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Thread: Which 45-70 Government load?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master BNE's Avatar
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    Which 45-70 Government load?

    So many of you chimed in on my thread about WHICH 45-70 should my friend should buy.

    He bought the following:

    https://palmettostatearmory.com/marl...n&utm_content=

    I am helping him by making loads for him. (A 45-70 is on my someday list, so its a win-win for me.) So I think the answer is that I can use the "Modern Lever Action" section in my reloading books, but wanted to confirm.

    At the moment I have a 300 Grain RNFP I can use and a 340 Grain RNFP. Any load suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
    I'm a Happy Clinger.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    You could start with 27grs of 5744 and work your way up and see what load is accurate ?? Run over a coronagraph so you know what you have ??

  3. #3
    Boolit Bub
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    I'm assuming you're looking for hunting purposes ie deer? As been said many Bison died via 405gr at 1200 fps. Out of my 1895GBL I use a 350gr cast with 37gr H4198 which is top end trapdoor low levergun. Those guns are light and they bark FYI. 3031 and RL7 are also good choices.

    For plinking unique, 2400 and 5744. One caution Hornday brass is short to accommodate there gummy tip bullets so adjust your loads or seating depth accordingly.




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  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Lyman 457122 330 gr Gould hollow point with 43.0 grs of imr 3031. Has worked great for me.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    If you are hunting deer at under 150 yards, most any bullet of more than 250 grains going 1200 fps would work just fine and would be pleasant to shoot. I use a Barnes Original over 58 gr Accurate 2015 with a Federal 215M primer,W_W case at 2200fps out of my 1980 Marlin 1895, for elk hunting with great success, but this is not a pleasant load to shoot. Surprisingly flat trajectory ABOVE 9000 feet. I would probably load a clone of the RCBS 300 grain flat nose gas check (no longer listed) at about 1600 for most smaller game under 200 yards. No point in big heavy bullets for smaller game, yeah I know about the millions of bison and the cavalry horses, if you are shooting horses or bison you might want the 400 grainers, otherwise it is just added recoil and extra lead - 4 300 grain bullets vs 3 400 grain bullets. I do expect 1.5 MOA or less with proper 300 grain bullets.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master


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    I shoot a 365 grain bullet by Accurate molds in my guide gun pushed by 12 grains of Unique. This is a mild load that is still potent enough for Whitetail and Hogs. More accurate than I am and easy on the powder supply.
    Good Luck,
    Rick

  7. #7
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    Good choice. I don't see him having buyer's remorse with it.

    I shoot a 405FP in my Marlin CB.
    I keep coming back to IMR 3031 and stay around 1300-ish fps.

    Also, just for the novelty of it, I also shoot some with holy black 'FF'.
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  8. #8
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    I'm currently using good old 4895 and Lee 405. Varget and 5744 work very well too.

  9. #9
    On water northern Mn . 1903.colt's Avatar
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    High wall Uberti 35 grains X - terminator, 405 Lee Smokes powder paint & cotton filler .

    Most likely going back to Drop tube 62 grains FFg = really fun shooting .

    A friend I shoot with has a Trapper I have shot these loads in the marlin .
    Last edited by 1903.colt; 08-08-2023 at 10:04 PM.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickinTN View Post
    I shoot a 365 grain bullet by Accurate molds in my guide gun pushed by 12 grains of Unique. This is a mild load that is still potent enough for Whitetail and Hogs. More accurate than I am and easy on the powder supply.
    Good Luck,
    Rick
    I wish to load Berry's 350 gr plated bullet with 12 grains of Unigue. Purpose is a mildly recoiling combination for plinking and hunting hogs and deer within 100 yards. Can you advise about zeroing this load and suggesting a distance to make it dead on?

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master


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    My standard hog load is 27.0, 2400 behind a 405 RCBS bullet, lubed with LBT blue. Very accurate and it hammers hogs!
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  12. #12
    Boolit Master Castaway's Avatar
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    I’d zero for 2” high at 100 and know the drop at 150. That means you have to also shoot at 25-75 and see how high the strike is

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master



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    Quote Originally Posted by BNE View Post
    So many of you chimed in on my thread about WHICH 45-70 should my friend should buy.

    He bought the following:

    https://palmettostatearmory.com/marl...n&utm_content=

    I am helping him by making loads for him. (A 45-70 is on my someday list, so its a win-win for me.) So I think the answer is that I can use the "Modern Lever Action" section in my reloading books, but wanted to confirm.

    At the moment I have a 300 Grain RNFP I can use and a 340 Grain RNFP. Any load suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
    In the Marlin 1895 chambered in 45/70 the max recommended pressure is 38K to 40K depending on the source.

    My Hodgdon manual has loads with listed pressures for Marlin 1895 up to 40,000 cup. The online load data matches it.

    Hornady. "The following data is intended only for use in the Marlin Model 1895 and should not be used in antique 45-70's or replicas of these older designs. Pressures here are held to 40,000 c.u.p. maximum.
    Last edited by M-Tecs; 09-02-2023 at 04:02 PM.
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  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    He will find, with that rifle in that caliber, that the recoil will be his more practical limit more than what the rifle will hold.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check