45-90 thoughts and suggestions

[bruce moulds]

bob,
i have never had a desire for the 45 3 1/4 sharps.
i do have a 40/72 which i refer to as 40/72 as case dimensions are similar.
i have shot thousand of paper patched bullets out of that a long range targets using around 85 gns of swiss 1.5 f and 1 f powder.
it obviously has less recoil than the 45/2.4 loaded with 100 gns powder, and the bullet is 440 gns compared to 540.
the barrel is a gaintwist going from 1:26 to 1:13.
it has about exactly the same wind deflection at 1000 yds as the 45.
i had to play with bullet length for best stability, and the 3rd custom mould at 1.5" long proved perfect.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Greetings folks. Unfortunately, I have a fascination with obscure calibers. I have been digging on the interweb about the 45-90 cartridge and the newer Winchester 1886 rifles. I haven't found a lot of useful information about this rifle and this caliber. I do know that it's challenging to find ammo and reloading data for.

For those with much more knowledge that myself; what are your thoughts, reloading for (with smokeless powder) and finally would you take this rifle/cartridge to Africa? What would you feel comfortable hunting with this combination?

I would prefer that this stay on track with the above mentioned rifle/caliber. I am aware of other rifles and caliber that would perform as well or better.

@Chukar
I know @CBH was working up loads for a friend's Sharpes 45/90 and using smokeless loads for it that I sent him.
PM him he should be able to help.
Bob

 

[Chukar]

Thanks for the heads-up Bob!

 

[crs]

Chukar,
I just read the entire post and it was not clear to me whether you have a 45-90 rifle or you are just interested in one. Briefly here is my situation:

This modern Miroku made Winchester 1886 Take Down rifle is caliber .458 and labelled as .45-90 WCF. . It handles both .45-70 and .45-90 ammo and shoots both accurately. It has the same rifling twist as the current 45-70 rifles which is one turn every 20 inches.. Mine was one of 501 made special order for a US distributor and weighs 9.5 pounds unloaded. The case is 2.4 inches long and holds 96 % of the volume of the .458 Win Mag case. Typical bullet weights vary from 300 grains to 450 grains. 45-70 ammo is readily available, but factory .45-90 is not, so most .45-90 shooters hand load.

If you have any questions, please just ask.

 

[Chukar]

@crs,

To clarify, I own an 1886 Winchester (Miroku made) in 45-90 similar to yours, although it denotes "Black Powder Only". No tang sight and no takedown. It was a Shot Show special from a few years ago.

I've kept your previous correspondence (thank you for the great detail!) in case I need another info dump.

Best,
Steve

 

[crs]

Steve,
Oops, I forgot that silly black powder warning. That was refuted/explained shortly after people began buying those Made for Davidsons rifles. I made a copy of the explanation provided by Dave Scovill in a gun magazine. The warning is meaningless and was a CYA because there were no SAAMI specs for the 45-90. You could think of it as an entry level lever action .458 Win Mag and if you load it to Win Mag velocities, you will be glad that you learned how to mount a crescent butt plate.

 

[ducmarc]

Years back I traded bruce dow a hepburn action for a high wall build. Wanting a black powder build we did it in 45-120. Shot it some with 5477 without filler.most other powders required filler.but with coal I use a drop tube with 525 cast and 120 grains of 2f and at 8.5 lbs it's a real head knocker.now that I have a chronograph may dig it out.the high wall is a super strong light action.story is it was used by Winchester to pressure test new calibers for years.

 

[Quaticman]

I own a Pedersoli 1874 Sharps Quigley model chambered in .45/2.4".
I load a 550 grain grease groove Postell bullet over 96 grains of Goex Cartridge grade black powder with 0.3" powder compression, 1 vegetable fiber and 1 newspaper wad. The rifle is equipped with an adjustable Soule type vernier sight with a Hadley eyecup. The front sight is a globe type with changeable inserts. I have no problem ringing steel at 1,000 yards, it just takes about 4 seconds of flight time before you hear the clang lol. I have no doubt that it would be highly effective on all African plains game.

 

[crs]

One more add on- The Lyman Manual 50th edition has loads for the .45-90. These loads are for cast bullets and are a good starting point for a person new to the 45-90. By searching the Internet for the caliber, many other sources can be found.

 

[DB404]

Gents, I picked up a Browning/Miroku 45-70 SRC back in the ‘90s for use in some of brushier spots in Alaska. The load I relied on was taken from a 1993 article in Guns Magazine written by Holt Bodinson. The load features a 400 grain bullet (I used Kodiak bonded core fn) over 50.0 grains of Reloder 7 with Federal 210 primers. Those carbines essentially have no throat, but it always chambered easily. My SRC gives a bit higher velocity than Bodinson’s did, and it averages 2050 fps at 15’ from the muzzle. Absolutely no pressure signs and easy extraction. Out of curiosity I upped things until I reached the old .404 Jeffery 400 grain load velocity of 2150. Again, no pressure signs, but it wasn’t needed so I stayed with the 50 grain load. BTW, very accurate. So the 45-70 is basically giving 45-90 velocity.

The new Winchester SRC are being advertised as available in 45-90, with the 1:22” twist of the 45-70, which completely stabilizes 400 gr slugs. Have fun!

All the best - Dave

 

[DB404]

I forgot to add that the shorter 45-70 case allows the use of longer bullets than the 45-90 does in the 1886 action. I have a 450 grain LBT mold I use which Veral cut for me years ago; one cavity pb the other gc. With the 45-90 you can easily load it to equal those 45-70 velocities but at lower pressures.