Incoming !

[blarby]

Excerpted from here :

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=652869

400 GR. SPR JFP*
Hodgdon H4198 .458" 2.540"
46.0g 1854fps 29,500 CUP to 50.5grs 2002 fps39,400 CUP

Staring at 47, ending up at 50grs = 1965-1980 fps at the high end.

Firearm type : Rifle

Bullet Weight 400grs
Ballistic Coefficient .214 ( Speer jacketed FN )
Muzzle Velocity 1980fps
Zero Range 100 yds


Range Muzzle ....50 100 200 300 400 500
Velocity .......1980 1808 1646 1363 1151 1018
Energy ft# ...3482 2902 2406 1650 1176 920
Trajectory (100 yd. zero)
........................ 0.6 0.0 -11.5 -41.9 -98.3 -186.7
Come Up in MOA
........................ -1.1 0.0 5.5 13.3 23.5 35.7


I chose this not because its the heaviest bullet or most powerful charge, but due to the terminal ballistics in the 50-150 yard range.

I am not interested in pointy lever bullets... a 10" difference in drop with compromised terminal impact past 300 yards is not what I'm looking for. If I wanted to reach out past 250...I would take a rem 700 and go that direction.

For those of you who own and shoot 45/70, what do you think of this ?

 

[Asherdan]

Friend of mine uses AA2230 to push that Speer bullet up to 1900 fps. It's a little soft, but I'm not sure how much that matters. On a hunt, I watched him shove one in from the left ham and out the right shoulder at ~170 yards on a ~225 lb. sow. I guess it worked just fine and it should for you, too.

Personally, I tend to think that the 400+ grain bullets are a little heavy for the faster powders like Rx7 and the IMR/H-4198's. I like the next rung slower, like H322, for the heavier weights, for what that's worth.

In the end, the only worry I'd have was finding a load in the range you mention that's accurate in your (spiffy) levergun. You find an accurate load, that setup will hunt.

[I'd point you towards the Leupold FX-II unltralight 2.5x for a scope. It won't mount full forward but the 5" of eye relief will let you use the rail to mount the eyepiece just forward of the hammer. Pretty darn sweet way to go.]