45-70 Shooting Lights Out With Hard Casts

Joec7651

Handloader
Apr 7, 2019
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5BE4C12A-6C86-45E3-AD98-12BF4BEE3FF2.jpegA90C85D5-D6CC-4FC0-9CE1-F413D58CABD5.jpeg

I usually shoot 300 grain BST’s from my Marlin 1895 but these hard casts are looking pretty good.

My hard cast 405 grain bullet sized to .459 and 100 yard target. 5 shots at 5 different dots with my 1895. Chrono’d at 1824 fps.

It’s an Accurate 46-420HG mold, with the bullet seated over 42 grains of H4198. They cast at a perfect 405 grains with my alloy.

Joe
 
Dang, dig the looks of that bullet. Big flat front end and 1824 is hoofin it too. That’s a heckuva combo. I ran cast 405’s with 40 grains of RL7 at 1600 and they just hammered deer for me. Truly easy on meat but not anything near the destruction a 300 grain SP would do.
 
SJB358":uh8tgju3 said:
Dang, dig the looks of that bullet. Big flat front end and 1824 is hoofin it too. That’s a heckuva combo. I ran cast 405’s with 40 grains of RL7 at 1600 and they just hammered deer for me. Truly easy on meat but not anything near the destruction a 300 grain SP would do.

Meat destruction is exactly why I switched to this from the 300 grain Ballistic Silvertip. Not to mention it shoots pretty good in my rifle, and penetration is off the charts without recoil being bad. I put one completely through a 8-10” Locust tree. I’d hunt anything in all of North America with this and not feel undergunned even with big bears.
 
That mass pushed at those velocities will punch through a lot of meat and bone. It surely does appear to be hitting right where you want it to hit.
 
DrMike":3d9a4qm8 said:
That mass pushed at those velocities will punch through a lot of meat and bone. It surely does appear to be hitting right where you want it to hit.

Thank you, I bought it new and have had it about 2 years now. It shoots better than I can. It seems to shoot everything I put in it well. I size these to .459 when I install the gas checks. Pan lubed with White Label Carnauba Red I get no leading of the barrel either.

I like the alloy I mix also. 3 parts Linotype, 1 part dead soft lead, and 5 ounces of 4% silver solder (per 100 bullets) so it won’t be brittle. I checked and it’s at 26 BHN but not brittle. I can really give the bullets hell on an anvil with a 4 lb hammer without any fracturing of the bullet. The mold is designed to give 420 grain bullets with Hardball alloy, but with mine it comes in at 405 give or take a grain. It’s a very consistent mold.
 
Joec7651":2aapgxap said:
SJB358":2aapgxap said:
Dang, dig the looks of that bullet. Big flat front end and 1824 is hoofin it too. That’s a heckuva combo. I ran cast 405’s with 40 grains of RL7 at 1600 and they just hammered deer for me. Truly easy on meat but not anything near the destruction a 300 grain SP would do.

Meat destruction is exactly why I switched to this from the 300 grain Ballistic Silvertip. Not to mention it shoots pretty good in my rifle, and penetration is off the charts without recoil being bad. I put one completely through a 8-10” Locust tree. I’d hunt anything in all of North America with this and not feel undergunned even with big bears.

The nice thing with these is even on bone they don't really "hurt" meat like a faster expanding bullet does and they tend to lay down quicker. Pure rib shots usually has been a runner for a bit, not hard to recover with the leaking holes, but a bit of difference in how they kill. Love the 45-70 and 444 though. Fun cartridges.
 
Excellent! (y)

That bullet of yours is darned near a thing of beauty, and it sure shoots well.

Nice work!
 
That looks like a nice looking and shooting bullet you have there. I have shot a few deer with my 1874 Sharps copy 45-70 using the Lyman 405 flat nose mold bullet cast out of wheel weights which comes out at 418 grs pushed by either black powder or Pyrodex Select or smokeless Accurate 5744 to a velocity average of 1400 fps. This bullet at this speed will shoot through deer length wise and trees behind it also. LOL It is hard to stop a freight train even if it is going slow. One thing I did not like about using that cast bullet was because of the landscape of where I hunted. It was THICK cut over and swamp of east NC. Deer would run off a ways after taking a heart lung shot and did not always leave a good blood trail and that made them hard to find. The Lyman bullet just has a small flat nose and really did not cut a good hole in the hide. This bullet you have looks like it will cut a GOOD hole with that big flat nose with sharp shoulders. One thing about these cast bullets on game it is just like what I read in a dairy of an old buffalo hunter. "You can eat right up to the bullet hole". Good luck.
 
Haven’t been on in a while, but I appreciate all the kind words. It shoots as well as I’m able from my rifle and I am sick of the BST’s blowing half a basketball out the other side of my deer!
 
How much for 250 of them Joe????

Would love to try them out in my 1886 45-90.
 
Dang is right! Super nice looking molds you've made, and accurate to boot! That's the one and only load you'll ever need for that gun! I'd say you've hit the jackpot!
 
FOTIS":303y01as said:
How much for 250 of them Joe????

Would love to try them out in my 1886 45-90.
Just message me your address. I can send you a couple hundred if you’ll just cover shipping. Do you want them lubed?
 
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