45/70 Encore Katahdin need some ideas

[cumminsnut76]

Ok guys help me with a recipe for this little gun. Here’s what I am fighting with.
-Encore with a 20” barrel so the whole thing is pretty damn light so it kicks like a mule
-only planning on shooting whitetail so no need for a 400+gn boolit
-range usually up to 150 yards tops maybe 200 on a stretch
-tried some benchmark behind some 418 and 478 gn pills- my teeth are still rattling

So I’m looking for a nice mild shooting recipe that is a fairly flat shooter that doesn’t knock the crap out of me. I do reload but don’t plan to shoot this one enough to start casting for it just yet so I will probably be looking at commercial cast or trading someone on here. Let me know what you think

[nagantguy]

With that particular barrel I never found a loading that didn’t rattle my teeth or bring a bruise, I’m not recoil shy nor a small guy- I lusted for that set up for years - must be the drop of the stock plus the super light weight - it’s the second fire arm ever that I stopped shooting and sold cause it hurt and was way to loud- the other being a 300 win mag also on the encore frame- same stock- and I only sold the barrels- even the 209x50 or the turkey barrel which I usually shoot with just a light shirt on don’t have the kick of the 45/70 in this rifle system- compare the weight with a Springfield carbine - and I think the Springfield has a better designed stock- sorry I can’t help ya- went all down to 300 grain boolits and still got walloped. It hurt my shoulder so bad sighting in that I could barely use my right arm- which was not good being that I make my living as a farmer and industrial painter- it was terrible. Even my best buds 460 S&W don’t hurt like that government did.

[Maven]

I have a Marlin #336 in .45-70. As it isn't a heavyweight, I know all about recoil and bruising. To that end, you may want to try the Lee 340gr. PB CB with a charge of 12- 14gr. Unique: Low recoil and accurate.

[cumminsnut76]

I have a Marlin #336 in .45-70. As it isn't a heavyweight, I know all about recoil and bruising. To that end, you may want to try the Lee 340gr. PB CB with a charge of 12- 14gr. Unique: Low recoil and accurate.

Maven, what kind of velocity are you seeing out of this combination?

[cumminsnut76]

With that particular barrel I never found a loading that didn’t rattle my teeth or bring a bruise, I’m not recoil shy nor a small guy- I lusted for that set up for years - must be the drop of the stock plus the super light weight - it’s the second fire arm ever that I stopped shooting and sold cause it hurt and was way to loud- the other being a 300 win mag also on the encore frame- same stock- and I only sold the barrels- even the 209x50 or the turkey barrel which I usually shoot with just a light shirt on don’t have the kick of the 45/70 in this rifle system- compare the weight with a Springfield carbine - and I think the Springfield has a better designed stock- sorry I can’t help ya- went all down to 300 grain boolits and still got walloped. It hurt my shoulder so bad sighting in that I could barely use my right arm- which was not good being that I make my living as a farmer and industrial painter- it was terrible. Even my best buds 460 S&W don’t hurt like that government did.

Yes sir I completely agree. I love the feel and weight while i'm packing it around but dang this thing is a bruiser lol

[gumbo333]

Try some 290 - 300 grain cast. Starting load with 4198, or Unique as mentioned above or any of the many mouse fart loads found at gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata. Ends the bruising, some are very accurate. If you go slow in your reloading, step by step, be safe.

[Kraschenbirn]

+1 on Unique for a 'gentle' load. 12.5 gr. under a 405 gr. RNFP produces right at 1150 fps and 3" 100-yd groups from my reproduction Trapdoor carbine with its 1879 buckhorn rear sight. This approximates the original .45-55-405 Gov't load without rattling my dentures.

Bill

[444ttd]

i have a handi rifle in 45-70 and i load a 405gr fn in h4198/rel7/varget and some other i can't remember. 1300-1400fps is all i need for deer/black bear. i use trial boss and unique for target practice.

[Maven]

cumminsnut76, I'd guess it's no more than 1,200 fps, but I think Kraschenbirn is right on the money (post #7).

[mtnman31]

Same here, I'm not recoil shy but my 45-70 Encore is a handful. I removed the low-power scope I had on mine and replaced it with a red dot. While doing some load development, the scope kissed me lightly. I didn't want it to change into a full smooch, so I changed to the dot.

[Wayne Smith]

I've not had a problem with my 45-70 like I did with the 500S&W! My first scope cut with that one. I load the 457122 Gould HP to about 1300fps and think that's more than adequate. I have a 420 old Lee group buy but haven't shot that one much. My Encore frame has my 25 Krag AI barrel on it now.

[robg]

In my marlin slb ,Lee 405 pb boolits 22gr of 2400 std primer works for me and I'm no fan of recoil .

[MT Gianni]

A 45 round ball at 1100 fps has killed a lot of whitetail deer.

[NSB]

I got rid of two guns in my life because I didn't like shooting them. That was one of them. You asked about "flat shooting".......that's not going to happen with any load in a 45-70. I have or have had seven different 45-70 rifles and liked all of them except the Encore. It's just not designed for any type of shooting with the 45-70. Yes, you can find something to shoot out of it, but you end up using loads you don't really want to use just so you can shoot it. My 1886, Sharps, and Low Walls are enjoyable to shoot in this caliber, but the Encore isn't. I sold the barrel and got something else that's easier on me. I could have hunted with it, it shot well enough. It's just that I like to spend time shooting my guns and there was no joy in that one. Go with Unique or 2400 and a 300g bullet.

[smoked turkey]

You might consider putting some weight in the stock to give it a little more weight. Mine is the camo stock. I don't recall what I settled on, but I think a one pound lead ingot wrapped in bubble wrap helped with my .460 S&W mag barrel. I'm using 5744 powder.

[cumminsnut76]

Ok so last night I loaded up and shot some 415gn cast with 12gn unique. Load felt pretty good and recoil was manageable so i am happy there. Now I just have to load up more to see how they group. I'm guessing this load around 1100fps out of a 20" barrel. Does that sound about right? Also what do you guys think is a realistic max load of unique for this grain bullet.

[Moonie]

You might consider putting some weight in the stock to give it a little more weight. Mine is the camo stock. I don't recall what I settled on, but I think a one pound lead ingot wrapped in bubble wrap helped with my .460 S&W mag barrel. I'm using 5744 powder.

I have the flex stock that is supposed to help with recoil, 2 ingots in there to help tame the 20" 460... With the open sights it's just too light and kicks way too hard with the 325gr NOE HP boolit. Going to add a Muzzle brake. Between that, my 375 Hurt&Hurt and the 15" 500 S&W I have enough heavy kickers to not feel the need for a 45-70.