I have found on imr website a published load for a 45-70 using trailboss that sounds to be pretty light. It's uses a 300 grain bullet with a starting load of 14 grains and a max load of 16.5. Was wondering if any of you have used this data. I would like to find other published data for light loads like this so any help with that would be appreciated.
Plinking load for 45-70
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R.W.Dale
Member
Not in 45/70 but I've used trail boss in various rifle and pistol rounds including. 30-06
The data is legit and quite addictive as it makes for a great powder puff load.
Hodgdon will tell you that you can use this powder in pretty much anything even without load data by determining where the base of the bullet is or 100% load density and reducing by a certain percentage
DO NOT COMPRESS trail boss
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Dframe
Member
Yes I've used it. works great. Very mild report and recoil. Fun plinking load
FROGO207
Member
It is a great load for those old 45-70 trapdoor rifles that are not safe to shoot with mordern loads. I agree it is a great shooting soft recoil practice round. I use a 300 grain lead gas checked bullet from Matt's Bullet.
TheGrimReaper
Member
I love TrailBoss in .45-70. I took a 4 point buck this year using a 405 grain boolit and 13.5grs of TB. SUCCESS!
ArchAngelCD
Member.
If you're not sure of the data source, and you probably aren't or you wouldn't be asking us, don't trust the load data.
Above I saw someone say to fill the case for the Max charge and reduce by 10% for your starting load. That is not true with Trail Boss like it is with other smokeless powders. You fill the case to the bottom of the bullet and reduce by 30% to establish the starting charge weight. (of course you have to weigh the Max charge and do so math) When you use the starting charge of Trail Boss it will produce a fairly light practice load in the 45-70. I highly suggest using lead bullets with Trail Boss and also like said above, DO NOT compress Trail Boss.
Read this: http://hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail Boss Reduced Loads R&P.pdf
Above I saw someone say to fill the case for the Max charge and reduce by 10% for your starting load. That is not true with Trail Boss like it is with other smokeless powders. You fill the case to the bottom of the bullet and reduce by 30% to establish the starting charge weight. (of course you have to weigh the Max charge and do so math) When you use the starting charge of Trail Boss it will produce a fairly light practice load in the 45-70. I highly suggest using lead bullets with Trail Boss and also like said above, DO NOT compress Trail Boss.
Read this: http://hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail Boss Reduced Loads R&P.pdf
R.W.Dale
Member
Good catch. I will redact my post accordingly.
Short of compressing tb which we've established as a big no no is there any bullet-cartridge combo possible that TB would over pressure @ 100% load density?
Short of compressing tb which we've established as a big no no is there any bullet-cartridge combo possible that TB would over pressure @ 100% load density?
ArchAngelCD
Member.
According to everything I have read there is no way of stuffing enough Trail Boss into any case to cause a problem. (of course without compressing the powder)
For the new reloaders:
The reason you should never compress Trail Boss is the coating they add to the powder and the donuts shape of the powder which is all designed to control the burn rate. If you break up the donuts by compression the burn rate changes and pressures can and probably will spike... (not good lol)
Sunray
Member
IMR is made/sold by Hodgdon. Hodgdon breaks .45-70 data into three rifle categories that must not be mixed. The Trail boss load is for TrapDoor Springfields. Using it in a modern/lever rifle won't cause you any grief, but using a modern load/lever load in a TrapDoor will.
Their data is safe and is the go-to for most reloaders since they own or market most of the common powders.
A compressed load is nothing to worry about as long as your manual shows it as a compressed load. Usually with an asterisk. Do not ever compress any powder that isn't given as a compressed load.
Their data is safe and is the go-to for most reloaders since they own or market most of the common powders.
A compressed load is nothing to worry about as long as your manual shows it as a compressed load. Usually with an asterisk. Do not ever compress any powder that isn't given as a compressed load.
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