.458 Mold Too Blunt To Feed?

[Good Cheer]

Question for Marlin 45-70 shooters, does this mold look too blunt to feed reliably through the Marlins?

[knifemaker]

The RNFP I use in my Marlin has a little less ogive & meplat then the one you have pictured. It is a Ranch Dog 350 gr. The Ranch dog I use feeds like a hot knife though butter. Your gun may feed that one or may not. Hard to tell without trying it. If it does feed it, that one would be a great hunting bullet to deliver a lot of shocking power to the game animal.

[Good Cheer]

I don't have a Marlin 45-70 yet, but I see them for sale ever so often when somebody gets their eye teeth jarred loose. That mold has been in the fun box for a long time. Makes me think about my 45-70 loading dies (sitting idle for thirty years) and that maybe a lever gun might be fun. That's a very versatile cartridge, to be loaded like a 44 Special or a 45-120.

[longbow]

Yes, it is a very versatile cartridge and I always think it odd when a handloader says it has too much recoil! First, factory loads are BP equivalent so relatively mild... except for a few +P type loads. If you aren't a handloader you are stuck with what is available but if you are a handloader, the .45-70 can be downloaded pretty much as far as you want and moulds are available from 145 gr. collar buttons to 600 gr. monsters.

My 1895 Marlin liked the Lyman 457124 385 gr. round nose. Seemed like a good weight. Should I get another .45-70, which I'd like but haven't got around to yet, I'd get a collar button mould, likely the 330 gr. Gould mould and something around 400 grs. with RNFP should I want to hunt something largeish. That would cover it for me anyway. The collar button loads are like shooting a .22 but big holes! moderately loaded 330 gr. Gould bullet should have fairly light recoil, cheaper on lead and powder than heavy loads and be useful for punching paper and hunting. You certainly don't have to run full throttle loads in a .45-70.

Having said that, when I had my Siamese Mauser in .45-70 and my 1895 I used to push the pressure limits for each and that did generate unpleasant recoil. I was young and not so smart. Not sure I've gotten much smarter in most areas but I have learned that my shoulder doesn't have to get bruised to get satisfactory terminal ballistics with big and relatively heavy boolits at moderate velocity.

YMMV

As for your original question ~ I can't help there about feeding but it looks like a nice design. Should make clean holes in paper and provide an impressive wound channel for hunting. My opinion is that it will likely feed as there are some pretty blunt commercial rounds available. Take a look at Garrett and Buffalo Bore. The Garrett 540 gr. looks like a very similar nose profile to your mould.

What mould is that by the way? If NOE (looks like NOE pins) I am sure Swede Nelson could tell you about feeding in a Marlin. If that is a 260 gr. (.458-260) you should be able to push it along quite quickly with not a lot of recoil. Should make a good paper puncher and plinker and likely decent close range hunting boolit.

I'll bet if you cast and send some to a member with an 1895 they'll gladly test them for you!

Longbow

[bigboredad]

It should work. When I had mine I used the 462 hammer from miha and I believe it has a meplat of 83% and it fed fine and hit amazingly hard

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[Cheshire Dave]

I know what you mean about being young and dumb. When I first got my Marlin 1895 I focused on hot loads and and now as I get older the 330 grain Gould bullet is my standard. It's all I need for close-range black-tail deer.

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[missionary5155]

Greetings
We have a Marlin 41 mag that would only feed a RN always. Just took a little "beveling the chamber edges" and now it will feed wadcutters.
Marlin just has the habit of doing the minimal just so factory "J" things will feed. Might take you 30 minutes to make a Marlin into a lead feeding marvel.
Mike in Peru

[Petander]

That's an LBT mold,right?

Nose looks very similar to my 480 grain Applegate mold which cycles in Marlins.

Can you measure your mold?

My bullets nose is approx. 0.388 wide and 0.340 long,measured from the crimp groove.

.


EDIT 2: I compared your scaled up mold pic to my bullet and yours seems to have a longer nose with a slightly smaller meplat than mine. I have no guess of any kind about function,might work just fine. Maybe contact LBT?

If you want to be sure: There is a group buy closing soon, a 400 grain Mihec. Take a look. That one is a sure winner.