Uberti 1885

[mag44uk]

Guys,
I have the Uberti 1885 High Wall in 45-70.
I use the black stuff and nitro with the Lyman 535gn Postell.A cracking bullet and a gobsmackingly accurate rifle. 3 inch 5 shot groups at 200 yards are routine.
My question is how high can I load this rifle?
Most loading manuals list 3 different "power" levels for the 45-70 and I always use the middle level.
I only use it for target shooting but have the potential to shoot out to 1000 yards plus.
The extra oompf would come in handy!
What do you all think?
Cheers,
Tony:)

[Boz330]

I would think that it would be as strong as a Ruger, but I doubt that you will like the recoil. I loaded some 405s to the minimun Ruger load in a #3, shot 2 of them and pulled the rest. The only reason I shot the second one was that I thought that it really couldn't have been that bad, it was. I decided that if the Trapdoor load would kill a deer in the 1800s, it still would, and much more fun to shoot. According to the Lyman manual you can load the 45-70 real close to a 458 mag in modern guns.

Bob

[KCSO]

The Uberti's are just a little softer steel than the Brownings. I don't think you could ever blow one up, but you might loosen it with super top end loads. I personally don't think you need to go over 1600 fps for the 1000 yard loads as that duplicates the old 45-100/110 loads and that is what they made the records with. The Uberti is also not heavy enough to soak up a lot of recoil. A true target gun in say 45-100 will weigh right around 14 pounds and it will still wear on you after 25-30 rounds.

[NickSS]

I have shot at 1000 and 1200 yards with a 45-70 using duplex loads to get approximately 1350 fps from my 34 inch barrel on my Shiloh Long Range express. Using the Same postel boolit you mention. They worked fine at that velocity. In recent years I had the chamber opened to the 45-90 (2.4 inch case length) and now shoot straight black powder at 1000 yards works just fine. You do not need a lot of velocity but you do need a long range tang sight the more common mid range length runs out of elevation around 800 yards or so. You also need a long neck or to dig a hole in the ground for your butt stock to see through the sights. At those ranges its more like using a morter than firing a rifle.

[PPpastordon]

mag44uk;
I have no actual knowledge how high you can load your Uberti. However, I would believe it be at least as strong as an original Hi-Wall. Years ago I shot with a man who re-barreled Hi-Walls to a variety of high pressure varmint rounds. I also know he shot them at extremely high pressures for the velocity. I remember him pushing a .22 Krag on a High-Wall to velocities that caused bullet blow-ups with bullets that did not blow up in my (pre-factory chambering) .22-250.
My last High-Wall was chambered in .500 Linebaugh. A time of low finances caused me to get rid of it; but the last I heard, when it was about 12 years old, it was still going strong. So I would think your Uberti to be capable of at least the pressures of John's .500!
On the other hand - either you have a cast iron shoulder or an extremely high tolerance for pain! It is possible to load the H&R Handi-Rifle, with its cushioned butt-stock, to levels that are painful for many - if not most.
Finally, I remember one person who maintained it best to keep 1,000 yard loads to velocities that were surprisingly light to me - about 1050 to maybe 1100. He said he did this to keep from going super-sonic.
As usual, its all just my 2 cents.

[stick walker]

I had the same experince w/ a#3firs shot about put me off the bench.traded it off when I got into sharps and hiwalls. killed like the wrath of God tho. stickwalker

[Phil]

HI PPastordon,

Yes, you want to keep the bullet below the TRANSONIC range. Thats because in the transonic range the bullet is pushing a big column of air in front of it while it is trying to go supersonic and a cross wind has that column of air as well as the bullet to push against. Also, the column of air acts like a headwind slowing the bullet. Thats the simple explanation. SO you want to keep the bullet below the transonic range and about 1100 to 1200 fps works well.

Now, the other side of this is that with such a low velocity the bullet is in the barrel a lot longer than if you shoot it at a higher velocity. Proof of this pudding is shooting a small bore rifle prone. Consistant position is everything here! You can get away with a somewhat sloppy position with a high velocity cartridge (jacketed center fire) that will just kill you score-wise with a rim fire.

My own schuetzen rifle shoots much better at 1400 fps than at lower velocities. Even from a bench. I think part of the problem is when I'm down around 1200 fps the barrel time is long enough to cause slight errors in my position to creep in. Now, we are talking about a rifle that will shoot in the mid .3 moa range. In a rifle that is shooting in the 2 moa range you might not note any difference at all.

Thats my story and I'm sticking with it. Hope it helps. (:>)

Cheers,

Phil

[threett1]

I am surely not an expert myself but I have read several references to staying subsonic like was mentioned. I know the steel bangers do it as well as the 1000yd shooters. Something about stabilization. So those nice comfortable loads just might be the real deal.

[Phil]

Hi threett1,

Here is a link to how well a 45-70 shoots at TWO MILES. This was all subsonic.

http://www.researchpress.co.uk/targets/ballistics/sandyhook.htm

Enjoy,

Phil