45-70 Govt, PC 340 gr vs Missouri whitetail

[WildT]

Spent the summer getting to know my CVA Scout. A fine friend it is!

Fed it several varieties of powder / bullet combos.

Best combo was
Description: IMR 3031, 49gr, 345gr PC, 10bhn (Lee 457-340-F)
Notes 1: Powder coated, dia .461
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.211
Bullet Weight (gr): 346.000

Typical result:
Shots
# FPS FT-LBS PF
5 1799 2486.87 622.45
4 1835 2587.40 634.91
3 1828 2567.70 632.49
2 1866 2675.56 645.64
1 1832 2578.95 633.87
Average: 1832.00
StdDev: 23.82
Min: 1799
Max: 1866

Better result, 3 filled tags, 3 spent shell casings, good, fat meat, each down and dead within 40'. Very little damage apart from bullet holes and innards. Pic of heart and lungs from one, only tip of heart remained.

Good expansion with PC at about 10 bhn - no bone hit on any of the three, except knick of rib. (I hunt for meat and aim accordingly.)

[Agent1187]

That's the way!

Too bad we can't kill them with a leg shot and keep those tasty hearts intact though...

[WildT]

Yeah... there wasn't enough left for thin soup

[Brett Ross]

I bought a CVA hunter when Iowa legalized the use of straight wall cartridge's a few years ago. I found the CVA was cheap and I had 45-70 reloading gear. I came up with almost the same load as you only 45 grains with .5 gr of Dacron to hold it back against the primer (getting recoil sensitive in my old age). It will shoot a couple inch group at 100 yards and kills them dead. I love my $200.00 deer slayer.

[Bazoo]

Nice, and congratulations. Thanks for sharing your load and results.

[firefly1957]

A few years ago I bought a Marlin 1895 when I saw it in the case at a Walmart I also load the Lee 457-340-F powder coated in it . I cast them soft and they average 354 grains . Powder coated and sized as .457" They shoot well under 2 inches at 100 yards using IMR-3031 and averaging 2168 f/s from my 22" barrel


Agent1187 Two years ago I dropped a nice buck with a leg shot it was not my intent I had not relighted and the gun was off . The 90 yard shot with bullet averaging 2168 f/s 20 feet from the muzzle hit the rear leg bone just below the hip the entire leg bone shattered . The bullet then went under the shin removing the bucks penis and going into the other lag near the top of the leg bone shattering 3 inched of the bone . The bullet was recovered under the skin on the far side weighing 220 grains with 49 grains of lead pieces with it . The buck dropped like it was hit by lightening and only one front leg worked at all ! I lost most of the rear quarters to that shot losing the heart would have been preferred!
The buck had tangled with a porcupine and had several quills sticking from it's head most of the meat was tainted and could not be eaten I do not know if it was the infection from quills or the way the buck was shot? A follow up shot was to the head with cast boolit from .357 magnum .
I have no idea how long the quills had been in the buck's head however one did work through the skull and was just starting to enter the brain cavity.

[Rapier]

In my stronger action guns I use R-#7 in my 45-70s. #7 really performs well with cast or J bullets.

Have found my sights changed twice, figure it was visitors, so started locking up my gun cabinets and keeping the keys in my pocket, have had no repeat of that monkey business with my tactical adjustment knobs.

[WildT]

[HBAR2989]

I'm a fan of Reloader 7, shoot it behind a 350 grain Ranch Dog.

[pls1911]

AMEN!!!! at about 1500 fps from a Sharps or Rolling Block, or Ruger.
Accurate, deadly, with a shoulder/spine placement , = DRT every time...No tracking.

[pdgoutdoors]

Awesome results