reloading for the bfr 45-70 questions

[harryman1974]

fairly new to reloading[2yrs] load for several cal. 45acp 44mag .243 .270win 7mm-08. I just bought a magnum research bfr in 45-70,have dies to reload for this also,have shot the factory remington 405gr was surprised at how little the recoil was. just wondering if any one else was loading for this gun and could give some input on loads. Also new to thr site have enjoyed reading info found here.

 

[squarles67]

Welcome to the site

I load 45-70 for a Marlin not for a pistol but it's a fun round. The factory Remington stuff is very mild. The Hornady LeverEvolution stuff is more powerful with the Buffalo Bore near the top as store bought goes.

I've had the best luck with IMR 4198 and Reloader 7 in my rifle.

 

[harryman1974]

thanks for the reply. I have some of the hornady ammo just have not had time to shoot it to know what kinda recoil its goin to have. Ihave some rl-7 3031 and a few more to work with when loading ,I plan to hunt deer and hogs here in ga.So im looking for good load data between 1300fps-1500fps that not going to feel like being hit with a brick .

 

[Kyle M.]

If your looking for loads between 1300-1500 fps look at loads for the trapdoor springfield. Most manuals have a separate .45-70 section for the older guns. Personally I like IMR 3031 and IMR 4198 for the .45-70.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

IMR-3031 will produce slightly hotter rounds than H4198 and with slightly more felt recoil in my experience. It works well with jacketed bullets meant for leverguns or modern rifles but I load for a Trapdoor so I keep the pressures down. Levergun loads which develop ~1400 fps from a rifle are probably what you should use in that handgun. Not because it can't handle hotter loads but because your hand and wrist will thank you. lol

I get the best results with H-4198 (or IMR-4198) and recently I've been using AA-5744 with good results. Either will produce accurate and clean ammo, at least for me.

With a 405gr LFN bullet I charge 32.0gr H-4198 or 28.0gr AA-5744 along with a CCI-200 primer. If you decide to stick with IMR-3031 give 47.0gr a try under the same bullet. All those loads are at the upper end of the Trapdoor loads but according to the books are under 18,000 PSI.

 

[harryman1974]

has anyone loaded the barnes 250gr tsx with 4198 ? woundering if they will expand properly at trap door speeds? would like to try them on deer.will most likley load 300gr-400+gr hardcast for hogs.Iknow 250gr is light for the 45-70 but i think too much bigger might be over kill for ga white tail.I do like the kick of a hot load in my 44 sbh it always puts that big grin on my face .

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Barnes doesn't make a 250gr .458" TSX bullet, they start @300gr. I'm not sure but I think all copper bullets need to be pushed at "normal" rifle speeds to reliably expand. I'm sure those bullets will expand when used in the 450 Marlin but to be sure they will expand in the 45-70 I would call or write Barnes for the correct answer.