Before my dad passed, I had no reason to own anything bigger than a .35 Whelen or .30-06 AI. Elk was the biggest thing I would ever shoot and I never got the thrill of shooting something that hurt you. But my father, who hunted dangerous game in Africa, Alaska, and Siberia, had such a need for some serious calibers. His Africa days long since passed, he got rid of his double rifles in 416 Rigby, .458 Lott, and .505 Gibbs.
All that was left when he passed was a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H Ackley Improved, built by Al Biesen, and a Sharps rifle crafted in Oregon in .50-90. I fired the Ruger, got a mild concussion, and gifted it to my brother for Christmas, lol.
The Sharps is now the largest caliber rifle I own, and I will keep it until I die. I have fired hundreds of rounds of .45-70 govt. in BPCR competition, and plenty of .45-90 as well. So the thought of shooting a rifle in .50-90 did not seem all that intimidating.
Until today. When I went to my storage container to scrounge up some ammo to shoot this weekend. The recipe I found was 91grs of black powder, with a .030 plastic wad, and 600gr flatpoint lead bullets.
I checked the ammo for condition, then compared it to my normal .45-70 competition ammo...
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The .45-70 looks downright tame compared to the .50-90!
Typical Idaho Spring weather with snow, hail, rain, sunshine and high winds all in one day has prevented me from any rifle shooting, but this weekend is supposed to get near 80 and be calm, so will hopefully shoot the Sharps and do a YouTube review of it.
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I'm sure other folks on here have similarly giant calibers. Probably a few .50 BMG owners. Curious as to what other dangerous game calibers folks have and what they use them for. My Sharps may someday take an elk, but it definitely isn't needed for one.