50-70 Government

Larry Potterfield • May 03, 2022

Some cartridges just deserve an award. Let's chamber another round in the Cartridge Hall of Fame. The 50-70 Government was the first centerfire cartridge adopted by the US Army. It was developed for use in the 1866 Trapdoor Springfield. The round is considered a heavy powered cartridge, generating over 2,000 pounds of muzzle energy. Its name is derived from the old convention of caliber over grains of powder. In this case, that is a 50 caliber bullet and 70 grains of black powder. The case is straight walled and features a rim to control headspace. Primarily used in the early Trapdoor Springfields, this cartridge saw only seven years of use before being replaced by the 45-70. In addition to the Springfield, other guns such as the Sharps and Remington Rolling Block were chambered in a 50-70 as well. The 50-70 was popular as a Buffalo cartridge in the late 1860's to early 1870 and even today. Interestingly, General George Armstrong Custer's favorite rifle was a Remington rolling block chambered in 50-70. Although of little use today, our first center fire rifle cartridge, the 50-70 Government, has earned its place in the Cartridge Hall of Fame.

--Larry Potterfield