.50-140 Sharps

.50-140 Sharps
The .50-140 Sharps rifle cartridge is a black powder cartridge that was introduced in 1884 as a big game hunting round.

Interestingly this round was introduced 3 years after the Sharps Rifle Company closed it's doors in 1881. The combination of a very large heavy bullet with a lot of powder made it a very effect round for large game.

Nomenclature
The cartridge is commonly called the .50-140 Sharps and is also known as one of the family of the "Big .50" It also referred to as the 3 1/4" 50.

Bullet diameter was typically .512" (13.004 mm) diameter. However, older black powder rounds with lead bullets are frequently loaded with a variation of bullet diameters based on which particular diameter shoots best in that particular gun. The type of rifling (grooves), bullet composition (lead/tin/alloy), etc. affect how well a particular diameter bullet will shoot.

Bullet weights ranged from 600 grains to a much heavier and more powerful 700 grains were used.

The powder charge was typically 140 grains of black powder. Modern subsitutes such as Pyrodex can be used.

History
The .50-140 was created specifically with big game hunting in mind. This cartridge was created about the time that the last of the great buffalo herds had been destroyed. An obsolete round, ammunition is not produced by any major manufacturer also reloading components and brass can be bought.

Rifles are only produced on an infrequent basis by a few companies such as Shiloh Sharps and C. Sharps. The rifles are typically used for buffalo hunting and reenactments. Occasionally they are used for vintage competitions, but the heavy bullet and powder charge produce more recoil than other old-time cartridges such as the .45-70, and so are used less frequently.