.50-90 Sharps for Africa

[Ronnie Pace]

I would love to take my .50-90 Sharps to Africa. What are the opinions on using it on a tuskless hunt? I can load a 700 gr hardcast lead bullet at 1300 FPS or could go with a 600 gr at 1400 FPS. Would this be too light?

 

[BRICKBURN]

Review minimum energy requirements fir the various countries. They are posted here on AH

 

[bruce moulds]

depends what you want to use it on.
the ballistics you quote are basically black powder ballistics.
so what would the 50x31/4" black powder express (similar to your 50/90 or better) be suited to.
larger plains game at best.
lions etc.
use it for that and be happy.
it was designed for bison extermination.
bruce.

 

[bruce moulds]

what twist does said 50x21/2" have?
bruce.

 

[Professor Mawla]

I would love to take my .50-90 Sharps to Africa. What are the opinions on using it on a tuskless hunt? I can load a 700 gr hardcast lead bullet at 1300 FPS or could go with a 600 gr at 1400 FPS. Would this be too light?

@Ronnie Pace
This is an extremely poor choice for hunting anything more dangerous than a wild boar , let alone an elephant . The reasons for my assessment , are as follows :
1 ) Velocity is far below the acceptable minimum for safe penetration on elephants . Velocity should be at least 2040 feet per second , for a cow elephant .
2 ) Unjacketed lead bullets are extremely unsuited for penetration on elephants ( except perhaps double lung shots ) . What you need , is either a steel jacketed flat nosed bullet or one of the modern monolithic brass or naval bronze flat nosed bullets .

Your weapon would make for an exceptional warthog rifle , though .

 

[Ronnie Pace]

I will use it on plains game for sure. Hopefully Kudu, Eland and Zebra.

 

[Ronnie Pace]

Oh yeah it is a 1:22 twist

 

[AZDAVE]

On my first trip my buddy took his 45/110 and harvested Kudu, impala, and warthog with it. I have a 50/90 and wouldn't consider it a DG round. You will be fine on PG but you will also have to shot within the capabilities of the rifle and shooter. make sure you talk to your PH so he knows the range limitations for ethical shots. You will also have to have the discipline to pass on animals you just can't get close enough to.

 

[IvW]

Tusk less will 99% of the time mean Zim. It would not be legal and it would also not be a very good idea. Hunting tusk less is much more dangerous(and exiting) than hunting bulls, you need to get right in among the herd, find and select a tusk less, ensure she is not pregnant or have dependent calf...etc. The chances of getting charge during the hunt and after taking the first shot is way more real in fact I would go so far as to say that if you do not experience a few mock charges at the least you would be very lucky...

Use a rifle cartridge combination that is up to the task and by all means take and use your 50-90 on the safari but not on elephant.....good luck.

 

[crs]

Ronnie,
Since my Winchester 1886 45-90 did so well in Africa, your 50-90 should also!

Just ignore the Nay Sayers that have no experience with these rifles and cartridges and forge ahead.
Modern bullets and powders provide ballistics that are more than adequate for any game in Africa or anywhere else. For instance, my ele loads of 450 grain North Fork and Punch bullets at 2000 fps + shot through ele heads and into the body - DRT. For Cape Buffalo, our 450 grain Kodiak FMJ at 2150 fps shot through most and killed all. Kodiak also VERY effective on American Bison.

Good hunting.

PS There are hunters on this forum that hunt Africa with hand guns and others that use big bore heavy solid bullets that shoot through one or two buff at a time. Some of them may chime in later.

 

[IvW]

Keep it legal, if it makes the legal requirement for the intended animal in the intended country, by all means if not do not use it, many here hunt DG for a living......

 

[bruce moulds]

22 twist will handle mentioned bullet wts.
bruce.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Well I'd listen to @crs on this one. There are a lot of folks here who are heavily invested in pet calibers. I believe that he is a creative sort that is able to optimize things that others cannot see through their allegiance to their pets. I'd listen if he said no to a particular cartridge because he's given it thought both inside and outside of the box. He has also shot game with lever action rifles in classic calibers so he's not guessing about the terminal performance.

I'm sure that CEB has or can figure out a bullet for the .50-90 that will take on anything Africa has to offer.

 

[crs]

Thank you Forest.
As you know, I am not suicidal and am often over gunned and rarely under gunned.

On another forum yesterday, the poster asked for information on an upper number of fps for a .405 Winchester and how much above the factory 300 grain velocity would a 400 grain bullet MV be.
Some responses referred to 450/400 MV comparisons with-out stating actual fps. .No responses directly addressed the question, so I answered it and supplied a page from a loading manual showing three recommended 450/.400 loads with three common powders. (well done to the authors IMHO). The velocities shown were with a 26 inch barrel and were the same as my 1895 .405 400 grain DG velocities with 24 inch barrel. Plus my rifle and handloads had already taken a Cape buffalo.

As you know, had the subject been a rifle caliber with which I had no personal experience, I would not have attempted an answer.

 

[crs]

lvw said "Keep it legal, if it makes the legal requirement for the intended animal in the intended country, by all means if not do not use it, many here hunt DG for a living......"

Understood and agreed, but just between the two of us, my DG PH and the landowner and I discussed the .405 cartridge and 400 grain load with a Show and Tell and all nodded heads and wished me good hunting. Before noon I had my buff and had seen the hole through the heart. I sincerely believe that all the trackers with whom I have hunted are really happy to see their hunter shoot his game. They and the PH did performed wonderfully for me.

 

[Rafiki]

Old thread but thought I'd add my 2 cents anyway. I used a 50-90 Sharps on a buffalo hunt 10-months ago however the loads I took were on par with a 500 NE. You didn't say what the rifle is other than "50-90 Sharps" but the load info provided makes me think that it may be on original Sharps not a Shiloh or other reproduction version. Either way if the pressure limits of the rifle do not support a round to safely and humanely take your quarry, DG or otherwise, it's probably best to consider other options.

 

[michael458]

A friend of mine contacted me recently about selling his Ruger #1 50-90 Sharps, dies, 150 pieces of new Starline brass, and had never been fired....... I can't turn down a new toy like that to play with.

While most of my bullet stock is .500 and not .510, I still have more than most regardless, I have a couple of 51 Alaskans and 510 Wells. 50-90 Sharps might be big fun especially in a Ruger #1. So the last few days I have been playing with some loads. I am quite fond of the 510 CEB Solid and its matching 475 gr Raptor. I have seen these at work in 500 NE for some years now and the Raptor turns buffalo inside out. While I won't ever hunt this gun, I decided I would see if I could get these to around 2200 fps or so....... Most data available obviously would not have data for these bullets, so I borrowed some data from my own 500 B&M, which is a 2.5 inch RUM case. Anything I would borrow from that cartridge would be under the pressures listed for it in the 50-90. I played with IMR 8208, H-322, and Win 748. IMR 8208 did not behave well, had a few scratchy block drops, so I discontinued it. Win 748 would not get me where I wanted to be, but it ran the 510 Solids nicely at 1900 fps. H-322 really shined with these bullets in this cartridge. I did not run pressure data, but cases and all other indicators are fantastic and no issue, other than this thing really knocks the crap out of you. I am sure I could do a little more with it, but there is no need to.

And I had a bunch of Cast Performance bullets left over from way back in the day, so pushing these around 1500 fps is good fun and not punishing at all........ But they are 4 inches high POI at 25 yards compared to the Raptor and CEB Solids............

 

[Rafiki]

A friend of mine contacted me recently about selling his Ruger #1 50-90 Sharps, dies, 150 pieces of new Starline brass, and had never been fired....... I can't turn down a new toy like that to play with.

While most of my bullet stock is .500 and not .510, I still have more than most regardless, I have a couple of 51 Alaskans and 510 Wells. 50-90 Sharps might be big fun especially in a Ruger #1. So the last few days I have been playing with some loads. I am quite fond of the 510 CEB Solid and its matching 475 gr Raptor. I have seen these at work in 500 NE for some years now and the Raptor turns buffalo inside out. While I won't ever hunt this gun, I decided I would see if I could get these to around 2200 fps or so....... Most data available obviously would not have data for these bullets, so I borrowed some data from my own 500 B&M, which is a 2.5 inch RUM case. Anything I would borrow from that cartridge would be under the pressures listed for it in the 50-90. I played with IMR 8208, H-322, and Win 748. IMR 8208 did not behave well, had a few scratchy block drops, so I discontinued it. Win 748 would not get me where I wanted to be, but it ran the 510 Solids nicely at 1900 fps. H-322 really shined with these bullets in this cartridge. I did not run pressure data, but cases and all other indicators are fantastic and no issue, other than this thing really knocks the crap out of you. I am sure I could do a little more with it, but there is no need to.

Interesting, thanks for sharing the load info; as you stated, there is a dearth of load data for the 50-90 Sharps and what is there is mostly black powder and/or low pressure loads.

My buffalos were taken with 570gr bullets; Woodleigh for one and Hornady for the other. These loads were choreographed at 2150fps using H335. I also tried W748 which produced roughly the same results but it seemed to burn dirtier so I ceased using it. As I'm sure you are aware H335 is a tad bit slower that H322 so the pressure, and more importantly, the pressure curve is a bit more forgiving but not hugely so. My rifle is also a Ruger No 1.

I used Montana Bullet Works for my hard cast bullets; RCBS 57948 550gr FN, BHN22. These are not gas checked which is unfortunate but they worked well when getting ready for the trip. They also have pure lead paper patch which I found to be very accurate in my rifle. A few years ago I took a bison with their 620gr PPB pushed by a full case (and a bit more) of Blackhorn 209.

I'm told that this week I'll be getting my first order of Peregrine bullets. I ordered these about 5 months ago so I'm anxious to try them out.

BTW, very nice rifle.

 

[michael458]

H335 is a tad bit slower

I have never cared much for H335, it was always somewhat volatile in everything I tried it in...... If I was a betting chap, I would bet you listed those loads on AmmoGuide as well?? ?? If so, I checked them out and yes a lot of H335 loads..... There are many good choices of powder out there, but for this rifle, those bullets, the H322 will suffice for now, that Raptor at 2260 fps will rip buffalo to pieces, I have seen it done at less velocity..... I would only play with the cast bullets because they are left over from years gone by..... All good fun.........I need to check out another recoil pad on this one however... LOL

I assume your rifle is a #1 as well?

 

[Rafiki]

I have never cared much for H335, it was always somewhat volatile in everything I tried it in...... If I was a betting chap, I would bet you listed those loads on AmmoGuide as well?? ?? If so, I checked them out and yes a lot of H335 loads..... There are many good choices of powder out there, but for this rifle, those bullets, the H322 will suffice for now, that Raptor at 2260 fps will rip buffalo to pieces, I have seen it done at less velocity..... I would only play with the cast bullets because they are left over from years gone by..... All good fun.........I need to check out another recoil pad on this one however... LOL

I assume your rifle is a #1 as well?

Yup, you are right, I did publish some loads on AmmoGuide; and yes my rifle is a Ruger No 1. It is interesting that you've come to an entirely different conclusion than I. It's pretty obvious that we both have spent considerable time working up 50-90 loads. I did not try H322 however so maybe that would be a better load in some regards. I may have missed something in your commentary, are you saying that you pushed a 570gr CEB solid to 2200fps with H322? I can easily to the 475gr Raptor doing that; could you clear that up for me.

My goal for the hunt was to mimic the traditional 500 NE ballistics so I worked up loads to that level (a bit more actually). Of the two, Woodleigh and Hornady, the Woodleigh performed the best, retained almost there entire weight. I did like the fact that the geometry of the Hornady DG series is the same regardless of expanding or FMJ. Problem was that the expanding Failed to really expand, 100gr of the top blew off.

I have not tried CEB's or any other monolith bullets as yet so I'm very anxious to get my hands on those Peregrines.

How about publishing your load data on AmmoGuide, I for one would be very interested.