Keeping Old West Traditional Ammunition Loads Alive
Few cartridges have remained alive for more than a century in factory production. For every .30-06, 7.62x54R, and .38 Specials, there are dozens of .32 Short RF, 56-50 Spencer, and .577 Sniders.
To get around this and keep some calibers still in action, Cimarron Firearms, makers of replicas of Old West firearms, has partnered with Steinel Ammunition to deliver .45-60 Win. and .50-95 Win. ammunition to support customers.
For those keeping track, the circa 1870s .45-60 Winchester, carrying a big 300-grain pill and made for the Winchester Model 1876 and Colt Lightning carbines, stopped factory production around 1935 while the chunkier .50-95 Winchester Center Fire, an express cartridge shooting a heavier bullet, was never even as popular as the .45-60.
Now the new loads aren’t cheap, because let’s be honest, anything made in a limited run never is, but at least it’s new and made to spec on modern equipment and gives reloaders of these rounds another lease on life for a generation or three.
Cimarron currently offers Cimarron-stamped .45-60 Win. in a 20-round box for $67.10. The 300 gr. RNFP-coated rounds have an FPS of 1,380.
Cimarron’s .50-95 Win. Ammo is also offered in a 20-round box at $67.10. This 350 gr. RNFP round has an FPS of 1,300.