45-70 Reloads

[45Frank]

Looking for some opinions on reloading my new 45-70 Marlin SBL.
Looking for something for blinking as well as for bear here in the WNC mountains. I am leaning SWC or RNFP for the bear or deer?

 

[Sunray]

Yogi is not armoured. Use the Hodgdon data for lever actions.

 

[redbullitt]

I like the NOE wide flat nose, WFN designs. Ranch dog has some good ones too, but not sure if you cast-- good time to start lol.

Laser cast 405 plain bases also shoot well out of my rifle.

My GBL shoots very well with lots of bullets. Nosler 300g, hornady 350g do great if you are after jacketed.

 

[45Frank]

I like the NOE wide flat nose, WFN designs. Ranch dog has some good ones too, but not sure if you cast-- good time to start lol.

Laser cast 405 plain bases also shoot well out of my rifle.

My GBL shoots very well with lots of bullets. Nosler 300g, hornady 350g do great if you are after jacketed.

I usually buy from Missouri Bullet Co. Haven't tried casting yet.

 

[SlowFuse]

I like the Buffalo #1 405 grain from MBC.

 

[Coltdriver]

There is so much load data out there for that round! I have the classic 22" 1895 Model.

I put a 405 grain bullet over 49 grains of Varget and get just under 1500 fps. It is tolerable for me and easy to hit anything out to 100 yards. Beyond that, well you can shoot it a mile if you know the trajectory I am not a fan of the rounds that hurt you more than the game you are shooting at.

For great plinking rounds check out any of the milder 325 grain cast rounds. I down load them with Varget too and get a real soft, totally pleasant round to shoot.

You can take a look at the 325 grain Leverevolution rounds for a pretty decent 200 yard hunting round. You can get the bullets and reload them yourself. If you start with the Hornady ammo you will find the brass is shorter than regular brass. You can reload them up to the ~2000 fps they advertise. That is a stout round but for me anyway, tolerable to shoot a few.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Most anything that is safe in a tube-magazine gun is fine. Consider a Keith bullet.

 

[Don McDowell]

Keep it simple and load a 405 gr cast bullet using the "trapdoor" level loads. That velocity is what kept the 45-70 around for 100nsumodd years waiting to be "discovered" and tried to turn into a 458 lite.
Easier on the shoulder and the gun, and those loads will shoot thru any animal North America has to offer out to 200 yds.
5744 and 3031 are good powders for loading cast bullets to reasonable levels.

 

[cpt-t]

45Frank: My Son and I shoot three 1895 Marlins in 45/70. Along with two Sharps, a Rolling Block, and a Bolt Gun in 45/70. The 45/70 is one of our favorite calibers, and we shoot them quite a bit. We shoot Targets at the range, Plink with them, Cowboy shoot, and Hunt with our 45/70`s and reload for them as well. We have decided on just one reload 35Grs of IMR3031 and a 405Gr RNFP hard cast bullet at about 1250 FPS tp 1350 FPS we think, according to the books we don`t have a crony. We find a RNFP Bullet Feeds better in any of our Lever Guns, better than a SWC bullet does. I turned 71 years old this year and am getting recoil sinective. But this is a very comfortable load to shoot, and we have killed several Deer and Hogs with it out to 200 yds with it. But most of the times our hunting shots are under 100 yds or less. We have gotten thru and thru results whither the shot was End for End or Side to Side on every animal we have shot with it. Never hunted a bear we don`t have them around hear, but it should do the job.
ken

 

[Slamfire]

I have found nothing better for cast bullets in the 45/70 than AA5744. I know blackpowder shooters who actually shoot 1 MOA or less with cast bullets over blackpowder, but I will take the hit in accuracy for the easier cleanup with smokeless.


45/70 Martini Henry

26" Shilen Barrel


405 LRN 26.5gr AA5744 R-P cases WLR
29-Apr-04 T = 80 °F
Ave Vel = 1294
Std Dev = 14
ES = 40
Low = 1274
High = 1314
N = 15


405 LRN 27.0gr AA5744 R-P cases WLR
24-Mar-04 T = 70 °F
Ave Vel = 1284
Std Dev = 23
ES = 80
Low = 1263
High = 1343
N = 12


405 LRN 27.5gr AA5744 R-P cases WLR
24-Mar-04 T = 70 °F
Ave Vel = 1323
Std Dev = 14
ES = 38
Low = 1307
High = 1345
N = 5

 

[MILLERTIME]

405 gr Remington over IMR 4198 or 3031. Use lever action info and you can load light to wow. Enjoy the lever action they are great to load for.

 

[dickydalton]

I keep reading where some folks like 14 grains of Unique under a 405 cast and plan on trying that.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have loaded the 45-70 with powders ranging from fast shotgun powders like Red Dot to medium slow rifle powders like 4895 and 4064. I have used cast bullets, swagged bullets and jacketed bullets ranging from 300gr to 585gr. IMO it's hard to build a bad 45-70 round and I have yet to do it. Of course some combinations are better than others but all will kill a bear.

Right now I'm loading either a 300gr or 405gr cast bullet and I'm using AA5744. I rarely go hotter than Trapdoor pressures because I see no reason to...

 

[Bullseye]

I keep reading where some folks like 14 grains of Unique under a 405 cast and plan on trying that.

I have used 12 gr Unique under a 325 gr lead alloy hollow point in my marlin guide gun and they shot well.
I guess you could call it a plinking load if there is such a thing in 45-70.

 

[45Frank]

A little slow these days but did reload some 405g RNFP from MBC with Reloader 7. Tomorrow we'll see how well I do sighting in my new Skinner rear sight with the stock front sight. OR whether or not I'm going with a scope.
Any tips on sighting in sights could be nice, never did this from scratch before?

 

[BigBore44]

As always is said, don't trust info found on the web unless it's from a reputable reloading website. Now that that is out of the way... 405 MBC #1 Buffalo, 41 grains IMR3031. And 405 MBC #1 Buffalo and 15 grains Unique. The 45-70 has to be one of the most versatile calibres out there as far as ability to download to mousefart to killing on both ends. You're biggest limitation is the gun....and your pain threshold.

 

[geometric]

Yea, this is an old post. That being said, I like 46 gr. of Reloader No. 7 with a 405+/- gr. cast bullet. (never saw a mold that produced exactly 405 grain bullets). Not a hot load but it will kill anything on the planet. I used it in my Ruger #1 & it is great in my Pedersoli Kodiak. The Ruger could handle loads right up to .458 Win. Mag. (well almost anyway), but I never saw the need to load it hotter. Killed some really big boar hogs with it. I am also thinking of trying Varget. The pressure/ velocity numbers look real good.
BTW, are you the same "Frank" I know from SGW?

 

[Steve S.]

In my Shiloh Hartford, I load 36.5 grains 3031 under a 405 grain LFN right at 1,300 fps vel. - my guess is that this BP equivalent load will handily extinguish a black bear (and then some). I have been down range from these rounds (bunker with a walkie-talkie) calling hits; it was like calling in a fire mission. At 800 yards this slow, lumbering round carries a huge amount of energy even at that range - I would not think that any black bear would take a good hit from that round without deadly consequences.