You might want to look at a few reloading sites and buy some 300 grain bullets at first for practice rounds, the 405 grain bullets are great for standard loads, and lead bullets ( for me at least) are cheap.
49.5 gr. of imr 3031 is a good target load in the med. range. 300-305 hardcast for Marlin . I've shot hogs with that load. They end up real dead awfull fast.:: In my contender 12in. bbl. reloader 7 is the better choice. 47 to 48 gr. and same bullet with med. crimp.
I recently bought an Uberti High Wall clone in .45-70. I'd like to hear some pet loads from those who reload for this caliber.
Hey Larry,
I'm a noob here but have been into 45-70's for a few years now. I cast my own for my big bore rifles and usually hang out at a forum called cast boolits.
I just found this forum as I've gotten back out my safe queen Mini-14's and this forum has shrunk my groups from that substantially, this is a great forum but not too many casters here and not too many replies to your 45-70 post either I see.
After trying a ton of different powder/bullet combinations on my own 45-70's I've finally settled on a pet load of mid 30-grain loads of H4198 behind an RCBS 405 grain cast bullet.
Now I know a lot of guys are "speed freaks" but with the big bore stuff I am_not. Reason being is that millions, MILLIONS of Buffalo were killed with about the same load (speed-wise that is, somewhere around 1100FPS) and if you're not trying to shoot out to 1000 yards you can shoot this load all day long and not get beat up by the dang thing. I *can* push them much faster and still stay accurate, but this is a really fun load -- and that's the point, to have fun right?
I don't have any target pics from my 45-70's but I use the same load in my .450 Marlin lever gun and here is a pic of a target from a few years back -- and I still use the same load. I know, kind of defeats the purpose of having a .450 Marlin but if I use jacketed bullets and push them to "Chinese Nine" it just beats the hell out of you.
Anyway I know I'm long winded, but 31 grains of H4198 and the 405 grain cast bullet works very well for me, here's a pic for you and hop over to cast boolits once in a while. Those guys over there are NUTS about the big bores.....
Nice gentle loads that smack deer hard:
A 405 grain flat point over 15 gr Unique will get you about 1250 fps out of a Guide Gun. If you want a little more grunt, 16.5 grn of Unique with the same bullet goes about 1350 fps.
I load a Montana Bullets hard cast, gas checked 405 gr bullet over 15 gr of Trailboss and get good accuracy and no danger of a overload. I also shoot the 405gr Remington bullet with 46gr of 3031 for a hard hitting big game load that is good for anything in N/A.
I guess the moral of the story is that the 45/70 is super flexible and can be loaded from mild to wild. Enjoy it it is one great cartridge. Frank
I decided to go old school and loaded up some with 70 grains by weight of 2FG Geox black powder behind a Lyman #457122 330 gr. lead hollow point. I'll try them out this weekend. I also bought some Lyman #457658 480gr. rounds to load and try. We'll see which does best.
Tried out the blackpowder loads today. They did alright until the fouling got built up. Recoil was mild even with the 480 gr slugs and downright mellow with the 330gr HPs. How ever I think I'll go for some 3031 powder for my next loads mostly due to the Hi wall being kind of a pain when it comes to disassembly and re assembly after shooting the black powder.Also real black powder is hard to find around here. :-( No interest in it I guess. I did love that deep bellow the old time rounds gave to the gun though.
Hmm, I was just reading on the link Tazman gave under some of their older posts and from what I read most Hi Wall shooters DON'T completely disassemble their rifles after shooting blackpodwer. Seems they just spray some ballistol into the action and then oil it. Also it seems several shooters run a wet patch down the barrel every couple shots to keep accuracy up. Might have to keep at the old black stuff. It sure is fun to shoot!Looks like I'll have to order the powder on line though.
Hmm, I was just reading on the link Tazman gave under some of their older posts and from what I read most Hi Wall shooters DON'T completely disassemble their rifles after shooting blackpodwer. Seems they just spray some ballistol into the action and then oil it. Also it seems several shooters run a wet patch down the barrel every couple shots to keep accuracy up. Might have to keep at the old black stuff. It sure is fun to shoot!Looks like I'll have to order the powder on line though.
Those guys are NUTS about BP and paper patching man, just ask and they will give you all the help you can ask for!
.........just like here with the Mini-14's..................
send me an email to jim@shootingwithjim.com and when I get in tomorrow I will shoot you some loads. I am on laptop now and all of my loads are on my other computer. I have done a lot of loading for 45-70 for handguns, modern rifles and my Quigley. I have a few real good one for each. I shoot the Quigley out to 1000 yards and last year harvested a nice hog at 1150 yards.
Location: Oragun-still clinging to my religion,guns,and sour mash!
Posts: 4,103
Mine go a bit faster at 1650fps with a 400gr swcfp cast w gascheck,and ##GRS of imr4198!this is for a marlin lever "rifle"not guide gun.I have the casting stuff-just have'nt got it set up after the move 3 years ago!
Location: Oragun-still clinging to my religion,guns,and sour mash!
Posts: 4,103
Originally Posted by copen
40 grs. of H4895 worked great in my Shiloh #3 using Magnus 405 gr. bullets.
Covered 3 with a nickle, believe it or not.
I doubt that mine will ever group that good!I have loaded it for horsepower for use in this west coast rain forest terrain,not alot of open shooting in this local "jungle"environment,but bear,deer,elk and cougar available within 1 mile of my house.Just an 800 yad walk and i'm in the jungle!Lever guns just don't shoot that accurate,and probably never will-especially with "full house"loads!
This isn't a load I'd want to be walking around out in your neck of the woods with, especially with a single shot.Probably closer to the old BP rifle ballistics. Not that they were anything to sneeze at. Didn't have the Chrony set up but I suspect something around 1450fps.
Thanks for all the help guys. I've started casting my own 405gr. slugs with a Lee mold for use with blackpowder. I've also made up my own black podwer lube for use with them.
Mild is 15gr Trailboss under 405 gr cast. Hard to feel it go off. My hunting load is 46gr IMR 3031 under a Remington 405 gr jacketed. I have some in 525 gr gas checked lead but would only use them if hunting in big bear country. They hurt me way too much. FRJ
Ah hah, 45-70 loads. I have a Guide Gun so I am not sure that these will work in your guns, but they work in mine. While my 45 colt makes the metal targets swing back and forth, the 45-70 will make em spin.
300 Grain Lead RNFP - 16.5 Grains Trail Boss (Don't hardly notice when you shoot em)
300 Grain Lead RNFP (Gas Checks) - 30.0 Grains AA5744 (These have a little kick)
300 Grain Rem JHP - 43.2 Grains AA5744 (These will smack you pretty hard)
300 Grain Rem JHP - 65 Grains AA3100 (These kick pretty good)
And for the brave:
300 Grain Lead JHP - 9 Grains Bullseye and two sheets of toilet paper to hold down the powder. (My gramma could shoot these, but use and load at your own risk). A double load could ruin your day. I shot these at 200 years at a metal target. Fire one off, lower the rifle and then hear the whap. Gotta love it. I don't normally shot much more than 300 grains. But I did buy a couple molds for 405 and 500 grains which I intend to use at some future date.
I just picked up a an SBL myself 3 hours ago. It looks great despite being a remlin. Gonna wait to try it this weekend maybe, because I think my father will like to try it.
Anyone used h4198 ? This is my first 45-70 and don't have any dies but just wanted to check out what people were doing with it. I do have that powder though.
Anyone used h4198 ? This is my first 45-70 and don't have any dies but just wanted to check out what people were doing with it. I do have that powder though.
I have not used H4198, but have used AA3100 which has a close burning rate. I like the loads, its just that AA3100 is no longer made. I would try it if I had any. You should get some dies. Its easy to load because of the large case.
45-70 loads
Mine go a bit faster at 1650fps with a 400gr swcfp cast w gascheck,and ##GRS of imr4198!this is for a marlin lever "rifle"not guide gun.I have the casting stuff-just have'nt got it set up after the move 3 years ago!
I doubt that mine will ever group that good!I have loaded it for horsepower for use in this west coast rain forest terrain,not alot of open shooting in this local "jungle"environment,but bear,deer,elk and cougar available within 1 mile of my house.Just an 800 yad walk and i'm in the jungle!Lever guns just don't shoot that accurate,and probably never will-especially with "full house"loads!
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