45-70 mold recommendation

[762cavalier]

I'm about to get a Marlin guide gun in 45-70 and want to get a boolit mold for it.I have been looking at a Lee 2 cavity 405 grain mold, but would also appreciate any recommendations for a mold.

[wilddog45]

Ranch dog moulds would be my recomendation.

[HCL]

45-405 RCBS, most accurate 405gr I have found, with water dropped WW, lube, GC is is pretty close to 420gr.
Mike

[725]

Lots of good ones out there. No question, however, buy a Ranch Dog.

[xr650]

I am going to order a 350 gr. from http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/ when I get ready to cast 45-70.

I just like the 350 better than the 405.

[jjamna]

Ranch Dog All the way No doubt.

[762cavalier]

Hmmm Looks like the Ranchdog is the way to go. Any reason to choose one over the other (350gn vs 405gn)?

[Lloyd Smale]

havent tried the ranch dog mold yet but have one ordered. The rcbs 405 is one of the most accurate 4570 bullets ive found. Only problem with it is it tends to run on the small side as casted and if your gun likes a larger diameter bullet it probably isnt the best choise.

[Alangaq]

I have been using the RCBS 45-405 for some time now in my Marlin GG and have no reason to look for another mould. they shoot great, load great and perform great. Dont know nothin about ranchdog as I am fairly new to this forum and have not see his designs or prices. but in my opinion if your going to shoot lead, you should go with the heavy weight bullets.

[Alangaq]

Ok, I just edjumicated myself on the ranchdog bulets:) seems to be a sound concept and I am sure they shoot just fine, but I already have several lubrisizers and a good supply of lube as well as my standard type moulds. I also prefer a steel or iron mould although the weight gets tireing after a couple hours. All that said, I will stick with my RCBS 45-405. If you are starting from scratch and dont yet have much in the way of equipment then the ranchdog moulds may be the best way to go for you.

[StrawHat]

Although you don't say if the mold is for hunting or target, I don't know many who would use the Guide Gun for target work so...

I would recommend the Lyman 457122 mold that casts the 330 grain HP commonly known as the Gould bullet. This bullet has worked in most of the 45-70s I have used it in. Is it perfect? No, as it does have some parameters which should be followed.

It was originally designd for black powder velocities and binary alloys. I have found that casting it 20-1 or 30-1 (lead-tin) gives me a bullet that holds together and expands at BP velocities. When pushed much faster than that a harder alloy is needed or the bullet explodes. I like it between 1400 and 1500 fps.

Of course you are starting with a 45 caliber bullet so how much do you need it to expand!

[Leftoverdj]

The Lee 459-405-HB is very hard to beat for general shooting. Something GCed would be better purely for hunting, but you can buy the Lee cheaper than a box of GCs. I purely hate fitting GCs, and won't do it when I have a choice.

The other Lee, the 457-405-RF may not cast fat enough for Marlins.

[lovedogs]

Got nothing against Ranch Dog's moulds, I've just not yet tried them so can't say. My .45-70 moulds are Saeco's #881 (a 500 gr. that wouldn't work for your Marlin) and a Saeco #017, which is a 350 gr. RNFPGC designed to cycle smoothly in Marlins. From what I've seen of the 350 gr. it would handle all but the biggest and baddest critters, depending on alloy used. Many years ago the .45-90 with a 300 gr. at 1480 FPS was considered a really good hunting load. You can better that with a modern .45-70 and that 350 gr. mentioned and do it with slightly less kick than with a 405 gr. I can easily push it from 1400 to 1800 FPS out of a Buffalo Classic.

[MtGun44]

RCBS 405GC is super accurate in my SS GG. Lee 405 shoots patterns for me.
You could buy my mold cheap, may work great for you.

Bill

[axman]

LBT 45M 400 grn g.c. works great in most guns and I have shot several groups well under 1 inch in different rifles and shot one cow elk in 2002

[Lloyd Smale]

Im another one that didnt have much luck with the lee mold.

[45-70marlin]

lee 405 didnt work good for me. got a lyman 457124.

[VTDW]

The thing about Ranch Dog is the way he designs and tests. He designs his molds to work optimally with the dimensions of the Marlin chambers and throats. His molds are designed to drop boolits for Marlin leverguns and are the best for Marlin leverguns IMHO. I use 2 of his molds for my .444s and RH .44Mag and one for my .308MX and can attest to how well they work in my guns. Also, if you purchase one of Michael's molds and something is wrong he will make it right with you. He also sells Lee sizers and kits. I use a Lyman 4500 to size and lube boolits dropped from his molds.

www.ranchdogmolds.com

Dave