50 90 Bullet question

[Longrange]

Dave, sample was given to work out bullet length for any twist, my Shiloh has a 1in28 twist bullet weight 610 at 30-1 works a treat to 1000meters my experience. Vic

[Orville]

The original load of 100 grains of Fg powder and 473 grain pp bullet in a 1-36 twist will reach out with a lot less recoil and kill whatever your hunting.

[Kurt]

Kurt:

If he goes to the 580 grain bullet he would select a 1:32 twist barrel.
Your results with the tighter twist would not apply in that case.

With the correct twist for the 580 grain bullet he would have significantly less torque and have good accuracy.

Yes you need a longer bullet for a 1:22 twist but he also is selecting what barrel he would use as well.

You can get excellent accuracy with the lighter bullet if the barrel is properly matched to the length of bullet you are shooting.
For the 580 grain bullet it would be 1:32 twist.

Also remember he wants to shoot at 500 yards and does not need the extra weight to carry it to 1000 yards.

I also prefer to shoot bullets .001 to .002 wider than the groove-to-groove diameter.
They seal better and reduce chances of gas cutting around the side.


Dave

Dave your better off asking Orville this. I don't have a 32 ROT .50 but he shoots one in the .50-70 but I don't know if he has one in the 2.5. I watched him shoot the 70 at the Q using barrel sights and it did very well.
If I was to get another .50 it would be a 32 twist .50-70

Kurt

[SharpsBig50]

I have a 1-26”twist 50 2.5” and it shoots a fairly light 535 grain GG bullet pretty well, so I tried some close to the same weight PP bullets. This group was shot at 100 yards with the barrel sights.

The mold is a KAL gibbs style and the bullets were 533 grains. Powder was 100 grains of goex 1f .060 was and no compression.

[SchuetzenDave]

Boomer Money BP Test.JPG

This is an acceptable group shot at 100 yards with a MVA tang sight if it never had the flyer and if I had adjusted the sights a bit more to the right.

[SchuetzenDave]

Caliber 0.512 Inches
Bullet Weight 535 Grains
Bullet Length 1.1 Inches
Barrel Twist 26 Inches/turn
muzzle velocity 1300 fps
Temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit (59 is standard)
Pressure 29.92 inches of mercury (29.92 is standard)

Sg = 2.92

Sg shouldn't be less than 1.4 (not enough spin - bullet will tumble).
If Sg is greater than about 2.0 (you are overspinning the bullet), you may gain some accuracy by going to a slower twist barrel or using a longer bullet.

[rdnck]

That is good shooting, Dave. But you are looking at the problem with a 50. Flyers. There will almost always be one. Shoot straight, rdnck.

[SFogler]

I wanted to see if my sight settings would get on the paper so I had my daughter try my bull barrel 50-90 with a 600 grain bullet and 98 grains of Swiss 1.5. With the 16 lb bull barrel she didn't fall off the bench so she shot three more times at 100 yards with the barrel sights. The twelve o'clock shot is the first one and an inch from the three that are touching. Also my shot from the same rifle on a meat bull buffalo I shot a while back. This thread has renewed my interest in seeing exactly what accuracy I can get from my 50-90 at longer ranges. So thanks for posting this info.

[SchuetzenDave]

SFogler:

That is what I expect to see from a rifle where the length of bullet is properly matched to the barrel twist.

It would be interesting to determine what your gyroscopic spin factor might be.

If you provide your bullet length and bullet velocity plus your barrel twist I could calculate it for you.

Many people expect their 50s to throw flyers without realizing the .50s were made with barrel twists from any where from 48:1 to 20:1.

If you know what your barrel twist is; it is easy to determine the range of bullet lengths that are suitable to use in that rifle.
This drastically reduces flyers when you match the correct length of bullet for the specific barrel twist you have.
Of course loading techniques can still contribute to obtaining flyers.

Dave

[SFogler]

I used a 610 grain bullet in a Shiloh 50-90 with their standard twist of 1/22. The bullet is 1.22" long. I bought the bullets a couple of years ago when I was first getting started with BP loads and was looking for a hunting bullet with a meplat for a buffalo hunt. Range past 150-200 yards would not be a factor. I see from the data presented here and from some I found elsewhere that I should try a heavier bullet for longer range shooting.

[johnl]

I used a 610 grain bullet in a Shiloh 50-90 with their standard twist of 1/22. The bullet is 1.22" long. I bought the bullets a couple of years ago when I was first getting started with BP loads and was looking for a hunting bullet with a meplat for a buffalo hunt. Range past 150-200 yards would not be a factor. I see from the data presented here and from some I found elsewhere that I should try a heavier bullet for longer range shooting.

You got a 16lb bull barrel big 50, so do I. Post some pics. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine

[SFogler]

My Shiloh 16 lb BB. I had it made to resemble an actual buffalo rifle so it is plain; no frills, just the Sharps sporter tang that Jim at Distant Thunder made for me.

046 (600x800) - -Cropped 3.jpg

50-90 BB w Sporter Tang (15) (800x409).jpg

50-90 BB w Sporter Tang (7) (670x800).jpg

[johnl]

Hey SFogler, that a nice looking rifle you got there. When I call Lucinda I was tempted in getting something like yours but I had a Saddle rifle in heavy barrel in 50-90 and most of my shooting is at a bench so I order the bull barrel in their #1 configuration.
My 16# in the big fifty


My Saddle in 50-90


Last a group photo with the 50's on top along with the two 45-70's. Still looking for a quality single shot .22lr with a period scope on it to round off my single shots. Wonder if Kirk would ever consider a rimfire option for their 77....hmmm

[SFogler]

Johnl
Those are some beautiful rifles! Really nice wood on them. Shiloh is about to put into production (Dec I hope) a No 2 target rifle in 45-100 with a 32" half oct barrel. That will be, I hope, my long range rifle. It will be nearly identical to a short run of originals with the same features. I wanted a buffalo rifle and also a target rifle or two for actually shooting matches with. The Rem RB is an original 44 S Creedmoor but I haven't shot it at any matches.

RB Creedmoor

019 (800x600).jpg

My Axtell 1877 Creedmoor

Axtell 1877 Creedmoor (2) (800x193).jpg

My 45-110 bull barrel Tollefson rifle with a RHO scope

Shiloh Sharps BB .45-110 (800x236).jpg