it doesn’t get anymore simple and fun then that! Have fun!
I can bearly read! lol. Youtube taught me everything!!!Books? We don't need no stinking books!
What about bullets? I need to know what grain to buy and I will NOT be casting my own. I have no desire to cast my own bullets nor to hand load anything else.
405g hard cast lead is always a good pick!
Whoa!
If you're shooting smokeless powder, "You gotta look up the amount of grain it takes" - not if you're shooting black powder.I seem to remember reading that (fill to the top) about BP loads but I don't remember anything about wads in metallic cartridges. I did see something about lubing the bullet. (?)Whoa!
If you using black powder in your .45-70, you better darn well fill your cases with enough of it so that there's no dead air space left in the case after you seat the bullet - no matter what the amount of "grain" is.
Also, I have two sets of those plastic Lee dippers. But I don't use them when I'm loading black powder filled cartridges. Using the pan off my scale, I drizzle the black powder through a 24" brass drop tube so that it's slightly compacted in the first place. Then it gets a little more compacted when I seat the wad and bullet.
Using black powder in cartridges is a little different than using smokeless powder in cartridges. I'm not saying it's more difficult, it's just different. And I'd advise anyone that's going to try it to get themselves a loading manual or two that are specifically about loading black powder cartridges. That's in addition to a loading manual or two for loading smokeless powder cartridges. After all, the good ol' .45-70 works great with smokeless powder too - in the proper firearm of course.
I appreciate that but this will be a black powder load, real black powder, not substitutes and as has already been pointed out the cartridge is filled to the top with no air space.
Yeah, my mistake. I was assuming you're going to be using cast lead bullets (without gas checks) over charges of black powder in your .45-70. And you know what they say about assuming.
I bought my IAB before I had read any reviews, got it with a great price. One of the nick names for IAB is "It's Always Broken". Granted that's a pretty extreme assessment as not all are that bad, the chamber may be slightly larger then 45-70 and supposedly the receiver metal is "soft". Apparently they're not precision builds, I've even read someone talking about the barrel falling off after shooting it but have found NO corroborating evidence.Yeah, my mistake. I was assuming you're going to be using cast lead bullets (without gas checks) over charges of black powder in your .45-70. And you know what they say about assuming.
I use vegetable fiber wads between my black powder charges and my non-gas checked cast lead bullets in my .45-110. The wad is there to protect the base of the relatively soft lead bullet. From what I've read though, gas checked bullets also work well in black powder cartridge rifle. However, gas checked bullets are not allowed in many types of black powder cartridge rifle competitions.
As far as lube goes, although I used to cast my own bullets, I now buy my cast .45 caliber rifle bullets from Montana Precision Swaging in Butte, Montana, as well as Meister Bullet Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona. They come pre-lubed, and I'm pretty sure the Montana Precision Swaging ones are lubed with SPG lube.
At any rate, the book, "SPG Lubricants BP Cartridge Reloading Primer" by Mike Venturino and Steve Garbe is an excellent reloading manual for black powder rifle cartridges. I think I ordered mine through Amazon.
I'm not sure was an "IAB" is, but I'm the same way about my Shiloh-Sharps .45-110. I've seen some smokeless powder loads in a few manuals for the .45-110, but I'm going to stick with black powder in mine. Besides, I like the BOOM and smoke!
45-110! ouch!Yeah, my mistake. I was assuming you're going to be using cast lead bullets (without gas checks) over charges of black powder in your .45-70. And you know what they say about assuming.
I use vegetable fiber wads between my black powder charges and my non-gas checked cast lead bullets in my .45-110. The wad is there to protect the base of the relatively soft lead bullet. From what I've read though, gas checked bullets also work well in black powder cartridge rifles. However, gas checked bullets are not allowed in many types of black powder cartridge rifle competitions.
As far as lube goes, although I used to cast my own bullets, I now buy my cast .45 caliber rifle bullets from Montana Precision Swaging in Butte, Montana, as well as Meister Bullet Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona. They come pre-lubed, and I'm pretty sure the Montana Precision Swaging ones are lubed with SPG lube.
At any rate, the book, "SPG Lubricants BP Cartridge Reloading Primer" by Mike Venturino and Steve Garbe is an excellent reloading manual for black powder rifle cartridges. I think I ordered mine through Amazon.
I'm not sure was an "IAB" is, but I'm the same way about my Shiloh-Sharps .45-110. I've seen some smokeless powder loads in a few manuals for the .45-110, but I'm going to stick with black powder in mine. Besides, I like the BOOM and smoke!
That's going to be a lot of fun with that long, straight-wall, thick brass case. You're going to be needing a good set of brass mallets - not hammers, mallets - in weights from 6oz. to 14oz., a good hard work surface (a segment of old railroad track mounted to a tree stump works good).
Well, now, like I been lectured on many times, even black powder needs to be weighed so, a good scale would be good to go along with those dippers and drop tube as such. BTW: I use a standard RCBS green plastic funnel and the 6" extended drop tube that slips on the funnel and fits over the case mouth. A 6" drop plus a tap and a jink before seating the over-powder card, lubed wad, and over-wad card, then the bullet, keeps it all nicely and evenly packed. At least, enough for my simple 100 yard needs. I'm not shooting black powder cartridge competition at 1000 yards so, YMMV.
I'm a plinker not a competition shooter or even a hunter and yes, I whole heartedly agree with the soft lead projectile only. What size over cards and wads do you use? What's your BP weight measurement for 45-70?That's going to be a lot of fun with that long, straight-wall, thick brass case. You're going to be needing a good set of brass mallets - not hammers, mallets - in weights from 6oz. to 14oz., a good hard work surface (a segment of old railroad track mounted to a tree stump works good).
Well, now, like I been lectured on many times, even black powder needs to be weighed so, a good scale would be good to go along with those dippers and drop tube as such. BTW: I use a standard RCBS green plastic funnel and the 6" extended drop tube that slips on the funnel and fits over the case mouth. A 6" drop plus a tap and a jink before seating the over-powder card, lubed wad, and over-wad card, then the bullet, keeps it all nicely and evenly packed. At least, enough for my simple 100 yard needs. I'm not shooting black powder cartridge competition at 1000 yards so, YMMV.
For a Sharpes "clone" with an iffy reputation I highly (make that HIGHLY!!) recommend sticking to soft lead, SPG lubed, 500gr. round-flat-nose bullets (.45-70-500). Use lubed wads and both over-powder and over-wad cards, just like they did it back in the 1880's to keep everything packed consistently. Consistency is required to enjoy black powder rifle* cartridge shooting. According to Starline, "The 45-70-500 Government had more developmental testing before the US Military adopted it for chambering in the Springfield rifle than any other US Military battle rifle chambering and cartridge combination has ever had. They fired literally tons of bullets down range, including penetration testing at 1700 yards. Nothing about the final standardized design of the 45-70-500 Government cartridge or rifle was left to chance." So don't mess with it.
*the only requirement to enjoying black powder cartridge pistol shooting is "BOOM!"
I load for an H&R 1871 using the 405gr. bullets from Buffalo. In fact, I get most of my supplies for BP from Buffalo, including vegetable cards and lubed wads. They're not the cheapest out there but they typically inventory everything and the shipping is reasonable. Nice folks, too.
I agree. I haven't got my records in front of me right now, but a long, long time ago I figured out how many grains (by weight) a specific granulation of black powder it takes to fill my .45-110 case to a certain level, so that when I seat the bullet and wad, the powder is compressed a certain amount.
