a 36 twist as were the Sharps of old. I plan on using a 475 grain patched bullet over 100 grains of 1F. Should be FUN!!!
ward
"To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth." —Theodore Roosevelt"
recoil will be low and it should reach out their real good. it will be a lot of fun to shoot. shot my 1/28 twist 530 grain pp to day. blew up alot of water filled milk jugs. had to stop because ran out of bullets.
this thread is really stirring me up. I have this 50 caliber, 48 inch twist barrel on and off a mauser 98. I took 300 rem ultra brass and cut off the neck and lathed the base down to fit into the mauser claw. Looks like a royal beast on the gun and looking at the cartridge. I will leave the gun a single shot so I don't mess up the rails. All I need to do is chamber the barrel and I have that figured out also and I will be heaving projectiles out of this mauser frame! I can get 85 of bp into the case with a boolit so it is a 50x85.
Look twice, shoot once.
pictures man pictures ... m-98 AND the case loaded and empty ... come on nekshot ... you knows tha rules ...
50 Mauser ... sounds coo!!!
Look twice, shoot once.
nekshot ... went and look-ee-loo at your project and gotta say that it looks very promising. you shoot blackpowder thru it huh? maybe you oughta begin another thread somewhere that folks will see it and have further comments and questions about an outstanding rifle. i am jealose and wouldnt doubt that she be a shooter when all the dust settles ... er smoke i guess.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |