January 9, 2012, 10:09 PM | #1 |
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Subsonic 45-70 loads
Never tried any subsonic loads before... not in any of my guns. I had a few questions that y'all might be able to help me with.
1) how loud would a subsonic load be out of a 32"bbl? 2) is there any specific dangers I need to look out for? I don't wanna stick a bullet in my bbl 3) looks like trail boss would be good to try. What do you think? |
January 9, 2012, 10:18 PM | #2 |
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My ffG BP loads are subsonic and pretty loud.
I bought a .457" round ball mold to try this with pistol powder or trailboss but haven't loaded any yet. |
January 9, 2012, 10:38 PM | #3 |
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Yep, Trail Boss is what I was thinking when I saw the thread title.
There are two sources of noise in gunfire. Sonic boom from the bullet and muzzle blast. Obviously, subsonic loads take care of sonic boom. Muzzle pressure is the largest source of the noise from the barrel. Trail Boss solves that issue because it burns so fast that the muzzle pressure is DRAMATICALLY lower than virtually any other powder. In fact, it burns 100% virtually before the bullet moves, in most cases. Really, only small charges of handgun powders can match it. I've used Trail Boss in 204Ruger and 7mm-08. The 204 literally (I mean literally) sounds like a cap gun... and that's with a muzzle velocity of 2,200fps. The 7-08 is still somewhat loud but this is with a 15" barrel. A rifle would be no louder than a 22, I'd bet. With a 32" barrel it should REALLY be quiet. |
January 10, 2012, 12:25 AM | #4 |
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Go to http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm for information.
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January 10, 2012, 12:29 AM | #5 |
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1. Louder than you think. It is still a gunshot.
2. If you get below the charts a stuck bullet is a real possibility. Be sure you hit the target (or somewhere) every shot. 3. Trail Boss tops out around 1000 fps and would be a natural for elementary subsonics. |
January 10, 2012, 01:09 AM | #6 |
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I think Paco Kelly wrote an article about really quiet loads for the 45-70. You might google that to see. As I recall, he said they were very quiet, and would still thump a coyote at fairly close ranges. He's written MANY articles about most calibers, and is a hoot to read.
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January 10, 2012, 01:16 AM | #7 |
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Here's a link to an article by Beagle... (John Goins)
http://hgmould.gunloads.com/casting/whisperloads.htm
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January 10, 2012, 02:27 AM | #8 |
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Hornetguy - thanks for the link.
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January 10, 2012, 12:06 PM | #9 |
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Looks like W231 is a useable powder. This is awesome because I have 7 lbs of it!!!
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January 10, 2012, 12:36 PM | #10 |
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You are probably aware of this, but a lot of people recommend using some sort of filler, like dacron pillow stuffing, to help hold the powder against the flash hole of the case, when using very small charges of powder in a big case.
My standard load for my 45-70 is 15gr of Unique under a 405gr HB cast bullet, which is a pretty small load for the case. I don't use any filler on it at all, and it works VERY well. However, if I was going to work up some really light loads, using 4 or 5gr of 231 or Bullseye, I'm pretty sure I'd use the dacron filler. Just a thought.
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January 10, 2012, 06:59 PM | #11 |
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Dacron pillow stuffing??? I guess that is the white cotton-like material?
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January 10, 2012, 07:26 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
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January 10, 2012, 11:11 PM | #13 |
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I always felt that if I got to the point where I thought it was time to bury my firearms, it was actually time to pick them up.. |
January 10, 2012, 11:12 PM | #14 | |
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Quote:
I don't know what happened to the message in the above post..
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January 22, 2012, 08:29 PM | #15 |
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Is there any particular method for measuring the pillow stuffing? How do you determine how much to use?
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January 23, 2012, 05:51 AM | #16 |
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What was that OP oringinal 1st question again? I couln't hear it.
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