I was speaking to a gentleman the other day about a cartridge very similar to this and it got me thinking that I might just put it up here.

The cartridge that I use is about 2.100" which falls between the 2" and 2 1/4" listed here.  I have made the 3 1/4" but it is no fun to shoot... to my way of thinking.  However, it does put out quite a flame, lots of smoke and an absolutely thunderous 'boom'.

But the 500 Black Powder Express did make the transition to smokeless (500 Nitro) quite easily and was very popular for heavy game.  When I was into African cartridges it seemed as if hunters and/or guides had them in their batterys.

Here in the states I believe that one or more of the Sharps mfgs offer it in Sharps, falling block and/or rolling block persuasion.  Prices seem to be about $1000 and up.

I think I need to be a little clearer on the U.S. offerings.  When I reread the initial post it seemed to me that I was indicating that the 500 BPE was availble... this is not so.

Been wanting a 50-90 for quite some time. One day maybe I'll have one and can terrorize the deer with it around here.

I've decided I'm going to 'make' a .50-90 happen... one way or t'other.
 
Paul

A Handi .500 S&W and a rechamber job?

Quote from: drinksginA Handi .500 S&W and a rechamber job?

It's one of the considerations that was dropped because the rifling twist was wrong Don.  I've never messed around with the Handi so I don't know what the weight is either.  With a typical 450 - 550 grain bullet the recoil is gonna get your attention... especially if you like to load them up like Paul does.
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The Handi rifles are pretty light. I imagine that in a 50-90 the recoil would be pretty brutal. But it would be a good choice for his Martini action. Of course it would need a scope mounted for the elderly eyes.

Art;
I do not know what the twist is, but the Handiholics on GBO are shooting 350 to 700 gr bullets.
My Handi in .45-70 is not light, to me at least, at 8lb 9oz, with a 2.5x scope.
The 500 gr gets stout at above 1450 fps and 1650 fps was my limit in .45-70.
I load the 405 at 1800fps and the 320 at 2000fps, both a noticable shove, but nothing like a .30-06 with a 180gr at 2800fps.
Of course, the .45-70 and the .30-06 do not feel the same to me.
Interestingly enough, the .35 Whelen with a 200gr jacketed bullet at 2650fps was not nearly as bad as the '06.
All guns feel different and fit different.

The Martini action is 'driving the boat' in the quest for a .50-"something", at least until it's done or it's put aside. That being the circumstance, I'm locked on to Dan Pedersen's reboring business.
 
I had hoped to rebore the existing .22/.30-30 bbl, but the previous owner drilled and tapped the bbl for 'scope bases, and forearm attachment. That wasn't "bubba-ing", as those holes are no problem for the .22 bore. However, ream that bore to .510-ish and things get a little 'thin' (0.095"), at the forearm hole. I didn't realize the problem until I took the rifle apart to ship to Pedersen. So I moped around for a few days.
 
Later, I was sitting in my 'gun room' (my wife calls it my "tree fort"), looking for something to do, when what to my wondering eyes did appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer... no no no. That's another story. What I saw was a .257 Roberts on an M-48 I had assembled from parts I got off the web. The good news was... the barrel was at least as big as the .22/.30-30, both in length - 26", and 'beef' - 0.755" at the muzzle, and 1.145" at the chamber. This will "work"... I think.
 
The .257 has a story of it's own, (the details of which I will spare you for the time being), but since I have the TCR-83 in .257 RAI, and the M-48/.257 Roberts was an 'exercise' of sorts, I'm not bothered by using the Roberts bbl. The bad news is that had I been able to use the .22/.30-30 bbl, all that would have been needed was reboring the bbl and a slight adjustment to the extractor. Now, the .257 bbl will still have to be rebored and chambered of course, but new Martini threads will have to be cut, and a new extractor groove will have to be cut in the breech of the bbl. These aren't 'big' deals, but they will likely add at least $100 to the total cost. I'm OK with that.
 
So... the quest for a .50-something crawls forward. Pedersen doesn't get back in his shop 'til Monday the 16th. I'll call him then, and we'll see which direction this heads from there. He tells me lead time is about 5 months and shortening every day. We'll see.
 
All things in their own time - All things in their own time - All things I their own time. This is what I keep telling myself.
 
Paul

Quote from: drinksginArt; I do not know what the twist is, but the Handiholics on GBO are shooting 350 to 700 gr bullets.

So what kind of velocities are we speaking of here Don?[/color][/size]

I would have to go check, but I seem to recall 1100 to 1500fps with a few that seemed to be "?" able, maybe?
Be back later.
OK, in rifles, 385gr Rem, jacketed , 2100fps.
335gr Ranier, 2235 fps.
400gr cast, 1800 fps.
In pistols with 8" barrels, 440gr cast at 1660 fps, this is CorBon factory load.
I cannot find the really heavy bullets, I must have seen them on some other forum.
Lee has a gas check 440gr fn mold, this should be good for the CorBon  figures.
Going to .510", there are some heavier bullets out there.
One handload with all info listed was a 400gr cast . 35gr H110, 1800fps.
Don

Quote from: drinksgin385gr Rem, jacketed , 2100fps.
 335gr Ranier, 2235 fps.
 400gr cast, 1800 fps.

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Man!  I'm really surprised at these velocities.  Of  course, I find the 400 grain cast most interesting of all.  That's pretty close to the 450 grain cast .50 caliber that I sometimes use.

If you pass by that place again see what you can find out about accuracy?  2 inches or better would be acceptable with iron sights I'm thinking.  The other aspect would be whether there was leading or not.

I see on the review site that the twist is 1:18.75 LH for the S&W.  The book listing the obsolete cartridges lists the twist for the big 50s in the 40s and 50s for the original rifles... but that is with the heavier bullets only.  

I don't suppose you know what the maximum pressure is that the Handi rifle can take do you?
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Art;
I suppose it is 50,000 to 55.000 psi, the .35 Whelen, .30-06, .280, .270, .308 and .243 are available on the SB2 frame.
I seem to remember reading the .500 S&W was loaded to 40,000 psi from the factory.

OK... I'be been kind of lax regarding information from my resources.  I got off my duff and scanned some images of the Sharps loadings, Winchester loadings and the cartridge/barrel specs.

The reamers I use to cut chambers for this cartridge is a set of custom reamers made by JGS.  The exact designation is .50-.348 Winchester.  In other words, the cartridge is the .348 Winchester case blown straight out.  It is the .50-100 case but it is .100" short.  I had these (and others) made up years ago so that a fella wouldn't have to make his own brass or modify extensively new brass.

Here is the data for the cartridge I was attempting to duplicate:

I use two different bullet weights in the big 50s and they are both old Lyman molds.  I also have an NEI mold that weighs in about 450 grains with a gas check but it has never performed well in any of the 50s to date.  It is probably my fault as I tend to use duplex loads (with 4759) and it might be that the mold/bullet prefers something else.
 
 The two Lyman molds I use are: #515141 and #515142
 
 Both of these have performed well.  #515141 was orginally designed for the .50-70 Government.