Loading 45-70 for accuracy

[Joea132]

I'm looking to load up some 45-70 for an 1895 for accuracy. But I also want to use a bullet suitable for hunting. I grabbed a box of Hornady 325 FTX to try out and I've got Varget, pp2kmr, trailboss, 1680, imr4227, and h110 on hand that could be suitable for this cartridge.

Anybody care to share their loads? I am also considering bumping up to the 350gr bullet as there seems to be more load data available.

Joe

 

[Don McDowell]

If you want a hunting load and accuracy, you'll need to get to a real bullet, the Hornady 350's or Speer , Remington, or Winchesters 405 gr for jacketed bullets or find a good commercial casting outfit such as www.bigskycastbullets.com for 400 gr cast bullets.
Of the powders you list Varget and 4227 and possibly the 1680 are the best choice in the bunch.

 

[Fighterpilot]

Reloading the 47-70

I have worked up a load for my Pedersoli Sharps that shoots great. I'm using a 405 grain bullet .459 from Buffalo Arms with 41 grains of Varget.

 

[RugerNo]

A 325 gr FTX is the lightest bullet for the 45-70. Those 225's are only for the Colt 45 and 454 Casull. They are .006 to .007 to small in diameter. will prolly drop right down through the barrel on a 45-70.

 

[greenmtnguy]

Yes, get a good cast 400 gr bullet, or use the 400 gn remington jacketed SP, or the Hornady 300gn jacketed hollowpoint or remington 300 gn hollowpoint for the most "bang" per buck of projectiles. I don't use any pistol powder for accurate loads or hunting loads in my 45/70. IMR4198, IMR3031, H322, or Reloader7 are good choices for these bullets - get the Lymans manual or the Hogdon Annual manual for some good starting points.

I have a load with H322 and the 300 grn hollowpoints that chrono about 2100 FPS and are pretty accurate and as flat shooting as you'll get with a 45/70.... but they aren't for the recoil shy by any means. You certainly don't need to go high speed to be accurate, I've some loads with IMR4198 and the Remington 400 gn SP that are quite nice shooting and accurate at around 1400 FPS.

 

[Joea132]

A 325 gr FTX is the lightest bullet for the 45-70. Those 225's are only for the Colt 45 and 454 Casull. They are .006 to .007 to small in diameter. will prolly drop right down through the barrel on a 45-70.

Thanks for catching my typo. They are 325gr FTX!

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. I think I have to bring this one back to the drawing board and reassess the direction I'm going here. I'm reluctant to load cast bullets as I have always used jacketed. But I guess expanding ones horizons is never a bad idea.

 

[StrawHat]

You mention an 1895, so I am guessing a Marlin as Winchester never chambered their 1895 in 45 caliber. Many have gotten very good accuracy with the Marlin rifle and lead bullets. It is the general opinion you will need a larger diameter bullet to get accuracy. Do a search for Ranch Dog bullets, he has spent a lot of time and effort developing these bullets to wring the most out of the Marlin rifles.

Kevin

 

[skeet028]

I tried many many cast bullets in my microgroove Marlin. Only one would shoot was the 290 gr gould HP cast bullet. And I had 3 different moulds for that bullet. They all shot just fine. No on=ther cast would shoot. So I sold it and got a Cowboy 1895. It has the Ballard rifling and shoots 'em all well with a little load development. I had to find something they shot in cause a friend gave me more'n 90 lbs of cast sized lubed 45-70 bullets. I also have a 300 gr 45 Colt mold that casts somewhat large and it shoots very well in the 45-70. Those 325 gr rubber pointed bullets just won't shoot well in my rifle..And you usually have to trim the case shorter..

 

[greenmtnguy]

Yes, another point concerning the flextip Hornady FTX bullets is that you DO have to trim the cases to be undersized (short) to crimp the pointy bullet for proper cartridge OAL - otherwise they either won't chamber or won't feed properly in the 1895. Once you cut the brass short for those bullets, then they are too short for "normal" 45/70 loading data and bullets.

You then need to keep the two batches of brass separate.

Much easier to just not bother with the pointy bullets to begin with and load any of the hundreds or thousands of common 45/70 bullet choices in normal length cases.

 

[MR]

You will also have to work crimping, as the cases are trimmed too short to crimp in a regular 45-70 seater/crimp die. I had an extra that I shortened to do a bunch of Hornady 1 fired.

 

[redbullitt]

Those 325s shot vert well out of my guide gun, like 1.5 inch at 100 or better. Velocity was 1600 or so I think. Your Varget powder should do a good job.

Check and see what type of rifling you have. Mine is Ballard and it seems to like most bullets.

I usually use Varget or H4198 under a 405 cast bullet at around 1500 fps. Great deer medicine and fun to shoot. nothing like lobbing that big old chunk of lead out there.

Those 325s need shortened brass by the way if you want to crimp in the groove. Factory loaded FTX rounds use cut down brass to allow it to function in the rifle and still hit the crimp marks on the bullet.

 

[Joea132]

As an interesting side note, the Hornady book gives 1680 at 50.1 as just under the max load. I ran that load through quickload and it was 95% pressure. Somewhere around the high 30K's in chamber pressure. And that was under the marlin 1895 load. The ones we shot were extremely stout. I loaded some with varget and they were manageable and pleasant. Plus better accuracy

 

[flashhole]

I agree with the comments that suggested the 350 grain bullet. My Marlin Guide gun loves the 350 grain bullet with a near max load of H-4895 average chrony reading 1960 fps. Very accurate, manageable recoil and uses conventional length brass.

For years I shot only jacketed bullets in my Guide Gun. Then I bough a Lee 340 grain bullet mold to cast wheel weight lead. Opened up a whole world of new adventures. I use Varget with the cast bullets and my 16 year old daughter uses it as her deer gun. She hangs right in there with the recoil and shoots lights out with accuracy. Proud pappy for sure!