Loading Data for the 50/95WCF

[frimath]

Soooooooooooooo..........after filling them with 10 grains of unique and using a wax wad, I proceeded to tumble them again and then reload as proper ......first with 41 grains of IMR 4198 with a 350 grain .510 dia lead bullet ( spg lubed) and see attached photo........they look pretty nice actually.......

[frimath]

After loading the smokeless powder I then proceeded to reload several different BP loads.......from 71 grains of FFG to 76 grains of FFG and used a Remington 9 1/2 magnum primer ....... the load had to be compressed and I just barely fit the 76 grains into the case. Someone recommended a load of 86 grains but that was going to go into case without spilling over onto the reloading bench......ugh

[frimath]

The good news is that once fired with the normal leadings the cases looked fabulous! Nice bottlenecks and they fed flawlessly and ejected/extracted flawlessly. So THAT was a WIN! However, the accuracy was disgustingly terrible........ ..........  . See newest photo of newly bottlenecked casings!

[frimath]

I know from my initial experience in shooting this rifle and posting my experiences here previously that I was pretty happy with the initial reloads and at that time ? factory? loading available at that time for this Presidio carbine. However, as the targets will attest the loads brought in a ? spread? rather than a ? grouping ? at 50 yards...........

[JustinGr]

New to the 50-95 game. I have acquired an original 76, with a new barrel. I see a lot of posts about the Uberti and using BP and Bertram brass. My question is,  I understand the original Winchester 76 had a larger diameter case rim than the new reproduction rifles and the new Bertram brass has this smaller rim and not well suited for the original 76.  Is this true? I found a supplier of 50-95 brass (reformed ) that has the alleged proper, and thus larger, .628 diameter rim. Has anyone ever used the Bertram brass in an original 76?

The brass I have  found is less expensive than Bertram, so it also has that going for it.

Thank you

Justin

[Powderman.50]

Howdy ! I'd like to thank the admins for adding me . This is the most info on the '76 50-95 I have been able to find . I bought mine in the hopes of using it for the cartridge shoot in our BP Rendezvous . I've made a number of attempts , with less than good results . I intially bought all the loading supplies from Buffalo Arms , which was difficult to get into Canada , but through the help of Rusty Wood shooting supplies I managed to get , A box of loaded rounds , 20 extra brass, the RCBS dies , and a 350 gr RCBS bullet mould , a box of 50 lubed 325 grn bullets . I first started to load with FFFg , 75 grn, with a card wad on top of the powder , and a light compression , then stepped up to 85 grn powder , with more compression , but it was leaving a ring around the top of the bullet , so I went to a 2' brass drop tube , and that went fine . Now I am using my cast bullets , but they dont seat far enough down , even though it crimps on the proper ring , they seem to jam up in the action . I further checked against an older load with the lighter bullet ,and found the new ones to be too long . Anyone know of a company that makes a case trimmer for this round ?

[ndnchf]

Just seat them in to the proper overall length. If it is sitting atop the compressed powder charge, you dont have to use the crimp groove. Just crimp it over the front band. It's not going to telescope. I wouldn't shorten the brass. But if you really want to. The Lyman universal trimmer works. On mine it took maybe 30 seconds with a Dremel to open up the chuck just a smidge to allow a 50 to fit in.

[ndnchf]

Its time to blow the dust off this thread !  So who's been shooting their .50-95 lately?  Tell us about your loads and how they are doing.

I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a while - cut down a Lee 515 450 mold to use in several of my .50 cal. rifles.  This is nothing new, the Spencer guys have been doing this for years with both the 450gr and 500gr Lee molds.  Have any of you tried this?  I'm always up to learn from others 

The newer Lee molds have the handles staked in place and use a left-hand sprue plate screw.  The staked handles means the mold can't be set up in a lathe to be shortened as others have done.  But, it can easily be set up in a milling machine.  After taking careful measurements from a stock 515  450 mold and bullet, I determined that it needed .175" taken off the base to remove one band and one grease groove.   It was a pretty straight forward operation.

I cast up a batch using 20-1 alloy.  They came out at about 352gr.    I'm haven't loaded any yet, but looking forward to giving them a try.  I may cut down a 500gr mold too and see how it works, they are cheap enough. If it doesn't work, no big loss. This shows both the stock and modified bullet and mold.

[Slamfire]

 I  would be interested in how accurate they shoot @ 50- 100 yds.,, don't have a 50-90 , but might work for other cals. ,, good looking work ( I have a mini mill ).

  coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

[ndnchf]

I have a .50-45 rolling block carbine and a Spencer rifle that shoots the same cartridge. I plan to try it in all of them.

[ndnchf]

Regarding the cut down Lee mold I mentioned above. Out of concern about the small meplat and possible contact with a primer. I made up a simple rig to swage the bullet nose down a little, enlarging the meplat. Its just a .514" bullet sizing die, a 1/2" fine thread bolt and lock nuts. Put a bullet in the die with the bolt on top. Press it down until it stops on the nut. Ta-Daa - s slightly shorter bullet with a nice wide meplat, sized and ready to load.

[greyhawk]

Regarding the cut down Lee mold I mentioned above. Out of concern about the small meplat and possible contact with a primer. I made up a simple rig to swage the bullet nose down a little, enlarging the meplat. Its just a .514" bullet sizing die, a 1/2" fine thread bolt and lock nuts. Put a bullet in the die with the bolt on top. Press it down until it stops on the nut. Ta-Daa - s slightly shorter bullet with a nice wide meplat, sized and ready to load.

Thank you!!!! this is one of those "why didnt I think of it ideas" ------I have been fooling with the LEE 459-5003R for ages - like the boolit because of the lube it carries - and the BC is fantastic - but its an unstable thing out around 400yrds - little bit of wind will turn it upside down - lots of blokes have tried it and all tell the same story throw that mold they say................................. more to this story that is right now starting to make sense

[ndnchf]

I swaged the nose of 25 of the cut down Lee mold bullets. Then loaded them up over 77gr of Swiss 2F. The nose is still a little long so I had to seat it .420" into the case. That was right to the end of the neck. So I didn't use a card wad. The powder was compressed .175". I have no idea how it will shoot, but its fun to try.

The photo shows a bullet from the original Lee 515 450 mold, a bullet from the same mold cut down to 350gr. Then that builet's nose swaged, doubling the size of the meplat. Then the completed cartridge.

[greyhawk]

I swaged the nose of 25 of the cut down Lee mold bullets. Then loaded them up over 77gr of Swiss 2F. The nose is still a little long so I had to seat it .420" into the case. That was right to the end of the neck. So I didn't use a card wad. The powder was compressed .175". I have no idea how it will shoot, but its fun to try.

The photo shows a bullet from the original Lee 515 450 mold, a bullet from the same mold cut down to 350gr. Then that builet's nose swaged, doubling the size of the meplat. Then the completed cartridge.

Wow!! that loaded round is about as perfect profile as a winchester round can get - classy!!

[ndnchf]

I got to the range today and tried the modified Lee 350 bullet discussed above. Cataracts are making it difficult to see the target, so I tested it at 50 yards. There were a few that went wide, no doubt my fault. But overall I'm pleased with the results and will continue testing.

[King Medallion]

Big Holes!

[ndnchf]

I cast up another batch of the Lee 515 350 bullets, this time in 30-1 alloy. I then swaged some of them down to get that that nice broad meplat. It is a bit labor intensive to make them. First I size and lube them. I think having the lube grooves filled before swaging keeps the grooves from deforming.  So after sizing and lubing, I remove the sizing die and take it over to the arbor press and then swage each bullet. 

I don't know if they are any better than other available bullets or molds, but I like the swaged profile and large grooves.  It is fun to try something new 

[ndnchf]

I got back to the range a few days ago. Three loads were tested with the cut down and swaged Lee bullet. 50.5gr of BH209, 61.0gr of APP 3F and 32.0gr of 5744.  They all seemed to shoot well, but cataracts make it a challenge to see the target clearly. So some of the error is surely my own doing.

[ndnchf]

Has anyone tried these 276gr bullets from Blue Falcon? They are a little lighter than the original 300gr bullets. But Im thinking of trying them.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/876910620

[hpbear101]

Got out and shot a a few different loads through the 50-95 today. The 91 grains of Goex cartridge, WLRM primer, .030 Wad, and 51-350CL sized .512 and lubed with SPG did pretty well. Still only good for 5 rounds or so before fouling becomes an issue as it doesn't hold quite enough lube. Also got some Old Eynseford FFG and tried that, it didnt shoot well at all so I will keep trying with it as it seems to foul a little less, Pyrodex RS was all over the place and seems like a waste of time. RL7 and 5744 seem to shoot well but there is much less recoil than any of my BP loads, I need to drag the chronograph along next time and see what the velocities are doing.

Tom