.45/70 350 gr Hornady & Swift A-Frame

Alaska · Jan 1, 2021

Impact low 1900 fps
The Hornady 350gr RN are a good bullets but the Speer Hot Core 350gr FN are excellent when you get to upper end in Velocity. I swapped out years ago from Hornady too Speer 350’s. Excellent weight retention and have yet to recover one from a moose.
I load RL 7 @ 51.8 in WW case
At Muzzle 2034 FPS in 20” GG. I use a Trapper now with the 16.5” so Vel is down but I still use the same load. What I really like is the reduced recoil of the 350gr bullets compared to the 400/405gr bullets at upper end in Marlins.
I have applied a light Crimp using the Lee Factory Crimp Die for 25 years for my Marlin’s 45-70.
If I had 1 bullet in 400gr it would be the Hawk FN with .035” jacket but I am very happy with Speer 350gr FN Hot Core bullets in my Marlin. Happy New Year

Charlie-NY · Jan 2, 2021

As far as "pleasant to shoot" loads that have great terminal performance, I like the 300gr mono-metal at 1,950 ft/sec. Recoil is noticeably less then the heavies and the bullets are really hard to stop even when expansion exceeds 90 cal. I've also found them to be very accurate.

I preferred the heavies for moose hunting but virtually any 45 cal bullet is more then enough for 150-200lb whitetails.