Scotty....need some help with 45-70...PICS added
- Thread starter laylandad
- Start date
Charlie-NY
Handloader
- Mar 11, 2005
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marlinowners.com Everything you wanted to know about Marlins and more, much more.
For me, if I was starting today, I would lay into a decent supply of Starline brass, H322, RL7, H335, H4198, IMR4198 or anything in those burn rates. Those powders along with a decent LR primer with a bullet from 300-450 grains will shoot. I really like RL7 a whole lot but Jim loves H322.
Congrats on the 45-70! Still my favorite lever rifle and too much fun!
Pictures are needed and if you give us an idea of a bullet you wanna shoot, I bet one of us has tried it.
Oh, this may be just me, but I really like the Lee Factory Crimp Die for finishing my loads. Just works well with much fuss and no worries about ever crushing or buckling a case.
Congrats on the 45-70! Still my favorite lever rifle and too much fun!
Pictures are needed and if you give us an idea of a bullet you wanna shoot, I bet one of us has tried it.
Oh, this may be just me, but I really like the Lee Factory Crimp Die for finishing my loads. Just works well with much fuss and no worries about ever crushing or buckling a case.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,502
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I do like the looks of that Cowboy rifle!
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,836
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Did a lot of loading and shooting, and a little hunting, with the .45/70 Marlin for about nine years.
Loads can vary from mild to wild. Our bullet test section has some real interesting info in it. Not all .45/70 bullets are created equal... That's for sure!
Link: viewforum.php?f=63
Depending on the intended game, it's really pretty easy to come up with an accurate, powerful, effective load. One caution, there's a tendency among .45/70 loaders to shove in an awful lot of gun powder, with heavy bullets, putting recoil in the relatively light Marlin rifles up to painful levels...
What do you want to hunt or shoot with yours?
Guy
Loads can vary from mild to wild. Our bullet test section has some real interesting info in it. Not all .45/70 bullets are created equal... That's for sure!
Link: viewforum.php?f=63
Depending on the intended game, it's really pretty easy to come up with an accurate, powerful, effective load. One caution, there's a tendency among .45/70 loaders to shove in an awful lot of gun powder, with heavy bullets, putting recoil in the relatively light Marlin rifles up to painful levels...
What do you want to hunt or shoot with yours?
Guy
- Thread starter
- #7
I'm hunting wild boar and whitetail deer. I was thinking of the 400gr Speer and a 405gr LaserCast LFN. I have a decent supply of brass on the way as well as H4198 and H335. Nothing else yet due to the supply crunch! Pics are coming for sure. I haven't decided on which scope to mount yet. I will get some pics up Wednesday with a small range report.
Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for the advice!
- Nov 4, 2004
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laylandad
Congratulations on the 1895 45-70. You are going to love it.
Scotty covered it well with the powder selection.
I have only loaded with H322. It worked so well that I never bothered to try anything else.
With 300 gr bullets, 59.0 H322, I am getting 2100 fps from my 1895G. Best group went .400" at 100 yds. The Remington 405 gr SP ahead of 53.5 grs H322 runs 1847 fps and .7" at 100 yds.
I have a VX-3 1.75-6x32mm mounted on my rifle and it is extremely bright for hunting the cedar swamps here in Northern MI.
JD338
Congratulations on the 1895 45-70. You are going to love it.
Scotty covered it well with the powder selection.
I have only loaded with H322. It worked so well that I never bothered to try anything else.
With 300 gr bullets, 59.0 H322, I am getting 2100 fps from my 1895G. Best group went .400" at 100 yds. The Remington 405 gr SP ahead of 53.5 grs H322 runs 1847 fps and .7" at 100 yds.
I have a VX-3 1.75-6x32mm mounted on my rifle and it is extremely bright for hunting the cedar swamps here in Northern MI.
JD338
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,836
- 6,312
H322, Reloader 7, and H4198 were my favorite powders with the .45/70.
Standard primers work great. Mostly I used Winchester brass, though other brands were fine.
In 300 grains, be a tad cautious about some of the bargain basement jacketed hollow points. Some over-expand & under-penetrate, but would still do just fine for deer.
The 400 gr Speer & 405 gr Remington are both fine bullets and for my purposes were essentially the same. Both were accurate, expanded pretty well and penetrated well. I got the impression that the Speer was a tad "softer" but still an excellent bullet. You can load it up to "ouch" levels real easily.
I played around with a couple of different scopes, but ended up settling on a 2.5x Leupold compact that really did everything I wanted in a small, 8 ounce package. My buddy bought the rifle from me and has a fixed 4x Leupold on it now. He's clobbering whitetail bucks with it, and hoping a bear crosses his path...
The heaviest loads I ever used were 425 gr cast lead over a stout charge of Reloader 7, producing about 1925 fps. 'Bout shook my fillings loose! I had no doubt but that they were capable of taking anything on the continent. And most anything else for that matter.
Guy
Standard primers work great. Mostly I used Winchester brass, though other brands were fine.
In 300 grains, be a tad cautious about some of the bargain basement jacketed hollow points. Some over-expand & under-penetrate, but would still do just fine for deer.
The 400 gr Speer & 405 gr Remington are both fine bullets and for my purposes were essentially the same. Both were accurate, expanded pretty well and penetrated well. I got the impression that the Speer was a tad "softer" but still an excellent bullet. You can load it up to "ouch" levels real easily.
I played around with a couple of different scopes, but ended up settling on a 2.5x Leupold compact that really did everything I wanted in a small, 8 ounce package. My buddy bought the rifle from me and has a fixed 4x Leupold on it now. He's clobbering whitetail bucks with it, and hoping a bear crosses his path...
The heaviest loads I ever used were 425 gr cast lead over a stout charge of Reloader 7, producing about 1925 fps. 'Bout shook my fillings loose! I had no doubt but that they were capable of taking anything on the continent. And most anything else for that matter.
Guy
- Nov 4, 2004
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Guy brings up a good point.
I have shot 2 deer with the 300 gr BST. I recovered one after it penetrated about 24-26" of white tail.
Keep the impact of this bullet around 2100 fps or less and you will be fine. If you can find some 300 gr partitions, grab them! It is one impressive bullet.
I plan on putting a 300 gr PT in a black bear next month.
JD338
I have shot 2 deer with the 300 gr BST. I recovered one after it penetrated about 24-26" of white tail.
Keep the impact of this bullet around 2100 fps or less and you will be fine. If you can find some 300 gr partitions, grab them! It is one impressive bullet.
I plan on putting a 300 gr PT in a black bear next month.
JD338
Guy Miner":18bshern said:
Guy speaks the truth on this one.. I borrowed some of his load data with H322 and 425 Piledriver's and it was the first time my earmuffs were knocked off my grape!
Those two bullets you mentioned are great ones. I run a 405 grain cast with 40 grains of RL7 now, for about 1600FPS. Recoil is decent and accuracy is very good as well. As Guy mentioned, resist the urge to really fill that case up if your dental plan isn't up to snuff.. It'll move you.
JD338":2dwjrv3x said:
Jim is telling fibs now. If you find those 300 grain PT, send them to me. I will get rid of them pesky bullets. They are just horrible, don't shoot, or penetrate and they fall to the ground like rocks. I wouldn't want you to struggle with their inferiority. Trust me, I am saving your life here! :lol:
A good source of info is Ken Waters PET LOADS. He describes the three levels od 45-70 loadablility. The one place I disagree with him is where he opins that the 1895 Marlin is as strong as the Ruger #1. On that I strogly disagree. I had both rifles and when trying to work up to the Ruger level loads, the lever would kick open at the shot. I sold the Marlin and kept the Ruger.
Paul B.
Paul B.
- Nov 4, 2004
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Scotty,
You are something else!
JD338
You are something else!
JD338
For pigs I find the 300g Sierra HP under 53 to 56g of H4198 absolutely devastating. They are soft, expand a lot and very very accurate. I shot the biggest pig that I have seen in the last ten years with that combo last year. One slightly high shoulder shot around 70y and he didn't take a step.
Doing about 2250fps from the Marlin's stubby barrel with 56g of that powder.
Another nice soft bullet is the Hdy 325g FTX that shoots 1.5moa and better in my GBL 1895. 50g of H4198 gives just over 2000fps in the 18 inch barrel.
I use standard large rifle primers in all my 45-70 loads.
These are fairly soft kicking - relative to some other hotter or heavier loads. I have used the Speer 400g FP and 350 Hotcor as well but for pigs and deer sized game the 300+ grainers are plenty and more pleasant to shoot.
Doing about 2250fps from the Marlin's stubby barrel with 56g of that powder.
Another nice soft bullet is the Hdy 325g FTX that shoots 1.5moa and better in my GBL 1895. 50g of H4198 gives just over 2000fps in the 18 inch barrel.
I use standard large rifle primers in all my 45-70 loads.
These are fairly soft kicking - relative to some other hotter or heavier loads. I have used the Speer 400g FP and 350 Hotcor as well but for pigs and deer sized game the 300+ grainers are plenty and more pleasant to shoot.
- Thread starter
- #16
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,502
- 6,506
Of the Marlins chambered in 45-70, that has to be one of the prettiest in my eyes. A very fine rifle; and one that will undoubtedly make you quite happy.
- Thread starter
- #20
Thanks everyone for the help! I will buy several types of bullets and experiment.
I made a quick trip to the range today just so I could shoot it. This is my first 45-70 experience. The only factory ammo that I could find was Buffalo Bore 430 gr Lead FP. When I pulled the trigger......MAN, I nearly lost my teeth! I didn't have a target up, but I managed to hit the berm! LOL! I will definitely have to load for this rifle so I can actually enjoy shooting it.
Will post a range report next week.
I made a quick trip to the range today just so I could shoot it. This is my first 45-70 experience. The only factory ammo that I could find was Buffalo Bore 430 gr Lead FP. When I pulled the trigger......MAN, I nearly lost my teeth! I didn't have a target up, but I managed to hit the berm! LOL! I will definitely have to load for this rifle so I can actually enjoy shooting it.
Will post a range report next week.
