The .45-90 Sharps cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

 is a black powder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 round introduced in 1877 by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company

Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company

Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was the manufacturer of Sharps Rifle. It was organized by Samuel Robbins and Richard S. Lawrence as a holding company in Hartford, Connecticut on October 9, 1851 with $100,000 in capital. John C. Palmer was president, Christian Sharps an engineer, and Richard S....

. Also known as the .45 2 4/10, the cartridge was developed for hunting and long range target shooting.

While various bullet weights were used, a typical load for the .45-90 was a powder charge 90 gr gunpowder (black powder) with a bullet weighing 500 gr. Such a load would have about 1300 ft/s (396.2 m/s) muzzle velocity.

.45-90 Express

The .45-90 Express is a modern adaptation of .45-90 Sharps which uses the same 2.4 inch case, but uses smokeless powder loaded to pressures up to 45,000 psi. With a 26 inch barrel the .45-90 Express is capable of over 4,200 ft-lbs muzzle energy.

Many modern single shot or break barrel .45-70

.45-70

The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873...

 rifles can be easily reamed by a competent do-it-yourselfer to shoot .45-90 Express. These rifles include the Ruger No. 1

Ruger No. 1

The Ruger No. 1 is a single shot rifle, with Farquharson-style internal hammer falling block action, manufactured by Sturm, Ruger. It was introduced in 1967. An underlever lowers the block allowing loading and cocks the rifle. A falling block action is an inherently strong design, and the Ruger...

, New England Firearms Buffalo Classic, and the Pedersoli Kodiak Mark IV. When used in modern repeating firearm such as a converted Marlin 1895, Enfield

Lee-Enfield

The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...

, or Winchester 1886 the cartridge overall length of the .45-90 Express needs be kept to under 2.85 inches to reliably cycle through the action.

The .45-90 Express is well suited for hunting the largest predators including lion, grizzly and polar bears, as well as moose, cape buffalo, bison, and elk. Although it could be considered overkill for the application, the .45-90 Express is very effective for deer hunting.