.50-90 Sharps
Overview
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
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 cartridge that was introduced by 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....
in 1872 as a buffalo (American bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
) hunting round. Like other large black powder rounds, it incorporates a heavy bullet and a large powder volume, leading to high muzzle energies.
The .50-90 Sharps is similar to the .50-100 Sharps and .50-110 Sharps cartridges. While all three use the same 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) case, the latter two use lighter, smaller bullets and larger powder loads (the second number is a measurement of powder).
