Cartridge Hall of Fame: 50-70 Government Ammunition | MidwayUSA
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- Опубліковано 4 лис 2024
- The 50-70 Government was the first centerfire rifle cartridge adopted by the United States Army. Developed for the Model 1866 Trapdoor Springfield rifle, the 50-70 is considered a heavy powered cartridge, generating over 2000 foot pounds of energy. Although it only saw seven years of use before being replaced by the 45-70 Government, it clearly has earned a spot in The Cartridge Hall of Fame. Watch along as Larry Potterfield, Founder of MidwayUSA, takes a brief look at our first centerfire rifle cartridge.
I've owned several guns in .45-70, levers, single shots, etc. and then I bought a Chiappa Sharps carbine in .50-70. I don't known any .45-70's anymore. I found that the .50-70 was flatter shooting and I'm delivering a 450 grain bullet in a bigger diameter.
Bear in mind the Modoc Indian War of (1872-1873). This campaign lasted from November 1872 through May 1873.
Fought primarily in the Lava Beds, now the Lava Beds National Monument in Northeastern California straddling
the Siskiyou County (Yreka) and Modoc County (Alturas) lines via Tule Lake. This is the only Indian War where a U.S. Army General was killed: E.S. Canby. There were two versions of the .50-70 deployed in the Modoc Indian War. They
were both Civil War (1861-1865) conversions: the .58 caliber Model 1863 Springfield muzzle loader, and .54 caliber paper percussion Model 1863 Sharps carbine. These became the Model 1868 "Trapdoor" Springfield rifle: Third Allin Conversion, and Model 1868 Sharps carbine, respectively. Warm springs Army scouts were armed primarily with Civil War vintage Spencer repeating carbines in .56-56 rimfire. By 1873-1874 the U.S. Army officially adopted the .45-70 Springfield. The Modoc Indian War also saw the use of cap and ball revolvers: Both Colt Model 1851 .36 Navy and Model 1860 .44 Army, and Remington Model 1858/1863 .44 caliber New Army revolver. It's probable, though I'm not 100% certain there may have been a .50-70 Remington Rolling Block rifle present. 1873 was also a year of economic
depression and financial panic. Life was arduous with great hardships. Not only in the East, but likewise out West.
James A. "Jim" Farmer
Merrill, Oregon (Klamath County)
George Custer was well armed. He also had purchased a Springfield Officers Model in .45-70, and he had also been photographed with a Sharps too. What he carried at his last battle can only be extrapolated by what his wife still had to sell or leave to thers after his last battle.
@hotrod2069ace The Springfield Trapdoor was available in 50-70. Please be sure to verify the caliber of your firearm before using the ammunition that you have.
Thanks for Your Business
thanks for taking the time to do this series, I enjoy watching.
Thank You Larry !
Man I miss my gun. I'll see if I can go to a range while I'm here in Japan... They do exist believe it or not! Thanks Larry Potterfield.
larry is a great guy
Amusingly enough, I just realized that .50-70 is actually legal to hunt deer with here in Indiana; it does meet our weird cartridge size requirements. Now if only I could find some ammo for my Springfield 1868 trapdoor, guess I'll have to get into handloading.
Or just go online to Buffalo Arms and buy a box of their black powder load. That said, it is very much over powered for Bambi and most of the bullet energy would be spent on trees behind the deer. :)
I also realized this. Though I am going the route of cartridges like the 38-40 out of my soon to be finished winchester 1892.
I've got a family heirloom Trapdoor stamped on the side plate 1863 then stamped on the top by the trapdoor breech 1870. A gunsmith told me it was chambered for .50-70 as one converted from black powder to cartridge firing. It's ramrod still has dimples from packing the old ball and patches. Supposedly my Great Grandfather brought it back to Georgia at the end of the Civil War. Years later I continued the family legacy of service by serving 8 years as an ARMY Engineer. I carried a variety of weapons, the M249 SAW was the most fun but I still have that Trapdoor in my collection. Does Midway still have .50-70 in stock?
I can't wait to get my hands on a nice Sharps or Remington reproduction of that cal./chambering.They say its got terrific knock down power. One guy says he was off hand target shooting one day and took aim at a one foot diameter chunk of spruce to see how far his bullet would penetrate. " To my surprise ,the slug went clean through more than a foot of solid Spruceand across the flat into a nearby hillside". ( From " Gaining respect for them.50/70 Government" by Gary Griffin
Custer's 50-70 Rolling Block which he had at the Little Big Horn, has apparently never surfaced.
Either some Indian took Dad or somebody that came to the site took that and put it in their closet or their attic and it's never seen since. Or somebody has it to this day and don't even know that that was General Custer's rifle
i got to ask did the 50-70 cartridge also used in trapdoor rifles? because i have a box of old reliable 50-70 cartridges and a trapdoor rifle don't know t brand or the model.
@MidwayUSA thanks for the tip
You were planning on submitting the .300 Savage in your Hall of Fame weren't you? Savage produced some of the twentieth centuries earliest true high-powered rifles and cartridges like the .300 Savage designed to duplicate(almost) .30-06 type power in a new revolutionary lever action sporting an internal rotary magazine and the Savage 250-3000 High Power the first cartridge developement to break or attain 3000fps!
Is it 70 grains by volume or by weight?
its black powder. So always volume.
😮😀👍🏼😊👍🏼 50-110 Is Also a Great Cartridge 💨💨💨💨🔫😀😊👍🏼
I wish someone would make an affordable rifle for it
Harry Potterfield Can Do Gun Magic....Oooohhh.