Ammo Selection for Browning 1886

[az_imuth]

I recently picked up this 1886 Browning and was wanting some opinions on ammo selection. I've only fired a few rounds of 325gr Leverlution through it, but I loved shooting this rifle so much I want to see what others are shooting in theirs. I plan to try some reloading a little further down the road once the craze has settled down, so I'm only interested in store-bought ammo at this point. First, what is a good all-around ammo for occasional target shooting out to 200-250 yards? The Leverlution seemed very accurate, wasn't prohibitively expensive, and didn't rattle my teeth too much. I'm also interested in a good round for hogs here in Texas if I decide to thin out a few at the farm. I've seen ammo up around $75 a box and that's a Little steep for me. Looking to keep it under $40-$45 if possible. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Onmilo]

Reloading is the way to go.
I owned an 86 carbine before I got my Extra Lightweight rifle and both shot well with my favorite cast load, A 450 grain Whitworth/Rigby bullet sized .457" and loaded above a 27 grain charge of SR-4759
Since that mold is not too awful common You could try a 30 grain charge of the same powder under a 350 grain jacketed flatnose or a 400/405 cast lead flatnose and still get fine results.
I have tried other powders, XMP-5744, some of the IMR stuff, but none have given me the good results I get with the SR4759

If you want to stay with factory, both rifles shoot very well with the Remington factory jacketed 405 grain flatpoint HTH

 

[witchhunter]

Beautiful rifle. Get some reloading stuff, you should be able to make yer own for a lot less than that....

 

[az_imuth]

Thanks for the responses. Okay, so it sounds like reloading is the ticket here. Since it shoots the Leverlution so well, would it be a bad idea to shoot several boxes of that in order to build up a collection of brass to work with, or is there better brass out there?

 

[Onmilo]

I'v used Winchester, Remington and Starline. Since Starline makes brass for Hornady I would stay with it. They make very good long lasting cases.

 

[Malamute]

The Brownings have pretty short throats. They work fine with most factory(jacketed) ammo, but some cast can be hard to chamber, as the front of the bullets is fatter than factory or most jacketed stuff. The answer to that is either check the bullets you want to use before buying or loading a ton of them, or have it throated, which is fairly simple to do or have done.

I liked the plain old 300 gr jacketed hollow points. The velocity is high enough to be fairly easy to shoot at a couple hundred yards or so, and the recoil is pretty mild. Used to be the Remington bulk bullets were decently priced, but I heard they've gone up with a new manager there. I've used their 300's and 400's, both are pretty good general use bullets.

 

[Jim Watson]

The rubbernosed Leverevolution bullet is pretty stubby but it is still longer than standard.
So the brass is a bit shorter than standard so the OAL will fit the action of .45-70 repeaters like yours. That should not keep it from being reloaded but I have read that it is short enough that the crimp shoulder in some dies will not reach the case mouth.
Maybe Hornady dies would work. Or give you somebody to talk to.

Me?
I'd use standard .45-70 brass, not a mutant.

 

[witchhunter]

Try to use only one brand of brass when reloading, it eliminates a variable. Making consistant loads is the key. I don't think it really matters which brand you choose, just pick one and buy only that brand to reload. i didn't know the leverevolutiion brass was shorter, I would use a standard length brass, But I am old school. Old school is proven.

 

[SwampWolf]

The Brownings have pretty short throats. They work fine with most factory(jacketed) ammo, but some cast can be hard to chamber, as the front of the bullets is fatter than factory or most jacketed stuff.

This has been my experience when reloading for my Winchester "Extra Lightweight" rifle. I just make certain that a given bullet configuration "fits" before buying them in bulk.

 

[Float Pilot]

I have the same rifle and have tried all sorts of hand-loads. For accuracy mine seems to like the 350 grain jacketed flat nose bullets loaded up around 1850 to 1950 fps.

Mine does not like any of the cast bullets for accuracy , which is too bad since I bought 1,000 of them before finding out they shoot like crap.

 

[Onmilo]

The trick with cast bullets in the Brownings is to cast them hard.
The old 16/1 mix won't shoot well, even lubed with SPG and smokeless has always shot better than black powder or the substitutes.

 

[StrawHat]

If you try cast bullets, they need to fit the rifle. Slugging the bore will help as will slugging the throat. I like bullets to fit the throat and be .001 or .002 larger than the bore. If they are too small, it really doesn't matter how haed you cast them, they will lead for you. Check out some of the cast b ullet sites if you are interested in shooting lead bullets. For the last 30+ years, I have not used a jacketed bullet, except when on duty. All that lead and with proper loads, no leading.

 

[Asherdan]

The Remington 300g HP will leave you with good standard brass and run ~1525 FPS for you. The 405g load will run ~1100 FPS. I started with those in my 1895G and am still getting use from that brass.

Considering the Leverevolution shoots well and is easy on the wallet, you may want to shoot it, save the brass and trade it when you're ready to reload. Then go buy you some Starline brass as seed stock and carry on.

 

[az_imuth]

I appreciate everyon'es input. Souds like there are lots of options available for bullet choice and I'm thinking that maybe the Remington brass (thanks Asherdan) might be better to use in place of the Hornady. Whichever I end up with I know it'll be a good time unloading it with the Browning.