50-70 Shiloh Sharps Military Rifle

[Caprock]

I know the twist on Kurt's banger! Eric, J.B., and Mike.....what are the twists on your rifles?

[Eric Johanen]

My Shiloh 50 70 military rifle has a 1X36 and My C. Sharps 50 90 uses a 1X26. 450 to 500 grains work well in the 50 70 and so far 550 to 625 grain bullets are working well in the 50 90. Both of these are good shooters.

[Caprock]

I sure won't be shooting anything over about 475 from an original Remington sporter design so I think I'll opt for the 1x36

[Eric Johanen]

For a sporting weight/hunting rifle the 1X36 is great. Very good bullet weight and recoil is easy on the shoulder. My 50 90 is a #2 heavy barrel and that makes the heavier bullets very manageable. The Military rifle is well under 10 pounds while the heavy barrel "Buffalo Gun" is just over 14 pounds. Both cartridges and bullet weight ranges are suited to each rifle.

[Mike]

Eric, My "old" Gemmer in .50/90 has the 1 in 36" barrel and my newer .50/90 and .50/70s have the 1 in 26" twists. Those have all given me good performance with various bullets and that makes me want to order a custom barrel for another .50/70 with a 1 in 32" rate of twist. Maybe on a rolling block... Shoot sharp, Mike

[Mike]

Just passing this on; I see two Steve Brooks .50 caliber 650 grain bullet moulds for sale on eBay. The starting bids are only $50. So, if you are wanting such a beast, take a look. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Eric Johanen]

Mike, that might place you in no man's land: may be too slow for heavy bullets and too fast for lighter ones. I believe I chose well when I spec'ed my military rifle for 1X36 in a light rifle. Can not think of anything that a 450 to 500 grain .50 cal. bullet won't put down and the recoil is very pleasant. I really like the 1X26 for bullet weights of 550 to 625 with the weight of the #2 barreled Bridgeport. I think a 1X22 twist using very heavy bullets would take a lot of the fun out of shooting this rifle. If I get another 50, either a 50 70 or a 50 90 I think I'd go with a 30 inch standard octagon barrel and have a 10.5 pound hunting rifle. This would be very shootable. (Am thinking about a Business rifle like the one in "the Unforgiven" with a paper patch chamber and a 1X36 twist) 450 to 500 grain paper patched bullet in a 9 to 10.5 pound hunting would be easy to carry and hard hitting.

[Mike]

Mike, that might place you in no man's land: may be too slow for heavy bullets and too fast for lighter ones. I believe I chose well when I spec'ed my military rifle for 1X36 in a light rifle. Can not think of anything that a 450 to 500 grain .50 cal. bullet won't put down and the recoil is very pleasant. I really like the 1X26 for bullet weights of 550 to 625 with the weight of the #2 barreled Bridgeport. I think a 1X22 twist using very heavy bullets would take a lot of the fun out of shooting this rifle. If I get another 50, either a 50 70 or a 50 90 I think I'd go with a 30 inch standard octagon barrel and have a 10.5 pound hunting rifle. This would be very shootable. (Am thinking about a Business rifle like the one in "the Unforgiven" with a paper patch chamber and a 1X36 twist) 450 to 500 grain paper patched bullet in a 9 to 10.5 pound hunting would be easy to carry and hard hitting.

Eric, I'm using 450 grain bullets in my .50/70 rifles that have the 1 in 26" twist and they do just fine. And in my .50/90 with the 1 in 36" twist I've never shot any bullets heavier than 500 grains. That is my Gemmer with the 30" standard weight barrel. I've had that rifle for over 30 years. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Kurt]

I think the 44-1/2 Stevens would make a good action for a black powder hunting rifle with it's 3/8" caming action to push a case in a fouled throat.
Add a wiping rod under the barrel and you would be all set for repeated shots with out fouling control to push a tight round out if needed. The only thing I would have to check out is if the wider case rim will clear the hammer spur.

Kurt

[J.B.]

I know the twist on Kurt's banger! Eric, J.B., and Mike.....what are the twists on your rifles?

..A little late but just so as you know.. my 50/70 ran a 1/36 twist and I had no regrets. Shot beautifully and I couldn't see any point in going to a bullet heavier than 480 grains in this cartridge anyway. The 1/36" is more than up to the task. Paper targets to 500 yds & gong shoots to 1000... it 'goterdun' .
I stayed with Shilohs now standard 1/22" for the 50 x 2 1/2 " as I wanted to play around with long range and the bigger 600+ grn bullets. Were I to stay around 450-550 in that cartridge I'd have opted for the 1/36" again. There's a lot of torque when you unleash a 650-700 grn bullet in that faster twist in the 50/90. Hth.

Gavin.