Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers 50-110 Reloading

Im looking for 50-110 reloading materials. Dies or other options. Any advice is much appreciated.

Dies are available from CH4D and RCBS. Cases are made by Starline and Bertram. Bullets are made by Barnes (original) and Woodleigh.

There are plenty of cast designs available and these will be your most economical options. You don’t say what your rifle is, an original slow twist rifle or based on a modern action with a fast twist barrel?

You’ll need to work out LOA constraints and the bullet shape that will reliably feed and cycle in your rifle. Some conversions won’t feed pills with a wide meplat or a long nose. Early originals were essentially express rifles launching lightweight bullets that had narrow meplats and a short nose.

Inventory is virtually nonexistant now, but Buffalo Arms is my "go-to" for odd-ball stuff like this.

Thanks for the information. I have a Winchester 71 that Im in the early stages of conversion planning. Ive read that 50-90 dies can be used for 50-110 reloading. Does anybody do this? Is it feasible? Thanks

50/90 and 50/110 cases are quite different. The 50/90 is longer (2.50”) and wider at the base (0.565”) compared to the 50/110 case (2.40” long and 0.548” wide). The rims are different but that’s not an issue - just use the correct shell holder for each case.

There are no SAAMI specs for either case, so there is a little variation in specs between manufacturers. As it turns out my Lyman 50/90 dies are fairly tight and you could neck size and neck expand 50/110 cases using the 50/90 dies, however you would need to trim the bullet seating die 1/10” to crimp bullets in the 50/110 case. If you run hot loads you might need a 50/110 FLS die.

This thread and the following one remind me of what I went through deciding on my new Miroku/Winchester 1886 configuration. Lots of powerful cartridge options for a big, heavy 9.5 pound tough rifle.


Finally, I chose the ,45-90 chambering for these main reasons:
1. It shoots 450 grain .458 bullets at 2150 fps which places it well up in the class of African DG cartridges. It has taken ele and buffalo.
2. And, it handles commercial or hand loaded .45-70 ammo well when the biggest BOOM is not needed.
3. There is a wide variety of .458 bullets and loaded ammo available.
4. Modern powders and bullets provide the performance that formerly required a longer case and more powder.

Yeah, the 45-90 is obviously the more wise choice. But, Ive wanted a 50-110 for several years. Crazy, I know.

How about a 50 B&M? It uses .500 bullets instead of the rarer .510. Layne Simson had one built. SSK will convert your 1886 or Model 71 rifle for you. Pretty awesome ballistis.