Great gun. Beautiful, rare, original. Congrats on the investment in a shazam shooter !
Hoyem says it used a .512" bullet, 2.4" case length for .50-100-450 specimen ammo with lead bullet.
Giles & Shuey, pg. 158: "Presumably designed for the African market, this largest of the lever-gun calibers
never caught on here in the U.S. or abroad. A black powder cartridge coming into the market as it did in 1895 was virtually obsolete at birth.
By the time it was offered in smokeless powder and jacketed bullets (1898), the world was rapidly changing to lighter smaller calibers in
modern 'bottle-necked' cases. And while the .50-100-450 ammunition was last loaded in 1916 and cataloged until 1920, it had essentially disappeared by 1910
by which time production of the rifles had all but ceased. The last catalog in which M86s were listed in that caliber was June 1910;
in 15 years on the market, the total number of guns shipped in 50-100-450 totaled a mere 331. It is no wonder, then that cartridge boxes are very difficult to find in this rather obscure but very collectible caliber."
An empty 20-cartridge box circa 1898 with the "Winchester smokeless sunburst" on it might go for $2500 to a collector.
Williamson said he paid $12,000 for a 50-100-450 M86 takedown (pre-1984 dollars).
He said his barrel slugged .5095" in groove and had a 1:54" twist.
But he also claimed his rifle was made in 1890, which does not jive with Giles & Shuey ... ?
2.405" max brass length, 0.610" rim diameter and 0.070" rim thickness.
He made brass for it by blowing out .348 WCF brass but had to machine the headstamp off the brass
to chamber the ammo in the tight headspace for the rim.
He shot 450-gr Barnes jacketed bullets
55.0 gr IMR-3031: 1456 fps
65.0 gr IMR-3031: 1765 fps
with tissue paper over-powder wad (115.6 gr water case capacity),
from whatever full-length octagon barrel length was on the rifle, at 90*F.
