Loading Data for the 50/95WCF

[ndnchf]

I shoot mostly black or subs. But I asked the Accurate ballistician about 5744 loads. For the lyman 515139 he recommended a low of 26.5gr for 1200-1300 fps to a mid-level of 35gr for 1450-1550fps. Being conservative I tried 27gr under the lyman and found it pleasant to shoot and quite accurate. But I only tried that one load. I really prefer black powder.

[hatman]

I shoot mostly black or subs. But I asked the Accurate ballistician about 5744 loads. For the lyman 515139 he recommended a low of 26.5gr for 1200-1300 fps to a mid-level of 35gr for 1450-1550fps. Being conservative I tried 27gr under the lyman and found it pleasant to shoot and quite accurate. But I only tried that one load. I really prefer black powder.

Thank you nd.
Today was a very successful day.
I was able to procure some 5744 and we (and by we I mean my friend while I watched) loaded 5 rounds of 27gr of 5744 under 35gr of Cream of Wheat with the 350gr Lyman.
The groups dropped from 4 ft (with BA loads) at 50 yards to 4 inches.  

[ndnchf]

That's great! I think the bullet diameter made all the difference. I would caution against using fillers with 5744. I've read that Accurate says they are not needed and can raise pressures. Do a Google search on this for more info. I don't use them in my 5744 load and it shoots fine without it.

Now that you have a bullet that works, get some real black powder or pyrodex and have some real fun!

[hatman]

OK thanks.
I've passed this info on to my friend along with some google-search links.

As for BP, I'll probably do that eventually.
I recently bought a Uberti Walker and am having great fun making smoke with that one. 

[hatman]

Update:
Today we tried 5 rounds same 27gr of 5744 but no filler.
Worked great and got a 2 1/4 by 2 inch group at 50 yards.  Yay!
My friend will be loading up some more and wring it out to 100 yards next week.

[ndnchf]

Update:
Today we tried 5 rounds same 27gr of 5744 but no filler.
Worked great and got a 2 1/4 by 2 inch group at 50 yards.  Yay!
My friend will be loading up some more and wring it out to 100 yards next week.

That'll make a heck of a varmint rifle!

[hatman]

That'll make a heck of a varmint rifle!

Thanks for your insight and experience to get us to this point.

[buckheart]

I have an Uberti 50/95 on order so all this reloading info is great. Thanks for posting it. I am wondering about converting brass for this caliber as 3 bucks a peice for the preformed stuff is a bit rich. I have read that you can start out with 348 Winchester, 50 Alaskan, or 50/90 sharps. Has any one here made up some 50/95? What did you start with and what was your procedure?
  Also been looking at dies online and have noticed that there are dies listed for 50/95 express and for 50/95 Uberti chamber. So this means that Uberti has come up with there own chamber dimensions for the 50/95?

[ndnchf]

Buckheart - Congrats on the new rifle, Yer gonna love it!

I use Jamison. 50-95 brass. Buffalo Arms has it for between $1.94 and $1.53 each depending on the quantity purchased. It's good brass and ready to load. Why bother with trying to make it from something else? I use the Uberti Ch4D dies, they work great. If I recall correctly, the shoulder of the uberti chamber is a little different. But not much.

[buckheart]

True - Just a few pennies more for the formed stuff from Buffalo arms.
What dies are you using?

[ndnchf]

I use the Uberti .50-95 CH4D dies.

[buckheart]

Are those CH4D dies carbide. They are 3 times the price of the RCBS legacy dies. Currently have mostly RCBS stuff and its all good. I know I'm pinching pennies here but the more I save the more I can shoot.

[ndnchf]

No, not carbide.  Back when I got mine 5 or 6 years ago CH4D was the only game in town.  If the RCBS dies are for the Uberti chamber, I'd buy them.

[hatman]

Well today was a very good day.
We again shot AA5744 with no filler and 350 gr 514 lead bullet at 50 yards and got a 2 inch group.
We then took it to 100 yards and got an honest 4X2 1/2" group.
We used 27 gr of AA5744 and also 27gr of the factory-loaded powder (which came in at 33 gr) with similar results.
Given that before this journey i was getting 4 foot groups at 50 yards with BA factory rounds saying I'm very happy would be an understatement. 

[ndnchf]

What do you mean by "factory loaded powder"? Did you pull apart some old production cartridges? Or change the bullets in the BA rounds?

I'm glad to hear that it is shooting well for you. This caliber seems to get a bad reputation for accuracy. It certainly isn't a long range cartridge. But with a little load development it can hold its own within barrel sight range. I added an authentic Riflesmith tang sight to mine. It really helps with my aging eyes.

[buckheart]

Spot on NDN. Here is a reply I got from Buffalo Arms:

Hello, I would order the RCBS. When Uberti started making those, the chamber dimensions were different so 4D made dies to compensate. Those are only for very early Uberti's. Thanks

Dies and brass ordered. Have some 50/90 sharps brass on the way too. The 50/90 will give me something to fiddle with and the stuff from Buffalo Arms will get me shooting quicker.

I am not into casting yet. Any suggestions as to were to get some good cast bullets?

[buckheart]

Nice picture NDN. Got one of the whole rifle?
I have another couple months to wait on the next bunch of 76's to get imported so I hear.

[ndnchf]

Not sure of a bullet source other than BACO.  They used to sell the Lyman 515139.  There are probably others too.  It sounds like the RCBS dies will be just fine.  Here a another view of my rifle.

[hatman]

What do you mean by "factory loaded powder"? Did you pull apart some old production cartridges? Or change the bullets in the BA rounds?

I'm glad to hear that it is shooting well for you. This caliber seems to get a bad reputation for accuracy. It certainly isn't a long range cartridge. But with a little load development it can hold its own within barrel sight range. I added an authentic Riflesmith tang sight to mine. It really helps with my aging eyes.

Yes we (I keep saying we, but it's really my friend doing all the work) pulled the bullets off the BA rounds and inspected the powder under magnification and it looked identical to 5744.  So we loaded up 5 test rounds with 27gr of that powder and compared results with the known 5744.  Shot pretty much identical.
We're feeling confident now that we can reclaim the powder so all we have to do is pull the bullets, remold the lead 51539 mould and re-assemble.
FWIW the 300gr and 350gr BA rounds both contain 33gr of powder but with yesterday's results we'll be loading up a bunch more with 27gr and down the road experiment with loads up to 33gr.  
I originally bought 600 rounds from BA so we have plenty of reusable brass, powder, lead and primers.
ETA:  Thanks again for your help in getting my 76 to be a real shooter.

Disclaimer:  Just want to say the above info is working for my rifle and I'm not making any blanket recommendation for others.

[buckheart]

Not sure of a bullet source other than BACO.  They used to sell the Lyman 515139.  There are probably others too.  It sounds like the RCBS dies will be just fine.  Here a another view of my rifle.

Thanks Ndnchf. Going to look at that picture every so often till I get mine. Just re-watched Crossfire Trail. I might have to get a Schofield too.