Who did the .45-90-2.4" with drawn brass case first ? "
I dunno , but glad they did! It is very effective across a broad range of bullet weights and animals.
Yes, the .45-90 WCF used light bullets and slow twist. Referring to the books, the 2.4" case was first produced by WRA Co. in 1884. Offered in the M1885 High Wall single shot and then the M1886 lever action. Cartridge was cataloged until 1913. Jacketed bullets became available in 1892, in addition to the usual grease-grooved cast lead. In 1895 both smokeless and BP loads were offered. In 1903 Winchester High Velocity (WHV) in soft point, then in 1905 the Full Metal Patch (FMJ) arrived. 300-grain FN FMJ !!! Great Britain used the M1886 with .45-90 WHV rounds to shoot down German observation balloons in WWI, according to Giles & Shuey. Heh-heh-heh.
Sharps Company, from Frank Sellers: ".45 CALIBRE 2.4-INCH STRAIGHT While this cartridge is commonly called the '.45/90' by today's collectors, the Sharps Company never loaded it with less than 100 grains of powder. It was used exclusively as a target load in the Model 1874, Model 1877, and Model 1878 Long-Range rifles. The cartridge was introduced on June 8, 1877. The common load was in this was .45/100/550 paper patch."
Sharps had introduced the ".45 CALIBRE 2.6-INCH STRAIGHT" in November of 1876. It used the same load, .45/100/550 paper patch. Replaced by the 2.4" loaded with more of the bullet hanging out in the bore. Throat did not matter since the paper-patched bullet was patched to bore diameter and was smacked on the bottom by BP to obturate the rifling grooves. IIRC, the old Sharps just had a 5-degree or 7-degree angle at the end of chamber neck, leading into the rifling. Just a wide-based leade going abruptly into the rifling, sort of like the cone on the front end of a shotgun chamber. Heh-heh-heh.
OK, if John Rigby was doing a .45-2.4" in 1870, as van der Walt says, it must have been a coiled brass and paper case. Must have been one of those early experiments with that new-fangled central fire instead of rim fire. I have found citations indicating that circa 1880 John Rigby was using both .45-2.4" and .45-2.6" drawn brass cases for his "Match" cartridges. Must have been trying to keep up with the .461 Gibbs No. 1 and .461 Gibbs No. 2. Keeping up with the Gibbses, heh-heh-heh.
The .45-2.4" has a rich history. It obsoleted the .45-2.6" Sharps Straight just like the .458 WM+ obsoletes the SAAMI .458 Lott. Heh-heh-heh.
Ron aka "Rip" for Riflecrank Internationale Permanente NRA Life Benefactor and Beneficiary .458 Winchester Magnum, Magnanimous in Victory THE WALKING DEAD does so remind me of Democrap voters. Donkeypox.
