The Big Fifty has arrived.

I just bought a Shiloh Sharps #3 Sporter with 30" octagon barrel in 50-90 Sharps.

Got to decide which mold(s) to buy so I can cast some bullets, but I'm looking at a Lyman 515-grain round nose flat point military type. Put that over 90 grains of FFG Goex, and it'll actually kick a little bit less than my 45-90 with the 535-grain Postell style bullet over the same powder charge. The rifle comes with RCBS loading dies and a trim die, so all I'll need is a shell holder and something to stick on top of the powder, along with some .06" .50-caliber wads between powder and bullet. And a powder compression plug. And some this and that stuff that counts as "incidentals."

Wow...you're a lucky man. Can't wait to see it. You get a wild hair you might check out a custom mould maker...I'm sure they make a bigger bullet if one were so inclined to try one.

Sorry, but my left shoulder is trashed, and I can't shoot lefty anyway. That means my right shoulder has to last until the very last shot is fired.

When we gonna get to see pics of this beauty?

My buddy has one it is a monster congrats

I had an empty place on the Sharps rack.

That's not my gun rack

rdj94a wrote: That's not my gun rack

Now, now, now. All you have to do is call Shiloh, send them a reasonably large deposit, and wait a couple of years till they finish building yours.

Here's the #3 Sporter which is the top gun on the rack. It's being fitted with a Montana Vintage Arms 6x 28" externally adjustable scope before long.

purty

She's a beauty.

Yeah we can't be having an empty place on the sharps rack now can we?

Congrats, it sounds like a beast.

Captain, I posted a load question on the Shiloh forum, wanting to know about velocity and recoil of a 515-grain bullet over 90 grains of FFG Goex. I was told (very politely, I might add) that I had some kind of lacy drawers syndrome. I think that translates to "wussy," or something like that.

Eventually I'll be raising bullet weight to 550-600 grains, but no way in H@LL that I will load up any of the 700-grain monsters some guys load in that caliber.

Update?

Still waiting. Checked the tracking number, and UPS has it arriving at my dealer on Monday. Hopefully by then I'll have some FG powder and some .50 fiber wads. That means that by Tuesday I'll get to give it a try.

Any suggestions on what to use if the regular wads haven't made it by then?

Wax paper will work.
Have you came up with a compression die yet?

I got a compression plug that replaces the RCBS expander plug from Buffalo Arms. Looks like it's going to work fine.

I have wax paper, but I'd like something a little more substantial. It doesn't matter much, I guess, as I'm only going to load about ten rounds if the regular wads aren't here by the time I start loading.

Notebook backing will work if you want to do some cutting.
BTW...those 700 gr. bullets would be quite a chunk of lead flying thru the air huh?

My shoulder hurts just thinking about it. I'm going to stick to traditional loadings and limit ranges to 200 yards or so.

It's here. I picked it up from Mike over at Mike's Speed Shop yesterday, then I came home and started cooking up some loads.

To commemorate the first firing, I uploaded a target point of view video to YouTube.

First Big Fifty Round!

There is nothing like shooting a Sharps with the holy black. I have loaded BP loads for the .45-70 for years and you are on the right track with the card wad and compression die. I use the Buffalo Arms poly wad material. I believe it prevents any lube from fouling the powder. The lube I use is my own. 50-50 beeswax-Crisco. I make it on the patio. You don't want to heat that stuff up inside the house. I also use the lube over the balls on my C&B revolvers.