45-70 Single Shot Government accuracy

[White Smoke]

Great range session! I was worried about the wind, but it was basically dead calm when we shot this morning. I re-sighted the scope at 50 yards and then moved out to 100. The ladder was from 52.0 grains of Vihtavouri N120 to 54.0 grains using a Hornady 250-grain MonoFlex bullet. I know, I know...54.0 is just over max, but my groupings dictated that I shoot it to see. There were no pressure signs and all went well. 53.0 grains grouped at 1.5" (4 rounds) and the 53.5 grains grouped at 1 5/16" at 2533 f/s. I am DONE! Just as an FYI, I talked with the techs at Henry about the accuracy expectations and some other stuff. That was absolutely the BEST customer service I have ever encountered. Those guys were amazingly helpful. Another FYI...My plinking loads are 44.0 grains of IMR 4198 with a Berry's 350 RS 45-70 bullet at 1788 f/s and my "Mouse Fart's" are 30 grains of IMR 4198 with the same Berry's bullet at 1200 f/s. The Mouse Farts still kick a bit, so I might drop them down to 25 grains in the future. Now to go out and try the hunting load on a coyote. I'm suspecting the innards will be like jelly!

[5shot]

I'm glad you got it sorted out! I've played with heavy .45/70 loads myself. In a Ruger #1 the 400 gr. Speers were popping out at over 1900 fps and out of a BFR 10" revolver they were over 1500 fps. Of course I was younger and more foolish back then......in my early 60's.

[Hatchdog]

I'm glad you got it sorted out! I've played with heavy .45/70 loads myself. In a Ruger #1 the 400 gr. Speers were popping out at over 1900 fps and out of a BFR 10" revolver they were over 1500 fps. Of course I was younger and more foolish back then......in my early 60's.

Those were the days.

[White Smoke]

Now that all loads are confirmed and set, I switched all the scopes back around to where they should be. (I was using a higher power scope on the 45-70 during load development and sight in. Now that it is all done, I went back to a "short range" 3-9 for the 45-70 as its "regular" scope). I then had to sight in three rifles, so that is what I was doing this morning. I sighted the 45-70 in at 100 yards and got a 1 3/16" group using a Berry's 350 RS bullet and 44.0 grains of IMR 4198 powder.. Then, wondering what the drop would be at 150, I moved the target out. The drop was exactly 3" and the four-shot group size was 1 7/16".

[cpaspr]

Sighted in at 100 and only dropping 3" at 150 it sounds like you are hitting 100 on the upslope and coming back down through 150. Probably peaking a tad bit high at 105-110 yards.

[Hatchdog]

Now that all loads are confirmed and set, I switched all the scopes back around to where they should be. (I was using a higher power scope on the 45-70 during load development and sight in. Now that it is all done, I went back to a "short range" 3-9 for the 45-70 as its "regular" scope). I then had to sight in three rifles, so that is what I was doing this morning. I sighted the 45-70 in at 100 yards and got a 1 3/16" group using a Berry's 350 RS bullet and 44.0 grains of IMR 4198 powder.. Then, wondering what the drop would be at 150, I moved the target out. The drop was exactly 3" and the four-shot group size was 1 7/16".

love the moving scopes around, gives us a reason to get to the range and do some work. Right now I have all my loads developed and scopes sighted in. I need an excuse to go to the range once the weather warms up.

[White Smoke]

Slight correction on that last post. The drop at 150 was 3.5", not 3.0". Anyway, I have a new bullet on order...a Speer 400 grain SPFN. My hunting club is going on a campout in March and we will be setting some gongs out at 100 yards. The plinker load is pretty light and the 250 MonoFlex load is right about mid-range. I want to give the guys an example of a full-bore 45-70 to give them the "experience" of one, so I'll make up some loads with 54.5 grains of IMR 8208 XBR with the 400 bullet. That's a max load which should give them a very nice "experience"! That will give me three loads for the rifle, plus the Mouse Farts. When I get the 400's in, I'll run new drop tables for all three main loads. This should be fun!

[5shot]

Makes my rusty old joints cry out for an extra strength Tylenol just thinking about that load.

Kinda reminds me of a quote from an old cowboy...."When I squeezed the trigger the rifle plum backed right off that bullet".