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50-110 win bullet dia

Looking to reload for my 50-110 Winchester. This one was made in the mid 1890s.Cartriges of the world says it was made at .512. I slugged the bore at .508. I have seen the Barnes 50-110 bullets that are .510. I called about this and they said it would be fine. Any thoughts on this.

Comments

  • Tailgunner1954Tailgunner1954 Member Posts: 7,734 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My original Winchesters (50-90, 50-95, 50-110) show .497/.501 in front of the case mouth.

    The Sharps (50-90, 50-140) on the other hand show .513 in front of the case mouth

    Remember that a pure lead bullet will bump up on firing (IOW they were often made under bore size). Hollow base bullets will bump up even more (that's the secret to a Minnie ball design)
  • 1946willys1946willys Member Posts: 42 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    From what I have read, anything much over 300gr will not stabilize due to the slow rate of twist. The Barnes bullets are the only ones I can find and there a jacketed bullet. .002 over my bore dia. They said I would be fine. I'm not so sure.
  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think there was a lot of variation back then, if your barrel is .508 then a .510 bullet should work good.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50-110_Winchester
  • MG1890MG1890 Member Posts: 4,649
    edited November -1
    I think I would forget the Barnes and stay with lead.

    Agreed, use a .510" bullet since you slug .508".
  • 1946willys1946willys Member Posts: 42 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I will look for some lead bullets. I could resize the jacketed. It's just seem like such a shame to own a rifle like this and not let it make some noise. I just don't want to damage it..
  • jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    I wouldn't push a .510 copper bullet down an antique .508 bore, assuming it is an antique.

    If it were me I'd get some .515 cast lead bullets (as that seems to be the popular diameter) and a push through .510 die. While 2/1000 oversize for jacketed is a bit much, it's perfect for lead.

    More to the point, big bullets like that are EXPENSIVE. You could get a cheap Lee casting pot, Lee mold, and push through sizer die for probably the cost of two boxes of bullets.

    If you plan to shoot black powder out of it, use pure or fairly soft lead. If smokeless, use harder lead.
  • noyljnoylj Member Posts: 172 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You can easily go 0.003" over groove diameter. I have used 0.311" jacketed bullets in my .30-06 without issue.
    You work up your load from lowest starting load as always; so, even in the rare case where there could be a pressure issue, you are working up and watching for that issue.
  • 1946willys1946willys Member Posts: 42 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for all the input. I decided to shoot the.510 Barnes. But I made my own .508 sizing die. No worries.
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