PC
The 1886 & M71 are the only practical leveractions for conversion to the 50-110 due to COL, as far as I know, case is 2.4050"

Lar 45
I have no idea of the cost for the Marlin

Hi gang, anyone out there using the 50 Alaskan? Have just purchased new Win. 1886 Extra Lightweight and am considering having it converted. Read once that Harold Johnsons original 50 was on an 1886 and thought this could be fun.. Any help out there?

The 1886 has a frame that is definitely long enough to convert to the longer cartridge. Quite a few guys have paid small fortunes to convert Marlins to 50 Alaskan. I believe John Ricks has documented the problems he encountered when he converted his 50. Who is going to do the work for you?

It is a great round, sort of like a .45-70 on steroids. I think of it as it will do everything a hot loaded .45-70 will do, but with a bigger bullet. Mine is a 12" Encore and what a hoot to shoot. From 450 gr. SP to 750 gr. A-Max it will get your attention. The load I have settled on for all around hunting use is a 475 gr. LBT LFNGC at 1800 fps. Re. #7 is the best choice of powder to use, maybe not giving the highest velocity, but it tends to give the best accuracy combined with high enough velocity.

GrizzlyClaus
You could convert it to 50-110 which is the parent case of the 50 Alaskan, 450 Alaskan and 348 Win

And the WSM's I might add.
What's the max COL on that there rifle?
If there was anything significant to be gained I'd looked into the 50-110 as well. But if you're limited to 2.6" or so, might as well go Alaskan.

Ok, to answer the questions. McGowen will do the work. I considered the 50-110 Win. but do not like running those big old blackpowder rounds with smokeless. They were at there best with black and that is how I load them. That is why the 50 Alaskan. Want a lever action with enough snot to take anything on earth and want one rifle that I can shoot and shoot and not have to clean with water as soon as I'm done shooting.

Bwana-be
Unsure of the max col for 1886 but back in the 1890's or there abouts Winchester chambered the 50-110 in it.
I have just bought a 1886 extra light 45/70 in the USA now I need to get it exported.
When it gets here it will be converted into 50-110 I already have a McGowen 50cal barrel, the brass and dies.

Sounds like a fun project.
GC, not sure what you mean. You think the 50 Alaskan is any stronger than the 50-110?

416W I am interested to hear about how to get a 1886 extralight in from the states that does interest me !!



Who did you buy it from ?? have they got a website ??

GC - I have a 336 marlin converted to 50 ak, work was done by wild west guns here in anchorage. Nice wood, hard chromed and 18.5" barrel - I shoot lots of cast, my standard load with RE7 goes about 2040 FPS and groups 1-1.5" at 50 yards if I do my part - rifle weight with four in the tube and one in the chamber is right at 7 lbs. Decelerator pad does help as "pepe, the little mule" does snort nicely Have used 3031, H322 and several other powders, always come back to RE7. Shoot 435 and 525 gas checked cast, also 450 and 500 jacketed Kodiak bullets. Have tinkered with a 600 grain jacketed, only get a bit over 1700 FPS as the bullet uses a lot of powder space. Cases available from Starline, dies from Lee (lots cheaper than RCBS in this caliber), recommend you buy a Lee factory crimp die to get a solid crimp. Has a wwg rear sight and a firesite on the front, easy to line up. Had to tinker lots with the sights as they continually loosened, finally got them tight and secure. This is a great carry rifle for me, I am very pleased with the rifle. - Hope this info helps - KMule

The action lockup of the 1886 is no doubt very strong but the barrel shank diameter is not very big so I am not sure if I would want to push it all the way. Good luck!

Hello

I have considered having a 50 Alaskan built until I start thinking of penetration. Have any of you 50 Alaskan owners ever done any penetration testing? Does it in fact out penetrate the 45-70 significantly enough to warrant the exspense of building one? From the bullets I have seen for the 50 Alaskan, the sectional density is higher for the 45-70 bullets when you look at the heavier ones. All thought are welcome, but please be gentle!

Mark

Ok, again thanks for the info so far. Now as to answers to the questions posed.
Bwana-Be: The 50-110 vs 50 Alaskan when both loaded with smokeless powder are probibly identical, however, I do not wish to load the 50-110 with anything other than traditional Blackpowder. Yeah I know. Just my quirk.
KMuleinAK: Did you special order the Lee dies or are they stock?
Mauser: The 1886 with modern steels is perfectly capable of taking 40,000 psi.
Again thanks and any other thoughts and ideas welcome.

HI,

I have had both a 50 alaskan and now I have a 50-110. Dave Clay made my 50-110 on a win 86, the 50-110 is far more powerful than a 50ak.As it shoots the same .512 bullet but with around 250-300 fps more.I have chron my 50-110, 525 grain bullet over 2200fps, I will try a 550 or 570 grain soon I think I should get 2000-2050 with a 570 and I know 2100 with a 550. Thanks,Kev

PC

for more info on import check out the thread I started

need export licensed FFL



Bought the rifle at Legendary guns they have 2 more new in box 1886 extra lights 45/70 $695 USD, plus a high grade $11??

can give you the guys email addy, also the guy at Simpson's

Have got a house yet?



Mauser & GrizzlyClaus

The advantage of the 50 Alaskan would be that it will fit in a 45/70 length action. The 50-110 only easily fits in a 1886 or copy of. There are 1895 with this conversion but apprently they can not seat the bullets out all the way, and project requires a lot of work.

Bigger case same bore usually means less pressure for same velocity, but also needs more powder.

Just curious, what is a ballpark range on cost to convert the Marlin?

quote:

Originally posted by Kev:
HI,<br /><br />I have had both a 50 alaskan and now I have a 50-110. Dave Clay made my 50-110 on a win 86, the 50-110 is far more powerful than a 50ak.As it shoots the same .512 bullet but with around 250-300 fps more.I have chron my 50-110, 525 grain bullet over 2200fps, I will try a 550 or 570 grain soon I think I should get 2000-2050 with a 570 and I know 2100 with a 550. Thanks,Kev

Kev,what loads for the 525gr cast at MAX velocity?(81grs of H4895?) Thanks!

Kevin,
From what I have read in your posts the 50-110 with a 500 gr. or larger bullet at over 2000 FPS is an awesome caliber and suitable for anything that walks this planet...

It is the only lever action that I would hunt DG in Africa with...I may have to have one in the near future....

It is really an interresting caliber. What is the recoil like in a lever gun and what does it weigh..what is the cost of conversion. I see that Doug Turnbull has them for sale but have not priced one from him...

Ray, Kev is the expert here, but here were the costs for my 1895 50AK:

$550 rebore, rechamber, open bolt face, cut to 16.5"-by wildwest/badger barrels
$80 wild west trigger-highly recommeded! 2.5lb and crisp
$125 medium sized lever from DRC
$110 wildwest rear sight-overpriced but sturdy
$100 necg barrel band front sight
$40 1.5" kickeazy!
$75 Lee dies
$20 cross bolt safety replacement
$20 reduced weight hammer spring

I built this to be a camp/boat/fishing rifle. It weighs 6.6lb unloaded and is 34". I highly recommend the WWG trigger and a lighter spring set, it made a world of difference. With the gun loaded I can work the lever with one finger. If I was going to use this as a hunting rifle I would have gone with a 20" barrel or even the 50-110, but even this short buffalo bore 525's clock 1866fps and it has all of the recoil you'd ever want. I imagine a Doug Turnbull rifle would cost much more but then again his work is old school perfect.

Bob

I have had one of the Marlin 1895 Cowboys converted to 50 alaskan. Doug Turnbull Restoration did the work for me. Generally, the action work and reboring runs about $1000.00 on a guide gun. Because I had the Octogon barrel with the dovetails cut in it, the cowboy needed to be rebarreled. I also had an action job done and a decelerator pad added, along with having the reciever drilled for a Williams peep and the peep added. I kept the 26" barrel (although they could have gone as long as 32") and the forearm and cap were also replaced because of the heavier contour. The finished gun weighs 12 1/2 pounds empty and balances very well offhand. As far as performance goes, I am getting 2600fps with the Barnes 300 grain bullet, 2000fps with the 450 grain Barnes (at 32,000 cup) and 1850 fps with the 525 grain Woodleigh with the nose filed flat. I plink with the 500 grain cast from the lee mold at 1650fps. I realize that I am shooting 'midrange' type loads but they are very comfortable to shoot and if I need more power, I can load up or I've got more power in the safe with a 470 Capstick. Photos of the finished gun are on the marlinowners web page in the gallery section under buckeyeshooter. hope this info helps those wanting more information.

THAT'S what I'm talking about!
I'd love to see some full-power 500g loads in that baby (2K?).
I'll check out the pics. It sounds beautiful!