Scotty....need some help with 45-70...PICS added

[bobnob]

I can recommend the 300 grainers with about 45g of H4198 to get you going. Mild and still hard hitting on game.

 

[Guy Miner]

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.

Yeah, that Buffalo Bore stuff kills on both ends. The .45/70 need not be loaded to such unpleasant levels to be accurate and effective. The big ol' bullet kills just fine at sedate velocity. With a little searching you should be able to find one of the several 300 gr JSP or JHP loads from Federal, Remington, Winchester... Or the old 405 gr JSP load from Remington, that actually only churns up about 1300 fps mv. Very mellow shooting, fun, pretty accurate.

Components can be kind of tough to come by just "on the shelf" in a given community. I found that I had to order most of my loading supplies for the .45/70, except for powder & primers.

That Cowboy rifle of yours is a beauty, and I think you'll really like shooting it with more mild loads that don't rattle your teeth! :grin:

Regards, Guy

 

[1Shot]

"The .45/70 need not be loaded to such unpleasant levels to be accurate and effective. The big ol' bullet kills just fine at sedate velocity."

Oh so true. The original 45-70 loads were with 500 gr bullets and 70 grs black powder and from a 30" barrel would only do about 1200 fps. Everything in NA was killed with it. Those big ol'slugs just keep on penetrating. They would shoot clean through a BIG buff at hundreds of yards.

I once shot a deer with my1874 Sharps (copy) with Lyman #457193 cast flat nose bullet that dropped at 418 grs from my mix pushed by 28 grs AA5744 to right at 1300 fps. The deer was at 111 yards facing me. I aimed for a high chest shot and dropped the deer in it's tracks. When I went to get the deer there was a huge puddle of blood around it's head. It had a hole about the size of a dime just behind it's left front shoulder and it's left leg just above the knee joint was blown clean off. I could not find an entrance hole in it's chest. Up on close examination I found the entrance hole right between it's eyes just above the eye line. I figured out what happened. By the time I got my sight picture and squeezed the set trigger and the bullet got to the deer it had started to put it's head down. I found that the bullet had entered the skull and made saw dust out of it's spine going down it's neck then deflected slightly and came out behind the left shoulder and then cut the back leg above the knee off. Then the slug hit the HARD PACKED logging path and went about 5 yards looking like a mole path then came out of the ground and went though a little tree about 4" thick and from there I could find no other sign of the bullet.

I have a buddy that uses Sierra's suggested hunting load for the 300 gr HP for deer. It is wicked. 51.8 grs IMR 4198 will do 2150 from a 22" barrel Marlin 1895.

 

[laylandad]

I've got 405gr Laser Cast on the way. Should be here Monday. I will start out with H4198, and if that doesn't produce acceptable results, I may try Trail Boss. I have read that it shoots well and virtually no recoil.

 

[1Shot]

In my experience the cast flat nose bullets do not kill deer as quickly as do a good JHP like the Sierra 300 gr. Deer run off a ways before they bleed out so if you are hunting in thick stuff I would use the JHP. They cause more internal trauma that shocks the system and the deer drop quickly.

 

[bobnob]

1Shot I also endorse the 300g Sierra HP. Very fast killers on even big pigs in the 300lb range. They won't punch thru both shoulders on a boar that size, but the boar will also not run.

Very accurate as well like most Sierra products.

Anyway from 45 to 55g of H4198 is a good place to be depending on how flat you want your load to shoot and how much recoil you like. Personally I find the warmish loads around 55 or so grains mild enough and you get a +/- 3 inch PBR out to about 190y if you get a slightly longer shot or happen to slightly misjudge range; and who hasn't done that?

 

[Oldtrader3]

I owned a standard 1895, 22 inch barrel with cut rifling for about 8 years and an 18 inch stainless Guide Rifle with a Microgroove barrel that my son still owns from 10 years ago. Both the Carbine and the rifle would shoot close to MOA groups with Winchester Silvertips factory loads. The rifle, with 58.0 grains of IMR 3031, CCI 200 primers and 350 grain Speer Hot Core bullets would shoot MOA groups at about 2100 fps in the 22 inch barreled rifle.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I owned a standard 1895, 22 inch barrel with cut rifling for about 8 years and an 18 inch stainless Guide Rifle with a Microgroove barrel that my son still owns from 10 years ago. Both the Carbine and the rifle would shoot close to MOA groups with Winchester Silvertips factory loads. The rifle, with 58.0 grains of IMR 3031, CCI 200 primers and 350 grain Speer Hot Core bullets would shoot MOA groups at about 2100 fps in the 22 inch barreled rifle.

 

[SJB358]

Can't say enough good about the Marlins and their incredible accuracy! Just about any bullet I have tried will easily hover around an 1" at 100 or more times than not, smaller..

Yeah, I have also tamed back my loads, and even around 2000, the 300's do just fine, as do the 350's. 405's at around 1600-1700 will smoke anything I'd ever hunt with my Guide Rifle.

 

[laylandad]

http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... 7bfdcb.jpg

Just returned from the range! Quick trip due to rain! I shot one load from my 45-70 and was pleased. 11.0 gr of Unique shot really well. I didn't have time to setup my chronograph. I will do that next time. I'm either going to get a tang sight or scope this rifle. The rear sight is at its lowest notch and still shooting high. At first, the groups were not very good, but they seemed to settle in after about 6 rounds. Here is a pic of my best group at 50 yards with iron sights. The small holes are from my son's 336 30-30.

 

[SJB358]

Nice! Typical Marlin 45-70 performance. Danged things think they are varmint rifles... :lol:

 

[DrMike]

Those are more than adequate for anything one would wish to hunt here in North America. The cowboy model is just nice.

 

[laylandad]

That 11.0 gr Unique load is really nice to shoot. I was very hesitant about it at first, but the guys over at MO were very helpful. I'm thinking of trying Trail Boss next, then H4198. I may ever hunt with the 405gr Laser Cast this year.

 

[SJB358]

Yeah, that Unique load had to be real nice to shoot compared to the first stuff you put thru it.

H4198 is a good one too. Really, you can do well with such a large number of powder from from to medium fast. They all seem to shoot well.

 

[Woodycreek]

Those 1895 Cowboys have a cool factor about them. Think I would buy one even though I already have the 1895 XLR.

 

[Oldtrader3]

That XLR that you have, was that the one that I traded to Bill? If so, that .45-70 rifle will shoot well under moa with 3031 (58.0 grs) at 2100 with the Speer 350 gr FN bullet.

 

[Woodycreek]

That XLR that you have, was that the one that I traded to Bill? If so, that .45-70 rifle will shoot well under moa with 3031 (58.0 grs) at 2100 with the Speer 350 gr FN bullet.

Charlie,

The XLR is my Stainless 24" barreled 1895. Your old rifle shot 300 grainers very well with H4198. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse and traded it to a buddy of Scotty and mine. He should be using it this year in Va for deer.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I just wondered what happened to it? If it found a good home, I am happy! That rifle was so accurate that I was sorry to see it go.

 

[tecumseh]

You're gonna love that rifle! The two guys I hunt out west with use that model rifle. They had great results with Speer, Sierra and Hornady bullets and settled on the 350 gr Hornady FP using RL-7 and H4198 for their loads.

 

[Oldtrader3]

This grouping was shot with Speer 350 grain Hot Core and IMR 3031 (58.0 grs), offhand from a sitting position with elbows inside knees. If you put the grouping together it is <MOA offhand with .45-70!