45-70 and cast bullets?

[Dwh7271]

Picked up some Oregon Trail Laser Cast 350 gr, 405 gr and some of their True Shot 430 gr. Wanting to test out new hunting loads with the 45-70.
I'm wondering on a start point or what has been accurate for others.
Ran QuickLoad on the 405 Lymans with 3031 to get an idea.
Any pet recipes or ideas?
Thanks in advance!

 

[JD338]

Dewey,

I'm thinking the 350 gr with a good charge of H322 would get you where you want to be and
it would be wicked on WT deer.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

I agree!

Loved using cast bullets in my .45/70 Marlin! My favorite was the 425 grain "Piledriver Jr" from Beartooth Bullets. I loaded them right stout for a while too...

Then backed off to something my shoulder would tolerate better.

H4198 and H322 were both very good. Hit 1940+ fps with the 425's and H322. I'll let you explore that one yourself. It is... formidable.

Regards, Guy

 

[1Shot]

I have done a bit of cast bullet 45-70 deer shooting and with most of the store bought cast bullets they are pretty hard and it really don't matter how fast you push them they do not expand much if any and they kill by cutting a caliber size hole through things needed to live. Deer react like they have been shot with an arrow and take off running if you do not hit something connected to the CNS. If the bullet does not have a flat point that will cut a hole in the hide much of the time the hide will seal back up and keep the blood on the inside and the deer don't leave much of a blood trail. If you can cast your own bullets and use a mix of 10 lbs wheel weights with 1 pound of pure lead added it make a bullet soft enough to expand pretty good. Lyman #457122 HP will come out around 350 grs and driven 1500 to 1600 fps makes a great deer bullet for out to 150 or so yards. Also the Lyman #457193 comes out around 420 grs is running around 1400 fps with 28 grs Accurate XMP5744 and is very accurate from my Sharps copy rifle and will drill a good hole through a deer as far away as you can drop it in on it. If you don't want to have any trouble tracking a deer use a Sierra 300 gr HP driven 2400 fps or so with 57 grs IMR4198. If it takes a step Stevie Wonder could track it.

 

[Dwh7271]

Thanks fellas!
Good ideas there.
Gave me some good start ideas.

1shot,
Haven't tried cooking my own yet. Hmmm.
May have to give it a shot. Means new stuff. Cool, thanks!

 

[magothy1]

I run the Laser Cast 350 gr over 25.6 gr of 2400, out of a Marlin 1895 SS, it does 1550 fps pretty consistently. I use polyester filler, which is a huge controversy in some circles. I see no problems with it. The fps readings are very consistent for me. Load shoots well in a Cowboy Ltd. V version of that rifle, too.

That 25.6 is kind of an oddball number, I guess, but the powder dispenser wanted that instead of 25.5 and so I went with it.

 

[SJB358]

I agree!

Loved using cast bullets in my .45/70 Marlin! My favorite was the 425 grain "Piledriver Jr" from Beartooth Bullets. I loaded them right stout for a while too...

Then backed off to something my shoulder would tolerate better.

H4198 and H322 were both very good. Hit 1940+ fps with the 425's and H322. I'll let you explore that one yourself. It is... formidable.

Regards, Guy

I copied Guys loads and WOW, they were ferocious. Nothing short of Alaska needs that sorta killing!

My go to load is 40 grains of RL7, Starline brass, CCI BR2 and a 405 cast. It is wickedly accurate in my Guide Rifle and runs 1600 at the muzzle. I'd recommend it to anyone. Shoots the same from my buddies 45-70 as well. There's nothing short of an elk that would hold one of those bullets.

 

[Dwh7271]

Thanks!
Have some RL7, it's what I used on deer this year. Good stuff.
Have to look and see if there's any 2400 in the cabinet.

 

[SJB358]

Dewey, H322, IMR4198, H4198 and RL7 have worked really well with the 300's through 425's. All have been very accurate for me.

I'd like to find some 2400 myself. Really would like it for my 44RM.

 

[HeathSexton]

Mine are all fairly slow with cast, very accurate and fun to shoot. The only hotrod load I have is the 350 Hornady FP + 59grs H4895 for 1922fps from my 18.5" barrel.


40grs RL7 + 405 cast

25.0grs 2400 + 405 cast

28.0grs IMR-sr4759 + 405 cast

30.0grs IMR-sr4759 + 300 or 350 cast


25.0grs 2400 - 5 shots





28.0grs IMR-sr4759 - fouler + 5 shots - 1511fps





59.0grs H4895 + 350 Hornady FP - only 3 shots

 

[SJB358]

Great stuff Heath!

 

[1Shot]

Heath that is some nice loads. I have a target around someplace that looks like your 405s with the 2400 but at 100 yards with open sights at 100 yards from my Sharps 45-70. Load was 28 grs accurate XMP5744 and my cast Lyman #457193 420 grs from my mix and 1400 fps. I won $100 from a smart mouth at the range that what amounted to calling me a lair (long story). I shut his mouth and sent him home with his tail between his legs. Out shot him in a little contest at 100 yards as to tightest group. He was shooting a scoped Browning BLR 308 win. My Sharps will shoot 10 shots inside 2" at 200 yards with my cast RCBS 45-500BPS bullet and Black Powder with Vernier sights. I got to shoot out to 1000 yards once with it. I could easy keep my shots well inside a 4 ft square steel plate shooting from cross sticks once I got my sights set. You could see the bullet through a spotting scope falling at about a 45* angle hitting the plate. LOL

 

[HeathSexton]

Thanks guys.


I always wanted to try 5744 but never found any. When I got a hold of 4759 I just shelved everything else. I have stretched mine to just over 600 @ 12" steel and was all around it but never hit it.


That's awesome shooting with anything let alone open sights.


The old 45/70 doesn't have to be ran hard to be a real killer.


I would like to try some Unique loads from mine but if you have Unique right now you can trade it for gold, a 1970 hemi cuda or real estate in these parts, lol.

 

[HeathSexton]

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

 

[JD338]

I need to play around with hard lead cast bullets in my 45-70.
My go to load is a 300 gr BST with 59.0 grs H322 for 2100 fps and .400" accuracy at 100 yds.

I'm thinking a trimmed case to 1.800" and a 350 gr HC bullet would make for a great Southern MI deer load.

JD338

 

[Dwh7271]

Heath,
Great shooting and thanks both for the loads and the link. Interesting.
I'm learning some stuff in this thread.

Scotty,
Think I have most or all of those powders around. Gives me something to play with over the holidays. :grin:

JD,
Bet that would wallop a deer.
Hope the shoulder is on the mend!

 

[DrMike]

That is some fine shooting, Heath. That amount of lead will push through about anything that you might encounter. 1Shot, that is an excellent story; it brought a smile to my face in spite of the fact I've only had a sip of my coffee this morning.

 

[big rifle man]

I had very good luck shooting the 430 grain cast bullet with IMR4198. I think you'll find that the 45-70 is easy to please with a wide variety of combinations.

 

[laylandad]

Heath....I've played around with Unique and 405 gr LaserCast. If I remember correctly, 12.0gr was giving me around 1150fps from a Marlin 1895 CB. Very easy on the shoulder and acurate. I even took a wild hog with that load. Follow the data on that site and you'll be fine. I did not have to use a filler. The site actually warns against it. Best of luck to you.

 

[SJB358]

Great loads fellas.

JD, I'd love to see you do the 1.8" load work. I'm betting there are a few guys that would like to see your results. Be nice to get ahold of the LVR cases. Might make trimming just that much easier. I believe you'll have to stick with 400's in order to keep enough bullet in the case. Be cool to see you work it out.