cast 45-70 in marlin 1895

[bigjake]

I just got a Marlin 1895 22" 45-70 for deer hunting in Ohio. I ordered a lee 457-340 2 cavity 45-70 mold(340gr .457). I have cast about a hundred of these so far and they are coming out around .455 to .456, i haven't had a chance to slug my bore but the diameter im getting on these boolits seem way to small. Has anyone tried these in a marlin and did you get bad leading?

[Jupiter7]

I just got a Marlin 1895 22" 45-70 for deer hunting in Ohio. I ordered a lee 457-340 2 cavity 45-70 mold(340gr .457). I have cast about a hundred of these so far and they are coming out around .455 to .456, i haven't had a chance to slug my bore but the diameter im getting on these boolits seem way to small. Has anyone tried these in a marlin and did you get bad leading?
Not gonna work, leading inevitable. What alloy? Confident you're getting full fill out? Every one of my 45-70's has always liked .459-.460.

[44man]

Need a fatter boolit for sure.

[historicfirearms]

I shoot boolits sized .460 out of my guide gun.

[foxtrapper]

My 1895 cowboy slugged at .456, so that bullet may work. Before ordering any moulds slug the bore. Good luck!

[1989toddm]

Same mold I got off ebay drops at .4595 +/- .0005 with straight coww. Accurate and no leading in my 1895.

[stubert]

In my Guide gun, I am using the rcbs 45-300 sized to .459, lubed with 50/50 moly/beeswax. No leading at 1700. They are a GC design though.

[Green Lizzard]

size them to .454 then paper patch them back to .460 drive them fast

[btroj]

Like others said, I use .460 in mine. Never tried a different size, never saw a need to.

only one way to know how they shoot, isn't there

[scattershot]

You don't really need barn burner loads with the punkin roller. I had a 95, and it kicked like a demented mule. Keep the loads moderate, and you'll enjoy it more.

[dh2]

I am getting good results from my marlin, I cast a 405gr boolit it drops .460 with Lyman #2 alloy I size to .459 it gives me a 3 inch group at 100yards with out leading.

[kenn]

I've used the 405 grain hollow base sized to .460 in my marlin with great success. I also have the .457-340 and have Lapped the mold to .460 to eliminate leading and it now shoots well.

[Ricochet]

I've found that using polyester fiberfill helps a lot with the undersized bullet leading problem. There's always the option of beagling the mould to make them a little fatter, and I'll likely eventually get around to trying paper patching in the 45-70. I have a still unused .45 rifle mould intended for paper patching that I got in a group buy in the last decade, and I can patch a .457" to .460-.4615" with paper on hand. Paper patching is labor intensive but enjoyable, like casting. I was up till 2 this morning rolling bullets. :mrgreen:

[RickinTN]

I have that mold also and if I remember correctly it dropped bullets at .457 when I bought it. I lapped it out to .460. A friends Marlin purchased recently (within the last year) has a throat of .4595". He called this morning reporting the rifle shoots very well with that bullet sized to .459" with 40 grains of IMR 3031. I think you probably need a little fatter bullet.
Rick

[seaboltm]

I think the boolit is too small. I use the Lee 405 grainer. They are .4585