new 45-70

[Old Fart]

Good Day Gents , New to the site and have a new 45-70 ..Buffalo Classic.. looking for some info and advice. have a 300 rcbs mold ..but looking for maybe a 405/420 ...but thought I'd ask for some thoughts on which weight of bullet you all like..? haven't cast for these brutes for a long time , what gas checks ya using ..? or Wads ? .. bullet lubes , the best on these , and whats your favorite loads.. ? reduced loads welcome also... any thoughts , advice , hints or tips welcome ....Thanks in advance.. :)

[shooter575]

Welcome to the site Old Fart. First off what powder you plan on shooting? ie black or smokeless.Long range or short.It will make a diffrence.

[Old Fart]

I really don't want to mess with Black in this 45-70.. Although I do shoot muzzle loaders.. both percussion and flinters .
Our range has a 200yard but have been know to kill rocks ...way out there...but I'd say 200 / 300 for now .. don't think I really want to get into the real heavy weights yet ...thanks

[45 2.1]

Try the LEE 405 gr. hoolow base boolit cast soft with Lyman Black P{owder Gold lube and SR4759 powder.

[lovedogs]

Greetings, Old Fart! You're a man after my own heart. Two years ago a friend invited me to his shooting club's annual meeting, picnic, and informal shoot. I wound up joining the group, the Medicine Rocks Black Powder Association. It's called that but almost no one uses BP anymore.

A local rancher has kindly let us use one of his pastures as a silhouette range. Our coyote silhouette (shot off-hand) is at 178 yds., the antelope is 319 yds., the elk is 479 yds., the bear is 554 yds., and our buffalo is 876 yds. All but the coyote are shot with crossed sticks. We have an annual "Medicine Rocks Buffalo Shoot" in Sept. There are also events for Lever Action, Muzzle Loader, and Old West Revolver. So far I only do the Long-Range Buffalo shoot.

We have to shoot rifles of at least .375 cal., use cast lead bullets in old, traditional rifles with exposed hammers or replicas, and use iron sights. Needless to say, we have more fun than adults should be allowed to have.

I also bought a Buffalo Classic. We already had a few on the range, along with a few Handi-Rifles. And, recently, my lady friend also purchased a Classic. All of us have had good service from them and outstanding accuracy.

The main use for my .45-70 was to shoot the silhouette course. But as I shot it more and more I fell in love with the darn thing and decided I'd also take it hunting. It has performed exceedingly well in both areas and it's now my favorite gun... and I've got a whole locker full.

Most of our silhouette partners are shooting 400 gr. bullets using a variety of fast powders, like Unique, Blue Dot, and 2400 in their .45-70's. But this is changing. They are finding out that I was right about something, after all. The light bullets sometimes won't stabilize out to the long distances and are not as good in a breeze.

At first I tried using 4198 and Reloder 7 with the 500 gr. bullet. I ran into position sensitivity problems. I didn't like having to tip the muzzle up before each shot. Sometimes I'd forget and get a velocity drop, which would cause a miss at long-range. When I'd use more of these powders I could get away from the position sensitivity, but then I'd be popping those chunks of lead out at 1300-1400 FPS and that got painful. After much research and experimentation I finally settled on a real mild load of : W-W cases, CCI 200 primer, 23 1/2 gr. Accurate 5744, and a Saeco 1881 pattern bullet ( 500 gr. RN) made with 20:1 alloy, sized .459, lubed with SPG lube. Out of my 32 in. bbl. it goes 1180 FPS on a 90 degree day. It's pleasant to shoot and more accurate than folks want to believe. At 100 yds. it shoots right at an inch using either an old 3X Weaver Classic or a Lee Shaver Long-Range tang sight. Twice it has shot groups right at 5 1/2 to 6 in. on our 876 yd. buffalo silhouette. But usually I can only shoot a group of about 15 in. at that range. Mind you that this is with an aperature sight, not a scope. So although these Buffalo Classics are economical they aren't cheap!

My game hunting load is: W-W cases, CCI 250 primer, 36 gr. Alliant Reloder 7, and a Remington 300 gr. HP. This goes just over 1800 FPS. It's quite flat for a .45-70 and kills like WOW! Last fall I shot both antelope and a whitetail doe with it. They both dropped as if hit by SCUD missles. I'm using the magnum primer because where I hunt it sometimes gets really cold. With the mag primer it'll fire no matter how cold and there's no position sensitivity. Accuracy was tested with an old Weaver 3X9 mounted and was always between 3/4 and 7/8 in. at 100 yds. I put the older 3X back on for hunting. I wanted to use a Williams aperature sight that came on the rifle but it was too dark when I tried it in the woods. So I opted for the scope.

Someday I plan on trying a lighter cast bullet and the Williams sight. I'd like to try one of those RCBS 300 gr. GC bullets cast with #2 alloy.

So far my experience with the H&R's has been all very good. If you want a sight that addresses adjusting their trigger pull let me know and I can send it to you. Our Classics here have good enough triggers we haven't had the need, but I have heard some complaining about the triggers so if you need help there let me know.

One last note... I broke my barrel in good before shooting lead in it. I lapped it with J-B paste real good then shot and cleaned for about 10 rounds before shooting lead in it. It definitely smoothed it up. It now shoots real good and doesn't foul at all unless I try to push the alloy too fast.

Have fun! And just drop a line if you need to talk about anything. I'm not an expert but will share my experiences with you if it'll help.

Best Regards, Lovedogs aka "Walks With Dog"

[Old Fart]

Lovedogs ,thanks for the great info ...I'll be sure to give a jingle if and when I have more ?????...always can use the help ..or at least somebody to bounce ideas off of ....
OH , what tang sites are you using on your Classics...you have them mounted on the wood ....thanks again ..Ray

[Old Fart]

thanks ....for the info everyone , I look forward to really getting into this...Ray