I realize very few people play with reloadable big bore rimfires. But I'd like to share this for future reference. 

I brought the chronograph to the range toda. I was testing out the #2 brown ramsets as primers for the .56-50s in my Remington split breech carbine. After a bit of research and testing, I came to the conclusion that the brown ramsets would make the black powder load pretty similar to a duplex load with a small amount of smokeless to help the BP burn clean. I was also testing to see if the ramsets would puncture like some of the acorn blanks do in the .56-50.

First off, I had made one special 56-50 case to take a .27 cal brown ramset, rather than the normal .22 cal size. I did this because the 27 cal ramsets are steel, while the .22s are brass.  Firing that one round with 30.0gr of Goex 2F and 362gr bullet yielded a velocity of 887fps, and the primer did not puncture!

Next up was the same load,  but with brass .22 cal brown ramsets. Ten shots averaged 867fps and no primers were punctured! 

Lastly were ten .56-50s loaded with 33.5gr of Old Eynsford 2F, .22 cal brown ramsets and 362gr bullets. These surprised me, averaging 1092fps! A big difference from the previous 30.0gr Goex load. I still had no primers punctured with any of them. However. I did have two cases split at the point where the offset primer is.

A point if reference before I go on. In 1864 Springfield Armory developed the .56-50. Their testing found that in a carbine, velocity was 996fps. In a rifle it was 1,033fps.

Continued in next post due to space limitations.

Thank you for taking the time to share this information. This would also make for a very nice article to be published in the ASSRA Journal. If you would also share just how you went about doing the case preparation to accept the Brown Ramset blanks that are being used in your 56-50 cartridge cases. 
Might also add the ASSRA was paying for such articles as long as they also included pictures. But I am also not sure if this is still taking place.

Reloading obsolete rimfires is growing in popularity, thanks in part to Roberson cartridge Co. now offering a variety of reloadable rimfire cases. They are pricey, but very well made.  I started making my own reloadable cases 9 or 10 years ago. I've made them in various 32s, 44s, 46s and 50s. 

My youtube channel has many antique fireams related videos, including a 2-part video showing how I convert centerfire cases to rimfire. These can be found here:

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I realize that not everone here is on facebook. But for those who are, I'm a moderator for a group called "Obsolete Rimfire and Heel Bullet Cartridge Talk".  We discuss guns, making ammunition and loading tools. There is a lot of good discussions there. The group can be found here:

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Steve

I've been remiss in updating this thread.

I shot the same two loads over the chrono again, except the second time I dumped the smokeless charge from the .22 cal brown Ramsets.

Load #1 was 30.0gr Goex 2F and 362gr Smith bullet. This is a reduced load. Average velocity:
With fully loaded brown Ramset - 867fps
With empty Ramset - 621fps.

I had one case made for the .27 cal Ramset.
With fully loaded brown Ramset - 887fps
With empty Ramset - 747fps.

Load #2 was 33.5gr Old Eynsford 2F and 362gr smith bullet. This is a full load, slightly compressed.
With fully loaded brown Ramset - 1092fps
With empty Ramset - 946fps.

Not surprisingly, the Ramset's smokeless charge has a notable affect on velocity. Now I have some idea just how much.

I have the shells reloaded again, this time with empty ramsets,  34.5gr of Schetzen 2F and Rapine 350 bullets. Its too hot and humid for me right now. But hopefully in a few days it will drop a bit and I can run these over the chrono.