The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old September 18, 2009, 08:30 AM   #1
Magnum Wheel Man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 2006
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 9,333
ooops... the 45 caliber bullet can is empty



looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet & buy a whole lot of newer expensive 45 caliber rifle bullets... between taking over my father in laws reloading stuff after he died many years ago, & all the bullets I squirreled away 10-15 years ago... for the most part it seems I only buy new bullets if there is something new to try... both of us had been loading for 45-70 but the ammo can is empty, so it appears I'm going to have to make a pretty big investment in 45 caliber bullets, at todays current prices... ( there is nothing... er... well except shooting them... that puts a bigger smile on my face, than opening a new box of bullets, priced 1/4 to 1/5 what new replacement prices are )

I have 4 guns I'll be reloading for this winter in 45-70, I'm trying to get it down to 2 different loads for each of 2 different purposes... deer hunting loads ( using remington brass ) with 300ish grain bullets to shoot through my Remington double rifle & my 14" Contender, & a bear / dangerous game load ( using Star Line brass ) with 405 - 430ish grain bullets to shoot through my Guide Gun & my single shot "safari" Martini

I'm looking at Remington, Sierra, & Speer jacketed bullets ( & maybe a Barnes bullet or two, but the buck a bullet Barnes bullets might end up out of my price range ) & the Hornady Lever Evolution bullets as test bullets for the 300ish deer loads, & Remington 405 grain jacketed, & Oregon Trails 430 grain gas check, as well as Cast Performance 405 & 420 grain gas checks... ( & maybe Barnes solid or 2 , but the over a buck a bullet Barnes bullets might end up out of my price range )

I'm going to start by buying 50 & 100 size boxes for the initial tests, & will be looking at buying bulk of the 1 or 2 bullets I think are most promising for each load... ( I'd like 4 usable loads 2 in the 300ish range, & 2 in the 400ish range, that work at least to hunting accuracy standards through the guns I'm setting them up for )

anyone have any suggestions for reasonably priced bullets in either the 300 grain class or the dangerous game class for me to try, that I have not listed??? ( any cast bullets in the 400ish grain class must be gas checked, as those 2 rifles will be loaded pretty hot ) or pet loads developed already using one of these bullets ???
__________________
In life you either make dust or eat dust...

Last edited by Magnum Wheel Man; September 18, 2009 at 08:50 AM.
Magnum Wheel Man is offline  
Old September 18, 2009, 08:45 AM   #2
GeauxTide
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 20, 2009
Location: Helena, AL
Posts: 4,415
Brian Pearce is very high on the good old 405 Remingtons
GeauxTide is offline  
Old September 18, 2009, 02:14 PM   #3
Old Grump
Member in memoriam
 
Join Date: April 9, 2009
Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in
Posts: 3,144
Might consider buying lead instead and getting a mold for your 400 and 300 gr bullets.



http://www.gunaccessories.com/Lee/Mo...ulletMolds.asp
__________________
Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.
--Daniel Webster--
Old Grump is offline  
Old September 18, 2009, 02:35 PM   #4
Magnum Wheel Man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 2006
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 9,333
thats a plan for the future... I already have a ton ( litterally ) of lead in ingots, that I helped my father in law cast a couple years before he died... most are reclaimed bullets, some lino, some pure lead, some wheel weight... most are in 2.5 lb ingots, some in 5 lb, & a couple "coffee cans" have 10 lb ingots... I need to get a hardness tester, but already have the pot, & a good assortment of molds ( not sure whats there in 45 rifle caliber though ) within the next couple years I could see casting most of my future boolets... but for this year & next I need to do up some loads with prefab...
__________________
In life you either make dust or eat dust...
Magnum Wheel Man is offline  
Old September 18, 2009, 06:49 PM   #5
Jim243
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 5, 2009
Location: Just off Route 66
Posts: 5,067
The way things are going including the prices, casting looks like the way to go.


Good luck
Jim
Jim243 is offline  
Old September 24, 2009, 02:19 PM   #6
Magnum Wheel Man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 2006
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 9,333
Been doing alot of reading & studying the loading manuals...

I found the artical "handloading Marlin's Model 1895 .45-70 by Brian Pearce to be pretty interesting reading, & the heavier loads listed in the artical did alot to supplement weak or missing data in my load books

Bulets I've selected to test...

for medium loads for up to deer sized game ( prices listed are from Midways website, on the smallest quanity available, & are only listed as a relative reference point for me to compare, as often bullets are available cheaper from other sources )

Barnes 250 grain Triple Shock flat nose @ $0.95 ea ( in stock )
Hornady 325 grain flex tip @ $0.58 ea ( out of stock )
Remington 405 grain soft point @ $0.32 ea ( in stock )
Speer 300 grain hollow point @ $0.56 ea ( in stock )

for heavy loads for up to bar sized / dangerous game ( prices listed are from Midways website, on the smallest quanity available, & are only listed as a relative reference point for me to compare, as often bullets are available cheaper from other sources )

Barnes 330 grain banded solid @ $1.10 ea ( in stock )
Cast Performance 405 grain cast flat point gas check @ $0.51 ea ( in stock )
Hornady 350 grain Interlock flat point @ $0.47 ea ( out of stock )
Oregon Trail 430 grain flat point gas check @ $0.44 ea ( in stock )

I found the artical interesting, as it offered some additional insight to the bullet design & how they performed at differing velocities, & offered up a collection of powder choices... I'll be doing similar testing to the big 22 Hornet load test I'm doing currently for my fast twist revolver... only the 45-70 load test will incorporate 4 different guns, & hopefully end up with 2 good lighter loads & 2 good heavier loads that preform at least to hunting accuracy levels in all the guns ( could take all winter & most of next summer shooting only 45-70, to learn what I'm hoping to learn )

my powder choces right now are gleaned from several sources including Brian Pearce's artical... unfortunately, I only have one of the powders in stock, & will be limited by what is available in the next 5-6 months...

Light loads will be loaded from what I can get of...

VV N-133 ( seems to work better with lighter bullets )
H-4198 ( I have IMR 4198 & my just try that powder... even though they are not identical )
H-322 ( seems to work better with medium to heavy bullets )
AA 2015
Varget ( good mid weight bullet performance )

Heavy loads will be loaded from what I can get of...

VV N-133 ( seems to work better with lighter bullets )
H-322 ( seems to work better with medium to heavy bullets )
AA 2015

as far as primers go... I was thinking Remington LR for the lighter loads, & CCI LR for the heavier loads... I have "some" of each on hand, but not enough of the CCI's to complete testing, so I hope I can pick up a fresh box soon... cases... will use Remington cases for sane loads, & only Starline nickle cases for hot loads... hot loads are also marked +P on the plastic ammo boxes & on the Recipe printed on a piece of masking tape I attach to the box... this way I will know for sure, not to put one of the hot loads into my Contender, for example...

any thoughts or suggestions welcome before I get started ???
__________________
In life you either make dust or eat dust...

Last edited by Magnum Wheel Man; September 24, 2009 at 02:45 PM.
Magnum Wheel Man is offline  
Old September 24, 2009, 02:21 PM   #7
azredhawk44
Junior member
 
Join Date: September 28, 2005
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 6,465
PM inbound regarding lead bullets for .458 diameter.
azredhawk44 is offline  
Old September 28, 2009, 07:29 AM   #8
Magnum Wheel Man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 2006
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 9,333
Tried my 1st loads...

I loaded up some of 430 grain Oregon Trails cast FPGC pretty hot, & the recoil wasn't too bad in my gun...
__________________
In life you either make dust or eat dust...

Last edited by Magnum Wheel Man; September 29, 2009 at 06:15 AM.
Magnum Wheel Man is offline  
Old September 28, 2009, 06:02 PM   #9
Ozzieman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 14, 2004
Location: Northern Indiana
Posts: 6,117
The following are 45/70 lead cast bullets from 300 to 500 GR.
He has some with out gas checks in his hard cast will easly do 2000 FPS without any problem.
He also has 370 Grain Spitzer Nose Bevel Base

I havent used any of his 45/70 but I have pushed some of his 44 cal out of a 44 mag carbine at close to those volocitys and had very little leading. For me gas checks when I used them (357 mag) years ago caused more problems that helped.
Penn bullets has a very hard bullet that should work well.



http://www.pennbullets.com/4570/4570-caliber.html
Ozzieman is offline  
Old September 28, 2009, 07:44 PM   #10
B78-22250
Member
 
Join Date: May 24, 2009
Location: Eden NC
Posts: 56
45/70 loads

I have two loads for the 45/70. I use starline brass,sierra 300gr hp. 50gr Rx7 cci br2 primers. This is a great deer load. My other load is the same as the first but with a 400gr speer fn. These loads are out of a craig boddington article for the marlin 1886 guide gun. Both loads shoot sub moa out of my SB1 handy rifle. Be warned the 400 will be painful off the bench. I hope this helps. Work up your loads and good shooting.This load is for the 1895 marlin guide gun and the 1886 winchesters. sorry for the model mixup.

Last edited by B78-22250; September 29, 2009 at 01:36 PM. Reason: wrong model sorry
B78-22250 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:58 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05669 seconds with 10 queries