reloading for 45-70

[JEBar]

your confusion on inconsistent data is all too well understood .... early on I spent considerable time and effort researching minimum, maximum, and starting loads .... finally gave up on it .... I've reached the point where I believe the folks who manufacture the bullet know the most about it and its performance .... historically, when it comes to jacketed bullets, we use those made by Nosler .... I have a copy of all but one of the reloading manuals that they have ever produced .... for Nosler bullets, I don't look at any other source .... based on our experience, we've never had critter fight of one of their bullets so we know they work in the woods .... they group well on paper, so we know they are at home on a range .. .. I just bought a supply of 400 gr Barnes Buster 45-70 bullets .... I contacted their customer service and asked for their recommendation .... we will build our loads from that data and will not look elsewhere ... if I was in your place and planned to use Sierra 300 gr hp fp, I'd get a look at their manual and build your loads from there

[BigAl52]

What JEbar said and your Hornady brass what is the oal of that brass. Because there brass is shorter than what the standard oal is for 45-70. Better check your OAL before you get to far into it. I might also add as a word of caution, never use a load taken off the internet unless you have checked that load in a manual to make sure its a good load. Also if it is a good load and in the upper end of the scale I wouldnt use it right away until I loaded one at a reduced level to make sure its ok in your gun. Al

[JEBar]

Hornady offers standard length brass for its standard bullets .... it also offers shorter brass needed for its Lever Revolution .... when our 45-70 arrived, I immediately started looking for ammo .... in our small town the only shells I could find were Lever Revolutions .... I bought a box and have fired half of them .... they are locked in the vault, no way I want to take any chance of mixing the brass with those I reload .... back then there were reports of it not working well in some Henry 45-70's, all I can say is the ten I fired did fine .... for me, the bottom line is, while I have no doubt that Lever Revolution ammo is fine, its not for me ....

[ssonb]

The special "shorter brass" would make me shy away also..half of the investment in buying factory ammo is the brass ...All of the "factory ammo I buy is the HSM cowboy 405 gr cause its the least expensive and they use Starline brass..plus it tant bad neither.

[Pitchman1968]

Hey SSONB,

I was just reading through some old threads, and noticed your post on .45-70 handloads. Although I own 2 Henry's (.22 & .44 Mag BBB) my .45-70 is a 2015 production, Marlin 1895 CB. Like you, my "go to" .45-70 powder has become IMR 4198, after going though 2 lbs. of Accurate 5744. I load Oregon Trail 405 g hard cast lead bullets over 32 grs of 4198. When I am steady and squeeze off properly, I get 2" - 3" groups at 100 yds. using a Leupold VX - 2 4 - 12x40mm scope. Those rounds chrony at 1400-1440 FPS. Once I began installing Hornaday gas checks, accuracy increased, with no leading and no powder residue in the barrel. If you discover a better performing powder than IMR 4198, please let me know.

Best,

Pitchman

[ssonb]

Nope havn't found a better one yet, tho I do use Unique in the 225 gr bullet loads...I have tried others but I keep goin back to the 4198, Last weekend I took out my new 1885 Hi wall in 45-70... Dang that thing is fun to shoot, I found that as long as you are standing and using cross sticks the sore shoulder seems not to show up (just fire a 45-70 from a shooting bench with some heavy loads!!!!) I fired 40 rounds of different flavors ( reloads,factory,cowboy,reduced,black powder) but none over my crony.It gets hot to quick down here for an all day test run. I did field reload about 10 rounds half with 4198 and the other with BP, 777, goex and 405 laser cast bullets I could not tell the difference in recoil and POI at 75 yards twixt them, That rifle with a good 30'' barrel shoots a lot more accurate than I can point it.