reduced 45-70 load

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Ross Smith posted this 18 December 2017

There was an article awhile back that dealt with reduced 45-70 loads. I couldn't find it so at the risk of redundancy; here's mine.

45-70 cases mixed lot, cci LR primers, 30grs. FFG, and 2 .460x.5" fiber wads from buffalo arms. This is a compressed load but the fiber wads compress easily and I needed to use up almost that amount of space anyway. It was down right pleasant to shoot but still had some kick, about like my '06 with a 220 grn bullet ahead of 30 grns. 4895. Works better than just really deep seating of the bullet.

My 1873 springfield is not real accurate anyway so I was happy with soup can accuracy.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 18 December 2017

hi ross ... what bullet did you use for your light 45-70 loads ??

i loaded up a big box of hornady 45 lead balls/ 3 gr pistol powder/ tp wads  ... last summer and have gone through most of them ... knocks the crap out of a pop can at 50 feet ...( g ) ...  but now need a tad more power the next go-around .  am considering a 350 or 405 mold with big hollowpoint to get under 300 gr. ... with 75 yard plinking accuracy ... looked at that collar button mold but like the outside shape of a 350 gr better ... i am thinking that if a 45 acp can shoot well with a 230 gr bullet, a better shaped 2XX 45-70 should do fine ...  oh, i have a ruger3 so light recoil is a less pain .

ken

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beltfed posted this 18 December 2017

I have loaded the 45cal 300 gr RCBS RNFP bullet over modest loads for lighter recoil in my 45-70 lever guns.

It shoots well.

Also, for plinking, I have loaded (from older oversize Ideal molds) the 454190 Colt revolver bullet

and the Keith 454424.  Use LIGHT loads of Unique. If you try to run these pistol bullets too fast,

It becomes spray and pray to hit something.

beltfed/arnie

 

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cbshtr posted this 21 December 2017

I just use the Lee 405 grain flat round nose with 13 grains of Unique. Very accurate at 50 yards with minimum recoil. A very fun load to shoot.

Robert Homan

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45 2.1 posted this 18 December 2017

I have is a 430 grain hoch bullet, nose pour, casts about .460. My 1873 is not real accurate. Ross

Good bullet and weight. Cast it out of 50:1 of pure lead/tin, just lube it with a black powder type lube and try a charge of 20 gr. SR 4759. That is an old time recommended load for accuracy.

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oscarflytyer posted this 20 December 2017

first load I tried in my 45-70, and what I have so far stuck with and hunt my Marlin 1895 with.  Waters Pet load.  Lee 405-HBRN of WW+2% tin, pushed by 38.5 grns of IMR 3031.  Chrono's @ 1325 fps.  Very light/manageable recoil w/ hard butt plate.  And thumps a deer.

I plan to bump powder to 40 grns for simplicity.  And have Ranch Dog 300 and 360 grn bullets to try also.  But also plan to keep all velocity at or below ~1500 fps.  Much friendlier to my old rebuilt shoulder.

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rfd123 posted this 22 July 2018

for my .45-70 rifles i use a reduced 200 meter/yard "chicken" load of bp with a multi wad stack.  goes like this - starline brass, federal 210 LRP, 60.5 weighed grains of swiss 1-1/2f, a pair of .025" milk carton wads and the powder column is compressed using a BACO compression plug in a lyman "M" die body, then a pair of .125" hard felt wads and another pair of .025" milk carton wads.  i use a fred cornell wad punch, it works great.  the accurate molds 45-405P slick is cast with 1:20 alloy and drops at 404 grains with a .443" diameter.  2 dry wraps of fidelity 9# onion paper and the slick is dropped into the case, the case and slick go into an adjusted lyman .45 taper crimp die that puts just enuf tension on the neck to keep the PPB from wobbling or falling out, yet will easily turn around or get pulled out with fingers.  this has been a 200 yard match winning load for me in modern roller.

for my grandkids, i use 14 weighed grains of trail boss under a lee 10 cast 340 grain greaser that's been dip lubed and not sized.  it's a pussy cat load that's purty accurate at 200 yards, too.

 

http://www.BuffaloRifles.org

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Ross Smith posted this 18 December 2017

Ken: I went overboard on the bullet as all I have is a 430 grain hoch bullet, nose pour, casts about .460. It has plenty of power with 30gr FFG and I would even shoot  deer with it at close range. My 1873 is not real accurate, so you could probably expect better resilts. The wads are real easy to trim with a knife to get any wad column length, just fill up all the empty space. Have fun.Ross

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Ross Smith posted this 18 December 2017

45 2.1: That's good to know. I use plumbers lead and scrap, not real pure. I also useSPG lube. That stuff seems to work on everything.

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Ross Smith posted this 21 December 2017

I was shooting my reduced load and forgot to mention that I didn't use an overpowder card wad. I should have. Those fiber wads come out glowing and smoking and they really stink too, worse than BP. 

So, use an overpowder card wad.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 23 July 2018

thanks rfd ... interesting stuff ...

" patched " bullets are intriguing ...   sierra matchkings are kind of a " patched "  bullet ... and they do ok ... heh ... 

ken

 

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rfd123 posted this 23 July 2018

yessir - papered, gilded, coppered, powder coated, whatever - anything but lube/grease is a physical  jacket of sorts.

i like the hand wrapped cellulose kind best. excited

http://www.BuffaloRifles.org

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