Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70

[DLCTEX]

My son has just acquired one that is ported, and we are looking for advice on a mold in the 450 gr. range. Double cavity, bore rider, large meplat, and we will want to hollowpoint one cavity. The rifle is in Fl. and I am in Tx. so slugging the bore will be problematical, would .459 be a safe guess for boolit size? Will WDWW be hard enough, taking into consideration the porting? What say you, sage advisors? DALE

[EDK]

Go to RANCH DOG'S site and see what he has to say and offer. HE IS THE MARLIN BOOLIT MAN.

[Down South]

Dale, I have a 45-70 Handi. From slugging the bore on it I decided that
I needed .460 boolits. I just got a Ranch Dog mould from Scronger that is 350 gr if I remember correctly and it's supposed to drop boolits at .460

I haven't had time to cast with it yet. Maybe next week. BTW, it's a CG mould too.

I've heard somewhere that ported barrels didn't like cast boolits very much. It was something about gas cutting at the ports. I'll be interested to see how you come out.

[BlackRifleShooter]

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/Emptyinmymag/1895GS.jpg

This is the gun

[Ranch Dog]

My 1895G loves either my 350-grain or 425-grain bullets will full doses of Hodgdon powders. The South Texas "bears" hate the bullets. I personally think, based on chamber casts, that you will need a .460" bullet.

http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/TLC460350RF/ranchdoghog1895G2007.jpg

[BlackRifleShooter]

Ranch Dog what kind of penetration do you get in those hogs with the 425 grns? Some of the extremly thick cover here can force you to abandon a stalk or take a shot at an less than ideal angle.

[Beaverhunter2]

I shoot RD's .460 boolits in my 1895M (.450 Marlin). The gas check protects the base from gas cutting at the ports. That being said, I'm also shooting the Lee 405gr PB and get no leading and 1 1/2" groups at 100yds. Those are only in the 1200 - 1300 fps range, though, and the Lee has a small meplat. The RD's are shooting as well (or better), still no leading, and they're near max loads. I haven't had a chance to send them over the chrony yet. You won't be disappointed with RD's boolits.

One question- who does your hollowpoint mould conversion and about how much does it cost? One of RD's 425 with a hollowpoint would be truly devastating.

I'm sure your son is going to be very happy with his new rifle! My 1895 is one of my favorites.

John

[IcerUSA]

.458 -.460 + GC more than likely will shoot well in any weight you want , RD's are designed for the Marlin throat , so take a look , otherwise I would suggest the 405gn boolit from most of the commercial suppliers as it seems to be a good all around weight and design for the 45-70 .
As always YMMV but I think you will find it a fun rifle to shoot , from plinker to full house rounds.
Just a hint but I would put a Limb Saver on her before doing much full house rounds as even plinker's will get to you after 50 or so rounds . :)

Keith

[DLCTEX]

John, Buckshot does mold hollowpointing and is who I would use, but Lee 2 cav. molds are problematical in that thealignment pin lies across the path of where the hollowpointer needs to go. I think maybe it could be drilled for Lyman type alignment pins, but this would have to be worked out with Buckshot. DALE PS: BlackRifleShooter is my son (that's his post above yours)

[Scrounger]

Buckshot, not Bullshot. They are nothing alike...

[DLCTEX]

OOps! Post corrected, thanks. CRS. See Scrounger's byline above. LOL

[Ranch Dog]

Ranch Dog what kind of penetration do you get in those hogs with the 425 grns? Some of the extremly thick cover here can force you to abandon a stalk or take a shot at an less than ideal angle.

I would expect complete penetration. I really doubt that you will ever recover a bullet. I shoot max "jacketed" loads and I'm always careful of what's downrange. One forum member's son was hunting hogs with my 450 Marlin and the 425-grain bullet and killed three hogs with one shot. Complete penetration on all three and the first animal hit was at 80-yards!

http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/TLC460TrophyRoom/CAC_Whitetail_1.jpg http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/TLC460TrophyRoom/CAC_Whitetail_3.jpg
This is forum member CAC's Albertan whitetail taken with his 1895GS and the TLC460-425-RF. The following day, he noticed this tree downrange that had absorbed the bullet after complete penetration of the whitetail!

[Beaverhunter2]

Thanks for the info, Dale. I hadn't thought about the alignment pins. :(

Another thing I like about my 1895 is that it's short and handy enough for heavy cover, but accurate enough for any shot I'll take in Northern Michigan. I put a 1.5X - 4.5X on it with QD mounts. If I'm still hunting in the thick stuff, the scope goes in a sock I carry in my day pack. When I sit down, the scope goes back on.

The next thing I have to try is the multi-RB loads! If it wasn't for casting and reloading- shooting would be boring!

John

[DLCTEX]

Three hogs with one shot! That's penetration! I've taken two coyotes in one (on purpose) and two deer with one (Unintentional and small deer), and my son, BlackRifleShooter, took two hogs with one (unintentional, 250 lbs. ea.). That's putting meat on the table in a hurry. DALE

[Ranch Dog]

If it wasn't for casting and reloading- shooting would be boring!

Amen Brother.

Dale, Michael actually killed 8 hogs with one shot! That first sow was carrying 5 piglets! He felt bad about it but, I said "get over it!" Killing 8 feral hogs with one-shot elevated him to legend status with the ranchers around here!

[BlackRifleShooter]

Ranch Dog the 3 hog penetration was with jacketed bullets? My thoughts were for two different loads for this rifle a heavy solid and then a medium weight HP with the largest cavity I can get for smaller vermin like coyotes. I dont know if it is possible, but I would like a bullet that would open up extremely quickly. I think it would blow right through a skinny yote before it even thought about opening but that is what I would like to have. One deep penetrating bullet and one that would achieve full expansion/deformation rapidly say inside of 10". If my idea is ludicrious dont worry about saying so. I know nothing about cast bullets. Dad didnt cast much when I was at home. I havent had time to take it up yet.

[Ranch Dog]

Ranch Dog the 3 hog penetration was with jacketed bullets?

No, I should have been more clear. They were shot with the TLC460-425-RF with loads that are usually reserved for jacketed bullets (40.0K PSI). When the bullet fits the bore, leade/throat, it is amazing how much pressure you can put behind it and how accurate is can be.

I don't think you need expansion with coyotes and other other varmints, these critters will not survive the large metplat. I shoot a lot of varmints and despite having both a 218 Bee and 219 Zipper prefer the large bullets. We have a lot of thorn brush here, it's dense and those 22 caliber leverguns need a clear shot or its a miss. If I call in a coyote or bobcat and see it eyeballing me from around the blackbrush, I'm going to smoke the yote/cat and the bush.

http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/TLC432TrophyRoom/slides/111004%20Bobcat%20B.jpg

I shot this cat with my 444T and my TLC432-285-RF. It came in, made me and I had to swing out to my right to get on it (the wrong side for good shooting). I hit it in the right leg and spun it like a top about 3 revolutions. It hit the ground dead. Just the leg broken between the knee and foot. Energy and metplat is everything!