I was set on using a 300gr Hornady HP for my 45-70 marlin but everyone I talk to and everything I read online says 405gr lead RN or FP for deer hunting. What I'm wondering is other then the weight why is a lead bullet better for the 45-70 then say the 300gr HP I was using. Do you get more expansion from lead? Coated or non coated for the Marlin? I hit a big doe last night at 60ish yards broadside and got a complete pass threw but the entrance and exit wasn't impressive and she ran for awhile.
lead vs jacketed bullet for rifle?
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VoodooMountain
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I don’t have a 45/70 but can say a lot of guys with big bore lever guns will only hunt with cast bullets and won’t mess with anything jacketed ( the j word).
Cast works well and jacketed bullets work great..until they don’t.
405 gr. cast will definitely leave 2 leaky holes and penetrate from any angle and that’s what is usually preferred by big bore hunters.
Cast works well and jacketed bullets work great..until they don’t.
405 gr. cast will definitely leave 2 leaky holes and penetrate from any angle and that’s what is usually preferred by big bore hunters.
FROGO207
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Jacketed hitting bone does not do as well as solid lead hitting bone. I have seen a jacketed hit a big bone and break apart leaving no exit wound. Also the 405 has all that extra mass and hits like a freight train . Most always a through and through with big holes.
Killed several deer with 300 gr Hollow points when I had my 45/70. Nine feet to 200 yards. Every bullet passed through on broadside to quarterring shots. The only one that stayed inside was a nearly straight on shot and it was in a hind quarter. I was pushing them about 2100 fps, actual chronograph reading, from a Ruger No. 1. The heavy cast bullets will do the job well. Just a matter of preference.
You will have to test the lead bullets to see if they will group. Commercial cast bullets shoot poorly in my 45/70 M1885 BPCR, but shoot great in my 45/70 Martini Henry. Jacketed shoot well in both. If the consensus is that 405 RN do well in your Marlin, go try them. I really doubt that the expansion with cast lead bullets is going to be all that much better than jacketed in the 45/70, because the velocities are so slow. With either you are going to get good penetration and a big through hole.
someguy2800
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On deer size game I doubt there is really any advantage over a good jacketed bullet. The one thing I like is that its guaranteed to stay together and get through without pieces coming off and overexpanding. I shoot a 350 gr lazercast over trailboss in my 45-70 and the accuracy is excellent, but I'm also only shooting 1250 fps. I shoot a 320 grain LFN gas check bullet from Montana Bullet Works in my 444 marlin with supurb results at 2150 fps. I would buy my 45-70 bullets from them too but for some reason their 458 caliber bullets cost twice as much as their 44 bullets.
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