This article written by CBA member, Rupert Wyble, was published in the Jan/Feb 2005 #173 issue of the Fouling Shot.
Shooting cast bullets in the .45-70 at black powder velocities has always been an enjoyable experience. It was to my great grandfather, grandfather, father, and is to me. Well my great grandfather might have disagreed with the term enjoyable experience from time to time in his early years, but for the most part we are a peaceable lot and pursue target shooting with cast bullets as a life long sport of choice.
The problem lies in the fact that I’m a smokeless powder shooter and the old case is just too big. I won’t rehash the .45-70 story, as it is probably more than most shooters can stand. Suffice to say for the past 40 years, I’ve tried most of the tricks: Corn meal, kapok, light bullets, duplex charges. I even changed the twist to 1-34 (.45-90) and shot 300-grain bullets exclusively. That’s another story. It shoots really well, but the 300-grain bullet runs out of steam before it gets out to a respectable .45-70 range. In the normal twist used for .45-70, about 1-20 give or take a couple, the problem is getting worse as I get older. These guns like heavy bullets.
Usually my .45-70 rifles like bullets over 400 grains and cast from No. 2 metal or a little softer. In some cases, 500 or even 600 grain bullets are the most accurate. Best velocity or should I say the most accurate velocity is somewhere between 1400 and 1650 f.p.s.
The word “best” indicates something is good. I find nothing good about sitting behind a rifle that is launching 500-grain bullets at 1650 f.p.s. When velocity is reduced to 1200-1300 f.p.s. with smokeless powder, it becomes much more enjoyable to shoot, although I start getting flyers due to poor ignition. I’ve gotten good accuracy using compressed charges of slow powder, but sweeping out the bore after each shot does not add to the shooting enjoyment, and I hate getting powder grains under the extractor.
What I needed was a shorter case, so after four generations of struggling with the .45-70 case size, a change was in order. I wanted a case just long enough to drive bullets of between 400 and 550 grains to speeds not over 1300 f.p.s. This should be done with bullets sitting firmly on a .060” cork wad; some shorter bullets require two wads. All loads have a small amount of compression. The powders I use in the .45-70 are generally IMR4227, IMR4198, and Accurate Arms 2015BR. Others work but these seem to work best for me. IMR4198 is probably the best with heavy bullets using charges between 25-35 grains, depending on bullet weight.
Even though the new case would be shorter, I decided to leave my preferred powders the same, starting on the lower side of what I had been using for safety. For case length, I first looked at the .45-70 x 1.5” or .45 Silhouette, but it was designed to shoot 300-grain bullets. It is a little short on powder space and throat. At 1.575” inches I got enough space to do the job. So it became the .45-70 Short 1.575”. Already having a Douglas premium 1-20” .45 barrel blank and a Ruger M-77 that I’ve modified for rimmed cartridges helped the project along. This is kind of a one way conversion for the M77 as the bolt face becomes different enough that you can’t go back to a rimless cartridge without a new bolt. It is doubtful, in my case, that this would be desired, as I’m quite pleased with this rifle/cartridge combination.
Shooting cast bullets in the .45-70 at black powder velocities has always been an enjoyable experience. It was to my great grandfather, grandfather, father, and is to me. Well my great grandfather might have disagreed with the term enjoyable experience from time to time in his early years, but for the most part we are a peaceable lot and pursue target shooting with cast bullets as a life long sport of choice.
The problem lies in the fact that I’m a smokeless powder shooter and the old case is just too big. I won’t rehash the .45-70 story, as it is probably more than most shooters can stand. Suffice to say for the past 40 years, I’ve tried most of the tricks: Corn meal, kapok, light bullets, duplex charges. I even changed the twist to 1-34 (.45-90) and shot 300-grain bullets exclusively. That’s another story. It shoots really well, but the 300-grain bullet runs out of steam before it gets out to a respectable .45-70 range. In the normal twist used for .45-70, about 1-20 give or take a couple, the problem is getting worse as I get older. These guns like heavy bullets.
Usually my .45-70 rifles like bullets over 400 grains and cast from No. 2 metal or a little softer. In some cases, 500 or even 600 grain bullets are the most accurate. Best velocity or should I say the most accurate velocity is somewhere between 1400 and 1650 f.p.s.
The word “best” indicates something is good. I find nothing good about sitting behind a rifle that is launching 500-grain bullets at 1650 f.p.s. When velocity is reduced to 1200-1300 f.p.s. with smokeless powder, it becomes much more enjoyable to shoot, although I start getting flyers due to poor ignition. I’ve gotten good accuracy using compressed charges of slow powder, but sweeping out the bore after each shot does not add to the shooting enjoyment, and I hate getting powder grains under the extractor.
What I needed was a shorter case, so after four generations of struggling with the .45-70 case size, a change was in order. I wanted a case just long enough to drive bullets of between 400 and 550 grains to speeds not over 1300 f.p.s. This should be done with bullets sitting firmly on a .060” cork wad; some shorter bullets require two wads. All loads have a small amount of compression. The powders I use in the .45-70 are generally IMR4227, IMR4198, and Accurate Arms 2015BR. Others work but these seem to work best for me. IMR4198 is probably the best with heavy bullets using charges between 25-35 grains, depending on bullet weight.
Even though the new case would be shorter, I decided to leave my preferred powders the same, starting on the lower side of what I had been using for safety. For case length, I first looked at the .45-70 x 1.5” or .45 Silhouette, but it was designed to shoot 300-grain bullets. It is a little short on powder space and throat. At 1.575” inches I got enough space to do the job. So it became the .45-70 Short 1.575”. Already having a Douglas premium 1-20” .45 barrel blank and a Ruger M-77 that I’ve modified for rimmed cartridges helped the project along. This is kind of a one way conversion for the M77 as the bolt face becomes different enough that you can’t go back to a rimless cartridge without a new bolt. It is doubtful, in my case, that this would be desired, as I’m quite pleased with this rifle/cartridge combination.
.With barrel, rifle, brass and a number of good heavy bullet moulds in hand, all I needed was a reamer. Not wanting to buy a custom reamer for such a simple conversion, I chanced upon a reamer specification sheet for the 458x2 inch from JGS Precision Tool in Oregon. According to the spec sheet, the first 1.575 inches of this reamer were in fact my .45-70 x1.575. Even the throat was pretty close to what I wanted. A quick call proved it was in stock and at a reasonable price.
One 200-yard (left) and two 100-yard targets shot in registered competition with the .45-70 Short 1.575” The reamer worked perfectly with the exception of the rim cut which I made separately. (Before I get to the loading and shooting, a caution is in order. I don’t know if anybody else’s 458-2 inch reamer would work. I don’t even know if another one from JGS would work so well. Mine did. Of course, my project had a fallback. If the reamer didn’t work, I would build a .458x2 inch and keep my mouth shut.)
With the chamber complete, I turned to loading dies, to see what problems there would be. The answer to this question is none. My RCBS dies work perfectly. Remington brass works best as it is thicker and the sizing die snugs them down just the right amount. The expander, when adjusted all the way down is right on the money, and so is the seating die. This is a plus, not needing any special dies. Brass is a one step affair; cut it off. One added benefit is saving damaged or cracked neck cases. Now when a .45-70 case gets damaged, just cut off the crumpled or cracked neck and you’re back in business.
In the area of components, most of my regular .45-70 bullets, powder, primers, and brass worked fine. One set however, is shining above the rest, so that is the one I will discuss.
I use mostly Remington brass; it works best in my gun. The bullet which has come out on top is the heavy Saeco 540-grain bore-rider. I think it was designed for the .458 Winchester and seems to fit my gun’s throat very well. The powder for this heavy bullet is AA 2015 BR. It’s the hands down winner. Proper charge seems to be 28.6 grains behind a .060” cork wad with just a little compression. The only primers I use are Winchester Large Rifle magnum. Others may be good, but these work for me.
There is one fly in the ointment however; in going through a batch of cases, I will occasionally find a thin case or worse yet, one that is thin on one side. These must be removed or you will have fliers. My highly technical method for finding them, is just load them. If a bullet seats too easy, I set it aside. A careful inspection after firing will usually show a thin or out of round case.
I size all my bullets to .459” for this rifle and use SPG lube exclusively. I live in the desert; with high temperatures and low humidity, and SPG is the only lube I’ve found that will let me shoot all day in the summer without leading (in the big bores).
As mentioned before, I cast my bullets of No. 2 metal; making them any harder does not improve accuracy for .45 caliber the way it usually does in smaller bores.
Well, that’s about all there is to making up a rifle and ammunition. The proof is in the shooting and I’m well pleased with this combination so far. The M77 has a pretty well designed stock. The trigger is not bad and I cut the barrel fat enough to hold the recoil down. The rifle weighs in at a little over 12 pounds, so the heavy bullet load is easy to shoot. The velocity is estimated at about 1200 f.p.s. with the 28.6-grain AA 2015 BR load. If conditions are good and you do your part, sub minute of angle groups happen on a regular basis.
To prove to myself this set up could be used in a cast bullet match. I went over to Modesto California (Modesto Rifle Club) for a two-day match in May 2004. Let me say they are one of the greatest shooting groups I’ve ever met. I had two wonderful days of shooting. Competing against Modesto’s Schuetzen plain base, heavy bench rest and production shooters was a humbling experience. I did manage to struggle a few rungs up the ladder. My best 100-yard group was .654 inches. At 200 yards, I turned in a best group of 1.439 inches. I’m very happy with my project and the accuracy seems reasonable for the M77 shooting a 540-grain bullet.
With the chamber complete, I turned to loading dies, to see what problems there would be. The answer to this question is none. My RCBS dies work perfectly. Remington brass works best as it is thicker and the sizing die snugs them down just the right amount. The expander, when adjusted all the way down is right on the money, and so is the seating die. This is a plus, not needing any special dies. Brass is a one step affair; cut it off. One added benefit is saving damaged or cracked neck cases. Now when a .45-70 case gets damaged, just cut off the crumpled or cracked neck and you’re back in business.
In the area of components, most of my regular .45-70 bullets, powder, primers, and brass worked fine. One set however, is shining above the rest, so that is the one I will discuss.
I use mostly Remington brass; it works best in my gun. The bullet which has come out on top is the heavy Saeco 540-grain bore-rider. I think it was designed for the .458 Winchester and seems to fit my gun’s throat very well. The powder for this heavy bullet is AA 2015 BR. It’s the hands down winner. Proper charge seems to be 28.6 grains behind a .060” cork wad with just a little compression. The only primers I use are Winchester Large Rifle magnum. Others may be good, but these work for me.
There is one fly in the ointment however; in going through a batch of cases, I will occasionally find a thin case or worse yet, one that is thin on one side. These must be removed or you will have fliers. My highly technical method for finding them, is just load them. If a bullet seats too easy, I set it aside. A careful inspection after firing will usually show a thin or out of round case.
I size all my bullets to .459” for this rifle and use SPG lube exclusively. I live in the desert; with high temperatures and low humidity, and SPG is the only lube I’ve found that will let me shoot all day in the summer without leading (in the big bores).
As mentioned before, I cast my bullets of No. 2 metal; making them any harder does not improve accuracy for .45 caliber the way it usually does in smaller bores.
Well, that’s about all there is to making up a rifle and ammunition. The proof is in the shooting and I’m well pleased with this combination so far. The M77 has a pretty well designed stock. The trigger is not bad and I cut the barrel fat enough to hold the recoil down. The rifle weighs in at a little over 12 pounds, so the heavy bullet load is easy to shoot. The velocity is estimated at about 1200 f.p.s. with the 28.6-grain AA 2015 BR load. If conditions are good and you do your part, sub minute of angle groups happen on a regular basis.
To prove to myself this set up could be used in a cast bullet match. I went over to Modesto California (Modesto Rifle Club) for a two-day match in May 2004. Let me say they are one of the greatest shooting groups I’ve ever met. I had two wonderful days of shooting. Competing against Modesto’s Schuetzen plain base, heavy bench rest and production shooters was a humbling experience. I did manage to struggle a few rungs up the ladder. My best 100-yard group was .654 inches. At 200 yards, I turned in a best group of 1.439 inches. I’m very happy with my project and the accuracy seems reasonable for the M77 shooting a 540-grain bullet.
