44-77 44-90?

[Don McDowell]

Depends on how far you shoot. With the 44-77 up to 500 grains will shoot fine to around 600, sometimes further but they are on the verge of instability at that distance and any crosswind will deal you fits.
A bullet just short of 1.3 inches long (460ish grains) will shoot just fine to 1000 from the 44-77 Shiloh barrels.
It's also important to keep in mind the bullet that kept the 44 as the king of the hill in the hide hunting days was 1.1 inches long, or roughly 410 grains. Also due to the smaller diameter of the 44 bullet the sectional density goes up when compared to the 45 caliber bullets of the same length. The 44-77 lost the #1 chambering in the Sharps rifles only due to the amount of Borchardt military rifles chambered in the 45-70, and the score was very close at the end of Sharps production.