Info on 50-110 caliber?

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

I have a man that wants to sell me a barrel for my Encore and it is a 50-110. Can anyone give me some info on the caliber? Bullet weights? Velocity? Good for cast bullets? Juast a little info to either make me want it or not want it.

[Bullshop]

Bullet weight will depend on twist. Winchester had a 50/110 express that had a very slow twist that would only handle 300.to 350gn bullets. I cant remember the twist but think it was about 36". If it has something near 24" or faster it will handle quite heavy long boolits. I have one with a 22" twist (I think, possibly 20") and it handles 700gn boolits nicely.
One nice thing about these big straight cases is it can be made to work well with anything that can be called gun powder no matter what the burn rate.
Another thing is a half inch diameter boolit makes big holes, lets air in and blood out fast!
If that encore will handle what a siamese mauser will handle you can expect to get about 2000 fps with a 700gn boolit.
Problem, goes through lead FAST!
BIC/BS

[EDK]

Problem, goes through lead FAST!
BIC/BS

Amen Brother!

Idaho Sharpshooter has a custom 50/110 Winchester and has done a fair amount of load development with it....mostly, if not all, with smokless powder. John Taffin did an article in GUNS magazine awhile back on Marlin big bore conversions and part of it was on 50/110. Gunsmith was DRC.

My Shiloh Sharps is a 50/90...a 620+ grease groove Brooks mould and an adjustable paper patch from Red River Rick (Kalynuik)....and it weights just under 14 pounds. It lets you know your shooting a serious caliber, but it sure was fun to bounce them big boolits off the buffalo target at Quigley! A light weight gun might be a little too much fun, ala 500 S&W.

It would be a lot cheaper to experiment with an Encore barrel than a custom Winchester or a Shiloh Sharps. Brass from Starline; dies from ?; Lyman and Lee have a few moulds.

[missionary5155]

This makes my teeth grit just reading it... I do not know what an Encore weights but that has to be one slap to launch 700 grains at 2000fps... I have launched .685 round ball out my Mossy 12 guage at 1550 + and that is all my 155 pounds needs for excitement...
Are there really still Wooly Mastadons up there ??? Or stray 25 foot crocks roaming your rivers ?? Who has an engine block we can play with...

[451whitworth]

my converted 1886 Browning has a 1-20" twist barrel. i don't think i would like a 700gr. bullet @ 2000 fps! in the lever gun i have moulds for 310gr., 460gr. , 475gr. , and 575gr. . i prefer the 475gr. @ 1900fps as an all around load. it can be driven faster but the recoil with the cresent butt gets brutal. i started with 348wcf brass blown out and stretched. this was many years before Starline came out with their excellent cases in '03 which i have used exclusively since. i use CH4D dies with great success. RCBS also makes dies but be prepared for the $$$$$ shock. i also have tried many powders but have gone back to IMR 3031. it fills the huge case well, is the most accurate with any bullet weight in my rifle and gives full velocities if you want them.

[Bullshop]

No no you guys got it all wrong. I use them big 700gn boolits to split fire wood. When I get one a them big ol knotty peaces that the mall just bounces off like it was rubber I set them aside. On a good cold day like -30 or so stand them up and aim right at a big knot. Presto, kindling!
Now dont that turn an undesirable job into a fun one! So now you can all see there is an actual need for this type of wood splitting loads.
BIC/BS

[Doc Highwall]

Bullshop, I like the way you think!

[NickSS]

I one time put a 45-70 barrel on a Contender and fired exactly three rounds of 300 gr slugs at about 1800 fps. I then sold the barrel as it had too much kick for my liking. I also have a nine pound huntine rifle from C Sharps (1874 model Sharps) in 50-70. I use a 515 gr flat point lead slug in it with a full 70 gr of FFG and it has plenty of kick for this guy. The animals don't like it either. The two deer and one elk I shot with it went right on through and did not stop in the animal.

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

So what you guys are telling me is its going to kick my ass in a 7 lb rifle? I may need it kicked but not like that. LOL I think I will get it. Iff nothing else it will be fun to watch my friends shoot it. They have gotten wise to the full load 460 Weatherby.

[EDK]

So what you guys are telling me is its going to kick my ass in a 7 lb rifle? I may need it kicked but not like that. LOL I think I will get it. Iff nothing else it will be fun to watch my friends shoot it. They have gotten wise to the full load 460 Weatherby.

If you load with smokeless, you don't have to max it out. Lighter boollits would help also...check your twist rate and the GREENHILL FORMULA for boolit length.

Your friends must not pay much attention to the size of the boolit or cartridge casing. My brother, Idaho Sharpshooter, conned me with his 500 S&W with 5 loads going from "mild to wild"...I already have had carpal tunnel surgery...5 was more than enough! I'll stick to hot 44 Special loads in my VAQUEROS and BLACKHAWKS...Thank You!

[WBH]

I, for one, would have no interest in firing a 600+ grain bullet out of a 7# or less rifle. My 50-90 in a 16# rifle is all I want to deal with.

You are making a wise choice...........let someone else buy that barrel. Even with BP it would a "shoulder full".

[John Taylor]

I have built a bunch of 50-110s. The original twist that Winchester had started at 1 in 56" . The first barrel I checked had a 1 in 60 twist. Winchester must have thought this was to slow so they changed it to 1 in 48". The rifle was called an express rifle along with the 45-90. Both were designed to shoot light bullets at high velocity. This was before smokeless powder so their idea of high velocity was a little different than today. Then Winchester came out with the 50-100-450. The outside measurements were the same but had only 100 grains of powder to make room for the 450 grain bullet, the 110 uses a 300 or 350 grain bullet. The twist for the 50-100-450 started at 1 in 48" and went down to 1 in 36" with the later guns. The 50-90 uses the same case, I don't know what the bullet weight is. Bullet nose is not a standard ogive, it is a special design to be able to get the cartridge in an 86 Winchester magazine. The 86 action also need some work to get it to feed as well as making the loading gate open a little wider and relieving one side of the magazine tube to allow for loading. Sometimes the same work needs to be done to get a 45-90 in the gun. The later smokeless high velocity factory load was a 300 grain bullet at 2225 FPS, BP load was closer to 1600 FPS.
Most of my customers like heavy bullets so I go with a twist rate between 1 in 28" and 1 in 32". I have made a few with 1 in 24" for big bullets.

[rockrat]

I have a Ruger #1 in 50-70 that I have shot a 663gr slug through at only 1400fps. It was quite a handful off the bench, even more so than the NEF 500s&W full tilt. Three shots was enough (great group). Figure if I use it for a Bison, that is the load I would use, casting the slugs at 20/1. Should be more than enough.

[Bullshop]

Rockrat
If it were me huntin bison with that rig I would go softer than 20/1. At 1400 fps you could even go with pure lead. I think 50/1 would be about right.
Maybe not right or wrong just what I would do.
BIC/BS