.44-77 and .44-90

[BuffHunter]

I am planning my next rifle and am considering the .44-77 and .44-90.If anyone on this forum has either,please let me know how you like it.How is your accuracy and where have you been finding your Basic brass? I saw that Buffalo Arms has formed brass But I haven't heard how good the quality is.I was thinking of standard wood,military butt,bone and charcoal finish,custom bedded forearm,Hartford model,undecided on the sights,30 or 32 inch heavy full octagon barrel.What do you think?

[Bill C.]

A friend of mine and I are currently getting components together to assemble ammo to shoot in his late grandfather's original Sharps BUFFALO Hunting Rifle that's chambered in .44-77.

It looks like Buffalo Arms is going to be our supplier for brass.

I thought that perhaps we could form our own out of .348 Win. "parent" brass (as Buffalo Arms does), but there's too much of a size difference between the two for conventional dies and hand powered loading presses to accomplish this task! They must have some pretty specialized equipment there to do what they're doing.

BTW, anyone who might have some "extra" .44-77 reloading dies they're no longer using, WE'RE IN THE MARKET for some!

[N2]

BuffHunter - My 44-77 BN is a Rolling Block, not a Shiloh. There is a difference in the barrel twist that may make a slight difference in performance between them. Shiloh uses a 1-19" twist whereas my 32" Badger barrel has a 1-18" twist. Green Mountain offers a 1-17" twist in their barrels.

The Buffalo Arms brass is excellent. They offer brass for original chambers and Shiloh chambers. Empty case weight was remarkably consistant and with six firings on each of the original 200 cases I purchased I've lost none and have yet to need to trim them either. This isn't a lot of use, but all indications are this brass will last a long time.

If your Shiloh is up to their usual standards your rifle will shoot with any other typical BPC caliber. I'm shooting silhouette scores equal to what I've shot with my other rifles and groups on paper equal as well. The only downside to this caliber is the cost of reloading components and brass, but as they typically last forever it's only a one time expenditure.

Paul Jones, Steve Brooks, and NEI make 500+ grain bullets in 44 caliber. The key to to find a bullet with a base that won't protrude below the shoulder and the three makers mentioned all have them. You can expect velocities in the range of 1275-1300 fps with both Goex and Swiss powders and these bullets.

Your proposed military butt will look good, but it may tap your shoulder a bit more than you'd like (see bullet weight and velocity above). I'd go with a shotgun butt, checkered steel butt plate, and at least one wood upgrade and the rest of your listed options, but then it's your rifle and what you like. - Nick

[Shiloh Sharpie]

[quote="BuffHunter"]I am planning my next rifle and am considering the .44-77 and .44-90.If anyone on this forum has either,please let me know how you like it.How is your accuracy and where have you been finding your Basic brass? I saw that Buffalo Arms has formed brass But I haven't heard how good the quality is.I was thinking of standard wood,military butt,bone and charcoal finish,custom bedded forearm,Hartford model,undecided on the sights,30 or 32 inch heavy full octagon barrel.What do you think?[/quote]

John King from Kila MT shoots a .44 and swears by it. You might call him to discuss. He is great BPCR gunsmith and if you ask around you will get his number. I think Shiloh might have it.

The heavy barrel in 32 inch might not make Silhouette weight if that matters. Just check if it does. I perfer 32 inch because most rifles with a 32 inch barrel have a 35 inch sight radius, so sight adjustments are 1 moa for each graduated movement of the sight. This is quicker on the line when making major adjustments such as windage on a blustry day.

[Todd Birch]

Ballistically, the .44-77 differs from the .43 Spanish in bullet diameter - .446 vs .439. The Buffalo Arms brass for my .43 Spanish is also formed from .348 Winchester. They make a host of cartridges from the .348 and other basic cases.
It is great stuff. Whatever they are doing, it works.

Todd

[MikeT]

Hello,
What velocity is obtained with a 500 grain, 44 caliber bullet? Will a 1-19 twist stabilize a 500 grain bullet at long range? Would a person need to go to a 44-90 to shoot long range? This 44 caliber idea is interesting, keep it going.
Keep on hav'n fun!

[Todd Birch]

Hey Mike

According to COTW, the rates of twist of the various .44 calibre cartridges was 1 in 22" to 1 in 30", slow by modern standards. Most custom barrels today would probably be 1 in 18" to 1 in 20".

A while back, I posted the Greenhill formula and if you research it, you can calculate the rate of twist necessary for a bullet based on length, not weight.

Todd

[stevenjay1]

BuffHunter. I just ordered my second Sharps in 44/77 SBN. I had one of the first Wolfgang made and it shot very well. I had to sell it about seven years ago to raise much need funds and regret it often. As mentioned, I ordered another several months ago via Bill Goodman with hopes it will be here in September. Mine was the basic Hartford model with the standard weight barrel and a checkered steel shotgun butt plate. I really recommend the checkered steel butt plate. It will be worth every extra penny. I do a lot of hunting and this is what I'll use this rifle for. I had it equipped with the semi buckhorn rear sighs and a blade front. I'll replace the front sight with a beech combo sight from either MVA or Parts Unknown and a mid range tang sight from one of the two mentioned companies. I have been using an original Remington Rolling Block with a VERY light barrel and a light weight wood stock in 45/70 for hunting. It weighs in at less then 7 pounds and is joy to carry, will hold a two inch three shot group at 100 yards...then the barrel heats up and so does the group. You can't shot it from the bench with out feeling a little pain but it is a great hunting rifle. Boy, did I get off subject!! Steve