45-70 to 45-90 or 45-110

[Tazman1602]

Ok guys don’t BBQ me too bad, wife bought me my first Sharps (Uberti) for Christmas and was just curious as to “could” a 45-70 be converted to the above simply by reaming the chamber?

The Uberti will never be touched *however* I have (shot I have a bunch of 45-70’s) I do have a very nice Gibbs (one of the old Navy arms bolt rifle conversions..) that I might like to “play” with. Most of them I have are JM Marlins but I have always loved Ruger #1’s and other single shots.

I would have bought a Shiloh Sharps but the person I talked to was rude and condescending…and I am not going to beg you to take my money (and a lot of it..) and then wait 2-5 years for the gun..

Many Thanks,

Art

[NSB]

Short answer is yes, you can simply ream out the chamber to the extra case length needed to convert a 45-70 to a 45-90, etc. However, you’ll find a lot less loading info for the longer cartridges if you plan on shooting any jacketed bullets. It pretty much becomes a cast bullet proposition in the longer cartridges. If you check someplace like the Lyman 50th you’ll see that there’s not a lot to be gained over the 45-70 in terminal ballistics. But, it is nostalgic and if you like to play around with these things it’ll keep you busy for quite a while. Congrats on your new gun….wait a minute, it’s not Christmas yet!

[Don McDowell]

If you decide to ream the chamber to a long case , then it's pretty important the new reamer is matched to the base measurements of the original chamber , or you'll get some funny looking fired cases.
If you're shooting black the longer chambers definitely give more velocity. If messing with that new fangled smokeless stuff, then not much to be gained.

[FLINTNFIRE]

That is to bad that someone was that way on the phone , I have 4 Pedersolis now , but none in 45-90 or 45-110 .

I would never worry about reloading data as I shoot black powder out of mine , not using jacketed bullets either , they are fine with what they were designed for .

Part of the lore and fun I feel is shooting them as they were in the day .

[Tar Heel]

Well since we are not killing buffalo, I would stick with the 45-70. It will reach steel or paper at 1000 yards just fine and save you the extra powder - which may be hard to come by anymore.

[Tazman1602]

Thank you for all the good insight. IF I were to chamber ream my old Gibbs bolt to 45-90 or 110, it would be strictly a black powder rifle and just for fun, I wouldn’t do that to my good 45-70 Uberti.

I’ve got a few 45-70’s and with a 400-500 grain pill they are all extremely accurate — but that is with smokeless and mostly 4198 and cast bullets. I have maybe 5-6 molds but my favorites are Miha’s molds and my absolute favorite was from a guy who used to make molds for us here, BRP molds. He cut that one to a couple of thousandths larger than my Marlin bore and I *think* a man called Buckshot here made me a custom sizer so I’m about .001-.002 bigger than bore slugged — that load shoots MOA out of that particular gun.

The reason I’ve never loaded black in my Marlins? Cleaning black is not my favorite. Bolt or single shot makes it simple. I happened to come across Goex from Powder valley a few months back and stocked up as I knew I was headed in this direction, I’ve also given thought to having JES rebore a ratty Winnie 94 I picked up a few years back to 38-55 or so.

Haven’t done a lot of shooting in the last year due to the inability to replace components but I’m getting tired of looking at my guns and wiping them down every month.

Many Thanks

Art

[sharps4590]

I shot a 45-70 for 20 years or maybe a little longer. Great cartridge but I no longer own one, not since acquiring my Shiloh in 45-90. My BP cartridge rifle single shots have never seen anything but BP so smokeless performance is of no consequence. I have both, a 45-90 and 45-100. Of the two the -100 hasn't been shot in 10 years because I much prefer the 45-90 and, my experience has been that once you go over about 80 grains fouling control becomes more of an issue.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

I will stick to my Shilohs, my 6th one a 1877 in 45-100 should be done any day. I run a 2-7/8ths for long range in two separate rifles both Shilohs. They have served me well, the first rifle was rebarreled in 2005, after approximately 19,800 rounds through it. Took a bit over 10 years to do that. It was replaced by Shiloh under warranty. It’s subsequently about 24,000 rounds on that original LRE action, and it’s second breach block, also replaced under warranty. That particular rifle has won two Creedmoor Scope National Championships. I have owned my first rifle since 1994, you won’t find a better made Sharps Replica today. Evidenced by the number of them in the winners circle. 6 separate National titles and 2 winter Nationals with 3 separate rifles. You won’t get that kind of customer service from anybody else, and you’re not going to see another makers Sharps in the winners circle. If one is watching the winner’s circle a lot of 45-100’s in the results and 90’s in long range. Occasionally a 110 also, in 2018 Nationals a 45-110 won the Midrange Scope title. Including the top score at 600 yards the first day. The old 110 does the job, Shiloh’s barrels are the best you can buy. They do the job. Fouling control isn’t a issue, with a proper wiping technique between each shot, it’s not a problem. Don’t be afraid to wipe more as the heat of the day or the string increases.

Kenny Wasserburger

[almar]

I just got an 1874 sharps in 45-90 today. Made by pedersoli, this is a good company. I am looking forward to seeing it in person. I'll be making some powder for it. Now to find brass...