.50-70 Who's shooting one?

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I've long had a hankering for a .50-70 rifle for some medium range fun shooting and hunting. Good sights and a well balanced rifle for shooting/hunting are a must.

What are you guys shooting and can you make any suggestions based on personal experience concerning either the cartridge or the rifles.

A Sharps in the 9 to 10 pound range seems like a good compromise with a 26" or 28" barrel.

Thanks,

Outdoors
 
Mephistopheles here. I have been shooting 50-70 for about 2 years now.I have in my possession, an original 1871 Remington Rolling block rifle, New York state Militia in 50-70. The Bullet Diameter is .515,weight=450-500gr.Do measure the size of your bore of your rifle to make sure.When one thinks of any 50 caliber round there is always the expectation of high recoil. From my experience I found the recoil of the 50-70-government to be surprisingly mild .The 50-70 is a fantastic Cartridge and fun to shoot. The 50-70 was known for its stopping power and was excellent for large game ,such as buffalo. As a target load I would say no , In my opinion the 50-70 was meant to be a hunting load, not a competitive one.

If you cast your own bullets , I use the Lee 515-450-F Mold ( great Mold & affordable go-to :http://wwwleeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1197930929.3448=/html/catalog/bullmol2.html

For a 50-70 3 die set for $46.50 USD go-to:http://www.lymanproducts.com/lymanproducts/index.htm
CLICK on Dies at the top > scroll down till you hit 3 rifle die set > click order

For brass go to Starline or Buffalo Arms :http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,4680.htm

For a Powder Load, I got good results by using the following:

60 grains Goex FF
(cream of wheat as the filler)
(Lube: SPG)
(Primer: Winchester Standard Rifle)

The range is 50grs(min) - 70grs(max) Of BP Goex FF

*PLEASE NOTE* as I have no control over an individuals loading Practices,
no responsibility either expressed or implied is assumed by
me for the use of this data.


Hope this helps

Cheers

Mephistopheles
 
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While not a 50/70...i shoot a 50/90 Sharps...with a 530gr. FP from MT Chambers Supply(they make alot of diff. ones for the .50s) and 101 grs. of Goex CTG. grade black, all the normal BP loading techniques apply here. Both Shiloh and C. Sharps make the .50s...50/70, 50/90, and 50/140, I prefer the C. Sharps as the wait is much shorter and they use Badger barrels with cut rifling. They can be reloaded with out the use of dies but you'll need to fashion a drop tube and get a universal decapper(inexpensive).
 
I like the 50 70 i shoot it in my Rolling block pistol. ;)

Kicks pretty hard tho but would kill 3 donkeys standing side by side :D

Click on picture to enlarge
 
50-70

Outdoors

My 50-70 is a Shiloh '74 Military Rifle with 30" barrel. Shoots like a hot damn, carries and balances well, and has sling swivels like any hunting rifle should.
It has taken me a 425 lb spring black bear and I look forward to it taking more game.
I got it as a companion piece for my '63 Military Rifle (the rifle of Berdan's SharpShooters) in .50 calibre and it's a toss up which I enjoy more. I'd like to add a 50-70 carbine to the inventory as well.

I started using the Lee .50 and went to the Lyman 515141/450 sized .512 as I was having problems with the Lee sprue cutter not clearing the bullet base when opening the mould. Also experimenting with a 500 gr RN design which adds noticeably to recoil.

I'm loading 65 grs of Goex Cartridge, using no wad. Got the recipe out of Mike Venturino's book on buffalo rifles. Quite happy with it and see no need for much experimentation. 70 grs would require more compression than I am comfortable with. No need for a magnum primer.
Most of my brass in BELL, but I have some Bertram and Dixie as well. Haven't tried Starline as yet.
The book for 50-70 shooters to get is Croft Barker's, advertised in BPCN. Lots of info and load recipes.

A good smokeless load is 28 grs Accurate 5744, same as for 45-70. Again, no wad as this gives a good load density. An odd thing - the same amount of lead and powder of any kind in a 50-70 kicks less than in an 45-70, a function of the ballistics in a larger bore.

I have five 45-70s ranging from a RB to a Shiloh '74 'Business Rifle', both with heavy barrels. Neither is a rifle I would consider carrying in the field as I'm into hunting, not weight lifting! They cut a groove in your shoulder pretty quick and stretch your arms.

Had I started with 50-70's, I'd probably have a rack of them and fewer 45-70's. It's a hell of a cartridge with a lot of history behind it!

Todd
 
I occasionally shoot a trapdoor in 50-70 and an original Sharp's with a barrel sleeve made from an 1870 rolling block barrel in 50-70. My experience has been that a loverin style bullet with lots of narrow grease grooves shoots much better than the official government shape. I think the reason is that the chambers are a bit on the long side and the loverin style bullet gets closer to the rifling.
I also suggest shooting a pretty soft bullet with no more than 5% alloy and using a very soft lube of 50% animal fat and 50% bees wax. For black powder loads I strongly suggest reading "the Paper Jacket" by Paul Mathews.

cheers mooncoon
 
I also have a Rem. rolling block in 50-70. I found it in the garbage dump 40 yr. ago. It's NWMP rifle. It's currently out of commision as the mainspring broke last summer and I've been too lazy to make a new one. I have tried several loads with it but none were what you could call target loads. I may try to make a spring tonite. Mark
 
I've been shooting two swede rolling blocks in 12.7 X44R. I use a very slightly modified 50-70 cartridge and load w/ black powder. Although I have one of the rifles shooting very small groups at 100yds, I would aggree that it is really a hunting cartridge more than a target one. I like the cartridge though. Easy to reload, lots of bullet options, low recoil and for hunting it is noted as a one shot knock down caliber. I think that is because of the bullet's tendency to upset easily when strikeing the target. Not to mention the 450-500 grain bullets.
 
.50-70

Thanks for the information.

I've looked hard at the Shiloh '74 military rifle and several people have commented on them being a great hunting rifle. From the specs of them I would think that the balance would be similar to my MK III Snider short rifle, which is decent. I would prefer a tradition forend however. The C. Sharps hunters carbine also looks promising but the longest barrel length is 26". I had thought 28" wood be ideal however that may be splitting hairs. The fact that a C. Sharps can be readily purchased is a huge incentive also.

Has anyone any experience with the Starline brass? How does it compare to the others as far as capacity goes?

I have always liked the .45-70 and have two Winchester 86's (standard rifle & light weight take down) as well as a Browning Carbine. While I know that a .45-70 is likely the sensible choice, the .50-70 is what I'm after.

Decisions, decisions, .... Maybe Sharps '63 would like to sell his military rifle to buy a carbine??

Outdoors
 
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I shoot an 1863 Trapdoor using Lee mold #90255. It drops about a 480gn bullet (can't remember exactly) using a light charge of 4198 & toilet paper for wadding. It shoots beautiful @ 100yds :)
 
50-70's

Outdoors

Sell my 50-70 Military Rifle to buy a carbine? - not likely! However, I will consider selling my Remington RB 45-70 to fund the purchase of a 50-70 carbine.
That or swap it for same.
I don't regard my BPCRs as anything but 150 yd max hunting rifles, 200 at a stretch under ideal conditions. I want 'down' on the first shot. A carbine reduces that to 100 yds.

Before deciding on a Sporter configuration, handle a Military Rifle if you can. Picture yourself humping your butt up a slope to get to a ridge where you might want to sling the rifle across your back. Or, buck down, the drag back to your truck or camp, rifle slung.
Or carrying it for kms on foot using the 'African Carry' - rifle slung from left shoulder, muzzle forward. Comes to the shoulder quickly and easily.
Muzzle down carry during rain squalls, another scenario of reality hunting.
Not practical or easily done with any of my Sporter BPCRs, including my '86 Browning.
You can jury rig a leather sling, but it's not quite the same as having those swivels designed for the purpose.

Croft Barker would dispute the claim that the 50-70 doesn't cut it as a BPCR Silhouette rifle. He also has an article in the current BPCN on loading for the NY Militia 50-70 RB. Seems a lot of original BPCRs had over large chambers and bores by modern standards. Twists were slower as well. He discusses the associated problems.
All this has to be taken into consideration for loading up the 'Big Fifty', the 50-70 being the first to bear that title.

"Fifty's Rule - 45's drool!"

Todd
 
.50-70

I'm now in N.S. and most of my hunting would be split between quietly sitting near a small clearing or still hunting. When still hunting I always take the sling off when possible to prevent getting caught on something. When hunting with a lever rifle I often carry a sling in my pocket that can loop over the stock and barrel if required to free up both hands.

The balance of the rifle and stock shape make more difference to me than weight. My '86 with 26" Oct barrel has a crescent butt with lots of drop, carries like a club, and kicks pretty good with strong loads. My extra lightweight on the other hand is much lighter, has a straighter comb with shotgun butt and similar loads are fairly pleasant. Plus the extra light weight is a joy to carry. Hunting accuracy is the same for both. That's what I would want if buying a .50-70 rifle.

I would love the chance to handle a military rifle but they are few and far between. If the delivery time was resonable for a Shiloh that would be my choice, perhaps a business or saddle rifle with 28" barrel and shotgun butt.

My Mk III Snider, 2 band short rifle is a pussey cat to shoot with its generous butt and long lean barrel. It would certainly serve for woods ranges but badly needs better sights. I dislike needing to use a filler however in the big snider case.

Thanks to all for the input. I considered a roller but realy want a sharps. I see that John DENNER has the .50-70 book by CROFT. Perhaps I'll order it as a Christmas present and continue to mull over the rifle choice.

Thanks,

Wesley
 
45-70 loads

Wesley

Different terrain makes for different hunting conditions and requirements in a rifle.

My '86 is the Browning with 26" Octagonal barrel. The stock dimensions and crescent butt make it 'hang' like no other rifle I own, much like a ML. Stock fit is entirely subjective.
I win with it in our club rifle matches out to 150 yds with the sights that came on the rifle. Last time out, I shot the perfect score at 50 yds with it, off hand, all shots easily covered by a twoonie.

I load 36 grs Varget under a commercial hard cast 350 gr RNFP bullet. Two moose have fallen to 36 grs Varget and a 420 hand cast bullet, one shot each. This is a BP equivalent load and a pussy cat to shoot. Shoot in my trapdoors as well. I've since switched to 28 grs 5744 for both bullets.

One day after a range session with our BPCRs, a friend put his last 5 silhouette loads through another guy's Browning '86 carbine. After the 5th shot, he lowered his head on the bench and was still. Someone put a hand on his shoulder and asked if he was OK.

"Yes", he said, "I'm just trying hard not to cry!" He was wearing his 'sissy-pad'.

No need to turn a 45-70 into a sub-458 magnum. The guys I know that insist on doing that are terrified of their rifles! Their groups on paper prove that.
One shoots a load in a Ruger #3 carbine I wouldn't shoot in my heaviest rifle -50+ grs 3031 with a 405 gr bullet! 'Nuff said .....

It's just about impossible to do that with a 50-70 in a RIFLE. I've never had the pleasure with a carbine - yet!

Todd
 
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