450-grain bullet in the 50/95

[Dingelfutz]

Ken Kempa's article about the Uberti 50/95 1876 Winchester clone, in the January issue of Guns and Ammo, has occasioned a lot of criticism. From what little I can tell, the criticism might well be valid.

One thing that interested me about the article was Kempa's use of 450-grain jacketed bullets. It seems that he got pretty good accuracy with them.

Questions arise, though:

First, might the 1x48" twist that Uberti uses stabilize "heavy" bullets like 450 grainers better than the "original" Winchester 1x60" twist?

Second, is there a cast bullet of about this same weight that might seat properly and be safe to shoot in a Winchester 1876 "clone?

Third, is there safe load data for "heavy bullet" loads in the 50/95, including smokeless powder loads? (Full disclosure. I am trying to "read up" on the 1876 Winchester. I suspect that my knowledge on the subject is very much still full of holes.)

Context:

While I am unlikely to shoot a lot of buffalo (or, even any buffalo...it is hard to get a "shaggy" into an apartment-sized freezer) it might be interesting to see whether "50/70 equivalent loads" ( a cartridge that has proved itself as a buffalo killer) might be practicable in a 50/95 rifle.

"Smokeless" data would be valuable. This is especially the case for us unfortunates who live in "Peoples' Republik" states.

[KirkD]

In general, for the same caliber, the heavier the bullet, the tighter the twist, so the new repros with a 1/48 might stabilize a heavier bullet than the original 312 grain bullet. I can't comment on loads, but I don't see why one could not develop a smokeless load for a 450 grain bullet, although it might be tricky. Developing a smokeless load for an original weight bullet is easy, but everything changes when you use a bullet that is about 50% heavier than the original. You would need to use a slow smokeless powder, and you would need to significantly reduce the velocity to account for the 50% gain in inertia, in order to keep the pressure at safe levels. That is a little too tricky for me, as a fellow would either need to measure the pressure as he was developing the load, or else used a safe published load somewhere (I'm no help on that one either).

Personally, the joy in using an original or a repro '76 included using the same ballistics as the original ones. If you can't find a 312 grain mould or a 300 grain mould that drops them at around .510, then you can always get a custom mould made. I just see no point in a 450 grain bullet in a '76 50/95. The 312 grain bullet is powerful enough.