Derived from the.50-60-400 Joslyn, the cartridge was developed after the unsatisfactory results of the.58 rimfire cartridge for the Springfield Model 1865 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. 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 :
Ammunition with a black powder charge is currently available commercially from Buffalo Bore. Reloaders have experimented with a variety of bullet weights from 425 to in weight. Additionally, the US Navy contracted with Remington to produce several thousand Rolling Block carbines chambered for a reduced load version of this cartridge which was officially produced for use only in carbines. This reduced load cartridge used a shortened.50-70 with a bullet and of black powder. The US Navy also purchased Remington Rolling Block rifles chambered for the full size.50-70 cartridge. The US Army also ordered both Rolling Block rifles and carbines in caliber.50-70 and also made some Rolling Blocks at their Springfield Armory facility in this caliber. The US Army also had a large supply of percussion-fired Sharps carbines at the close of the Civil War and had the Sharps Rifle company convert about 31,000 of those to caliber.50-70 for cavalry use. Meanwhile, the army, which had exited the Civil War with an inventory of almost a million percussion-fired muzzle loaders converted Springfield Model 1863 and Model 1864 muskets to metallic cartridge ammunition using the Allin conversion method, as well as cadet rifles. The first of the.50-70 conversions was the Springfield Model 1866. Newer improved versions were made and used by the army through 1873. After 1873, with the advent of the 45-70 cartridge, the army declared the.50-70 to be surplus and while some rifles in.50-70 were issued to Indian scouts, the bulk were simply sold off as surplus. In the US Navy however, the 50-70 cartridge and the guns associated with it remained in use until the late 1880s. Buffalo Bill Cody used a Springfield Model 1866 in caliber.50-70 while hunting buffalo to feed the track workers of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. General G. A. Custer was known to have and use a sporterized Rolling Block in caliber.50-70 and was believed to have it with him at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. As army General Sheridan had embarked on a plan to eliminate the bison during the course of the American Indian Wars, the.50-70 rifles were also issued, or purchased, by buffalo hunters for use in eliminating the vast Bison herds. Sharps began manufacturing sporterized rifles in.50-70 and with improved sights for longer range shots for use by the buffalo hunters. In 1867 the.50-70 cartridge in US Army Model of 1866 Springfield rifles played a pivotal role in holding off an attacking force of 300-1000 Lakota Sioux Indians during the Wagon Box Fight. Modern made functional replicas of caliber.50-70 historical rifles have been imported into the US by such firms as Davide Pedersoli and A. Uberti, Srl.. The caliber of.50-70 still enjoys some use and popularity from sportsmen and cowboy action shooters.
