The .50-70 Government 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...

was 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 adopted in 1866 for the Springfield Model 1866

Springfield Model 1866

The Springfield Model 1866 was the second iteration of the Allin-designed trapdoor breech-loading mechanism. Originally developed as a means of converting rifled muskets to breechloaders, the Allin modification ultimately became the basis for the definitive Model 1873, the first breech-loading...

 Trapdoor Rifle. The cartridge was developed after the unsatisfactory results of the .58 rimfire cartridge for the Springfield Model 1865

Springfield Model 1865

The Springfield Model 1865 was an early breech-loading modification of the Springfield rifle musket design.During the U.S. Civil War, the advantage of breech loading rifles became obvious. The rifled muskets used during the war had a rate of fire of 3 or 4 rounds per minute...

 Trapdoor Rifle.

The .50-70 Government cartridge became the official cartridge of the US military until replaced by the .45-70 Government in 1873. The .50-70 cartridge had a pressure limit of 22,500 PSI

Pounds per square inch

The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...

.

The official designation of this cartridge at the time of introduction was "US Center-fire Metallic Cartridge", and the commercial designation .50-70-450, standing for :

Caliber .50

Powder Charge 70 gr black powder

Bullet Weight 450 gr

Since this cartridge is no longer commercially produced, reloaders have experimented with a variety of bullet weights from 425 to 600 gr in weight. There is evidence that a reduced load version of this cartridge was officially produced for use in Sharps

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....

carbines converted to metallic cartridge ammunition, as well as cadet rifles. This used a 430 gr bullet and 45 gr of powder.