Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers 45-90 question

I am looking into getting a 1886 in 45-90 and it says black powder only. Does that mean I can not shoot smokeless powder cartridges?

I sure hope not, because my Miroku/Winchester .45-90 has that same thing stamped on it and it has shot only smokeless and often at big game pressures.

I looked into that message/warning and it was "lawyer talk" because there was no SAAMI specification for the current .45-90 rifles.


Not flashy, but solid and effective. AND, it handles Factory .45-70 ammo too!
The folding tang peep and folding barrel sight are from Marbles and make a nice combo.

Good to know and you did not have to post another pic of that beauty lol
Now I have to buy it lol

Current production or vintage 1886?

Current production

The Lyman reloading manual has smokeless loads for the 45-90.

MAC08
Thanks for Lyman Manual info. I have that book and know of the .45-90 loads, but often forget about it because all that I have loaded is solids and bonded BIG game ammo.
Naturally, I have shot a good bit of factory 45-70 ammo also- primarily for medium big game in the USA..

When loaned to a friend for African hunt, the rifle bounced out of the hunting truck and was dented and scratched a bit. My friend smoothed that out, moved the tip of the comb back so the tang sight will fold all the way back to the lock position and it looks like this:

The folding barrel sight works well for big stuff like buffalo and Elephant, up close.


When a sling is needed, I use a leather shotgun sling with a loop at each end.

Here is a little story I wrote about a Bison that I busted in Texas:

Quick 1886 45-90 story;
I was after a bison and thought I had missed my left handed (right eye problem) shot at about 100 yards shooting left- over African loads (450 grain Kodiak at 2150 fps). The bison began to run left to right and disappeared behind trees as I levered in another round, my guide exclaimed that the fired brass went 6 feet above my head! A little adrenalin , maybe? Pissed off, I switched the rifle to right handed and tracked the bison like a passing dove, settled in on the shoulder and shot. The bison crumpled and rolled heels over head and my guide exclaimed again - something best not printed.
This is on film, but the only part worth watching is the last few seconds.
When the animal was skinned and butchered, we learned that the bullet had shattered both shoulders and passed on through to points unknown. We also learned that my first shot was just right laterally but high - just a couple inches below the back bone. Both shots were with the barrel sight.

That night, beers and steak dinner was on me.

The current production Miroku receiver can handle pressures up to 50KPSI, well into nitro territory. The same receiver is used for .348 with with a max pressure of 46,000 KPSI and and a larger base diameter. Base area times pressure determines bolt thrust, which is the receiver limit, which is why the .45-90 can go higher. The barrel steel is a Japanese take on 4140 and plenty big to hold 50 KPSI.

I find the crescent butt (as opposed to shotgun butt) on many current rifles undesirable with hot loads. I also prefer pistol grip stocks to straight.