45/70 shotshells ?

[waverace]

Ok so heres the deal , we are having a problem with porkypines ,Ive removed 2 and relocated them about 5 miles away but there seems to be a whole herd of the buggers moving through , normaly I wouldnt care but the dogs are getting very wound up about it and I have no desire to be pulling porcupine quills out of 8 dogs noses ...(4 ours 4 the neighbours) now I dont own a shotgun and I have concerns about shooting any thing else due to bullets traveling on through and ending up in the neighbours so .........
Does anyone or has anyone heard of making up 45/70 shotshells ?
It would seem simple enough , a light load of pistol powder ,over the powder wad , some bb shot then another wad on top with a light crimp to hold it in or a drop of wax .
I cant see a problem with pressure , it will be shot out of a contender 14" pistol barrel so I know pattern will not exactly be skeet smoking potential but I cant think of a reason that within short ranges 10-15 feet that this wont work .
Any hints , tips , warnings etc would be most welcome .
Please dont say buy a shotgun cuz thats out of the question right now .

 

[rcmodel]

Do you have a .22 rifle?

As for loading shot in 45-70, yes you can.
However, I think you will be disappointed with both the patterns out of a rifled barrel, and the amount of barrel leading you have to scrape out of your contender after firing a few.

I also might have some concern about the effectiveness of an over-powder wad sealing well in the .025" head to mouth taper of the 45-70 case.

I think if I were to try something like that, I might be tempted to try some CCI-Speer .45 LC shot capsules.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Eproductpage.Exe/showproduct?saleitemid=682652

They won't greatly improve the pattern, but they will stop any barrel leading from the shot contacting the rifling.

rcmodel

 

[waverace]

Hmm shot capsules seems like a good idea , yeah I do have a .22 but still worried about passing through unless I get the critter in just the right position.
Heres another thought how big are 410 shotgun wads ? the plastic cup kind

 

[ReloaderFred]

I would go with the .45 Colt shot capsules. They may shoot better than you think, since they're made for a .452" diameter bore, and you're going to be shooting them through a .457" bore. The difference might just be enough to make it work. If I had some of the .45 capsules, I'd try it and let you know, but I don't.

Another thought would be .22 shot loads. You can walk right up on most porcupines, so it shouldn't be a problem getting a headshot with it. That would be quieter and easier on the neighbors.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[jerkface11]

Why not get some extra light .45-70 bullets and blast away? I remember seeing some cast bullets somewhere that were under 200 grains. Or as stated by others just use a .22

 

[highlander 5]

IIRC I tried 3 .457 dia round balls over 20-24 gr of 2400 out of my Ruger no 1 that at 25yds gave me a decent pattern. Tried the same powder charge with 2 250 gr wadcutters that I cast from a Redding/Saeco mold block were dead on at 25 yds.
Lyman used to make a mold block that cast a 145 gr .458 dia "collar button" for practice.

 

[waverace]

well I just tried my first idea (cuz i had the makings) and it works but as rcmodel pointed out pattern was terrible , about 8" at 3 feet! would probably be devastating point blank but that wasnt the object of the excercise , so I'll get some of those capsules next time I'm out .either that or buy a box of ready made .44 mag shotshells for my .44 barrel . theres more than one way to skin a porky
Thanks for your input guys

 

[rcmodel]

Oh!
You have a .44 Mag barrel?

Why didn't you say so in the first place!

That right there is your answer!

rcmodel

 

[waverace]

I know but thought I might get more shot in the big case plus I just like to tinker

 

[Bezoar]

for this kind of excercise, use the 44 magnum barrel and get a box hornady 180 grain xtp. Those OPEN up beautiful like in deer from a carbine barrel.

 

[ReloaderFred]

He has neighbors close by, so he's pretty much limited to a shot load.

Fred

 

[mkl]

On a wax bullet thread some time ago some guys were talking about using hot melt glue sticks for 45 caliber bullets.

Wonder how those would work on a porcupine?

 

[waverace]

thats gonna make gun clean up messy isnt it ?