Shiloh Rifle Forums

I like the fact that it's an early Sharps cartridge, once popular for hunting and target shooting. Does anyone here shoot it currently? What's your experience with it? Good, bad, or more trouble than it's worth? Thanks for your replies.

I’m very interested in hearing more about the loading and accuracy of this cartridge as well…
Robert

Gentlemen,
I’ve been shooting original.44cal long range and Creedmoor rifles for many years. Hepburn, Ballard, Sharps and Remington Creedmoor. The 44 2-5/8 is the most difficult to get to shoot! I’m still working on it. The Ballard 44/100 everlasting was the easiest. Theses are all paper parch rifles…… I’ve read on this forum of a couple people have got the 44 2-5/8 to shoot pretty well .Maybe they will chime in.
Tom Klinger

I'm interested in what others have to say. I have an original 44-90 SBN, and have fired it a little, but not for years. It letters with a tang sight and wind-gage front, long missing. It has been in the family 100 years or so, and in my hands for the last 40+ years.

CHRIS

I have two .44-2-5/8 BN's. One 19 ROT and the other is a 16 ROT.
Both shoot very good, but I like the 19 twist over the 16. The 19 twist has held me near the top at Lodi and the Quigley I shot a 41 in some tough conditions.
It was my go to rifle for many years but the Big .50 took over when the conditions got rough

I never found the 2-5/8 bn any harder to develop a load for than any of my other calibers. There is talk that the .44-90bn fouled hard in the throat but I don't see his going on any worse than the straight walled calibers I have. I think that talk comes from people that don't have this caliber or most likely never shot one.
Accuracy is good if you can control the rifle. The case holds a lot of powder and the torque can spread the shots all over the paper if you let it.

But having a rifle build for it now might give you a problem finding brass for it. Right now there is nothing except custom made that comes at a high dollar per case.

Kurt wrote: ↑Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:03 pm I have two .44-2-5/8 BN's. One 19 ROT and the other is a 16 ROT.
Both shoot very good, but I like the 19 twist over the 16. The 19 twist has held me near the top at Lodi and the Quigley I shot a 41 in some tough conditions.
It was my go-to rifle for many years but the Big .50 took over when the conditions got rough

I never found the 2-5/8 bn any harder to develop a load for than any of my other calibers. There is talk that the .44-90bn fouled hard in the throat but I don't see his going on any worse than the straight-walled calibers I have. I think that talk comes from people that don't have this caliber or most likely never shot one.
Accuracy is good if you can control the rifle. The case holds a lot of powder and the torque can spread the shots all over the paper if you let it.

But having a rifle build for it now might give you a problem finding brass for it. Right now there is nothing except custom-made that comes at a high dollar per case.

What bullet are you using, Kurt? Grease groove or paper patched? Did you go with custom brass, or reformed brass? I haven't had a problem with reformed brass in the past in my .45-75 WCF. I'm interested to hear the details.

Wayne,

I pretty much stick with three bullets I use for this 19 twist rifle. and two run on the long side what some would say won't work in a slow 19 twist rifle, but all three have proved them self to get the job done to the 1K and knock a Bison down in short order with one shot.
The three bullets I use and I used others, but these three pretty much are the only once I use in this Shiloh.
One is the Brooks GG postel 1.431" long weig
\hs 500 gr with 1/20 L/T alloy.
One that has the original Sharps profile, almost a round nosed PP 1.325" long weighs 485 gr with 1/20 T/L alloy.
One KAL elliptical PP that is 1.455" long and weighs 478 gr with my 1/18 lead/tin/antimony alloy.
This bullet put me in 3rd at the MT 1000 despite it's length.
I fill the cases with 98 to 112 gr of 2F.

My brass I use is the old Bell .44/3-1/4" basic and I have 400 Jamison cases.
I once had some BA stretched .348 Win brass but they gave me head space problems pulling the necks. I think the head thickness was around .063" thick.

My other .44-2-5/8 Bn is a 1/16 rot but it has/had a bad barrel that had muzzle loader groove depth and wouldn't shoot for hill of beans so I spend countless days lapping the bore with brass slugs I turned down on the lathe but it now has a over sized bore diameter that needs a new mould or thicker paper. but it now works.

As far as load developments, It's not any difference than any of my calibers. I develop loads every time I get a new lot of powder or mould. I use a 3 shot ladder load and a final 10 shot to see if it holds.

No special voodoo to make a .44-2-5/8 shoot well.

Kurt

Thanks, guys, for all your comments and hints. I am stimulated to get the old cannon out and play with it again.

CHRIS

Thank you, Kurt! I really appreciate your insight into shooting the .44 2 5/8. I've been "chewing" on your response for a few days. That's the caliber I intend to order. Now to figure out the rest of the details!

Several years ago I bought a rolling block barreled action in 43 Spanish and had it reamed out to 44-90 which removes all but 0.050” of the original long throat chamber. I guess you could call it a faux 44-90. The bore is excellent at 0.442” with a 1 in 22 twist. With sporter style wood the rifle goes 8# 6oz with a 31 ½” barrel. I have BA stretched and head swaged 348 Win. and Red Willow turned brass. My two GG bullets in 44 are the Fred Leath 43901445 and a flat nose 442385 that I bored. 80-82 grains Swiss 1 ½ gives me 1365-1385 fps with 91 grains going 1440 fps using the 445 grain bullet. I use the 442385, 385 grain, as my hunting bullet with 80 grains for 1435 fps. Last fall I took a 135# whitetail buck with it. Most of my shooting has been done at 100, 200 yards and some silhouette pigs at 200 meters. Groups go 2” at 100 and 5” at 200 yards with wiping. As Kurt said you have to hold on tight to shoot these well. Just way too powerful for silhouettes. In the right rifle, bullet and twist, definitely a 1000 yard cartridge.
labop

Thanks, labop. I appreciate your insights. So, you only shoot GG in your .44-90, and no PP?

Yes only GG. Do not have a PP mold.
labop

Resurrecting this thread, mostly because it's not that old and some of the guys who posted are still on here....

I'm thinking on the 44-90 for my next build. Couple questions:

Can I form brass from 45-2.6 Starline?
Has anyone here competed with one?
Would you go standard weight barrel or heavy barrel?

Right now, I'm running a 15 twist 45-2.4 and really like it. Was thinking that this might be a way to get a skinnier bullet with a higher BC than what a 45 can offer and hopefully better downrange performance. Opinions welcome!

44-90 SBN has a base closer to a 50-90.
Have to be real creative to get a 2.6 to work.

Occaisionally in the past Baco reformed and stretched 348 win now they use starline 50-110 as a donor case. 45 basic of any kind has to small of a base dia and rim dia. Try that and you get a bulged case. Next the original rate of twist was 1-19, needle nosed bullets with high bc don't work at 500 + grs the original was 520 and had very blunt profile and deep cup base. I know because I took apart an original Creedmoor rd and measured things. For what you are thinking you should discuss with desert deuce for a 44-100 straight you can make out of 45 basic. I very much doubt you will gain any significant advantage over the 45-2.4 or 45.2.6" bc wise and mold availibility by going 44. You asked.bobw