lightest gallery load for 45/70

[hornsurgeon]

anyone have a very light gallery/squib/catsneeze/etc load for the 45/70? i'm working with the 350 ranch dog boolit lubed with bac. i've worked down to 3.6gr unique with .8gr dacron filler. it's been very consistant, but still a little loud for me. i know pace kelly suggests 5gr of bullseye, but i havn't tried that one yet.

the whole idea here is noise reduction. i'm not in a residential area, but ame trying to be courteous to the neighbors. only going to be used for rabbits and woodchucks.

rifle is a marlin 1895.

[chuebner]

I have gone as low as 4gr. Unique with the Lee 340gr. RNFP in my Numrich rolling block. Recoil is non-existent and the report is just a muted snort. Incredibly accurate at 50yd.

charlie

[Larry Gibson]

Suggest some .457/.458 RBs lightly lubed with LLA. Use unsized fire formed case with a LP primer. Thumb seat the RBs into the charged case and push the ball down onto the powder with a dowel or a "short starter" if you muzzle load. Start at 2 gr of Bullseye and work up or down from there until you get accuracy and noise level you want. Obviously these are single load rounds.

Larry Gibson

[Bullshop]

We sell a 175gn hollow base boolit for this purpose

[NickSS]

I shoot a RB lubed with LLA pushed down on top of 3 gr of Red Dot it sounds like a 22 short going off maybe quieter than that. My neighbors have not complained at at 15 yards I have killed raccoons with it.

[Rickk]

Bullshop can you help me find these light bullets on your website? When I click on "other bullets" nothing happens.
Thanks

[Jim]

Suggest some .457/.458 RBs lightly lubed with LLA. Use unsized fire formed case with a LP primer. Thumb seat the RBs into the charged case and push the ball down onto the powder with a dowel or a "short starter" if you muzzle load. Start at 2 gr of Bullseye and work up or down from there until you get accuracy and noise level you want. Obviously these are single load rounds.

Larry Gibson

I do the same, except I F/L size the cases, seat the RB to the circumference and crimp it ever so slightly. These feed in my 1895GG. I locate the powder against the flash hole with a cotton ball.

[Bullshop]

RickK
We are working on a list to put up on our site. It should go up very soon. For the time being it is a written list only. At some point we may get up pictures but not sure about that. If I had not gotten the voluntary help of a friend that is a professional at building web sites we would not even have gotten up a list.
Anyway there should be a list up in the next couple days.
Anyone needing samples of certain things before buying a mold might want to check out the list of about 230 or so different molds.
BIC/BS

[Larry Gibson]

I do the same, except I F/L size the cases, seat the RB to the circumference and crimp it ever so slightly. These feed in my 1895GG. I locate the powder against the flash hole with a cotton ball.

Jim

That is the solution for the lever gun. I have TDs and a bolt action so mine are single loaders. With the Rapines 460210 (a very neat HB bullet for excellent plinking and small game loads in the 45-70) The bolt action (Siamese Mauser) is a two-shooter as it will feed the first rond from the right side of the magazine. These loads are lots of fun

Larry Gibson

[Doc Highwall]

.45/70 Government
Bullet Weight Powder Weight Average
Velocity Standard
Deviation Primer Sized Overall Length Comments
457122 HP 338.0 Bullseye
1” square dacron 4.0 613 1.5 F210 .459 2.500 2”@ 50 yards
vertical stringing
457122 HP 338.0 Red Dot
1” square dacron 4.0 579 13.8 F210 .459 2.500 One hole at 50 yards
457122 HP 338.0 700-X
1” square
dacron 4.0 572 10.6 F210 .459 2.500 1.5” @ 50
Yds
457122 HP 338.0 WW 231
1”
square
dacron 4.0 468 21.3 F210 .459 2.500 4” @ 50 Yds
457122 HP 338.0 Clays
1” square
dacron 4.0 524 10.4 F210 .459 2.500 1 hole @ 50 Yds
457122 HP 338.0 Titegroup
1”
square
dacron 4.0 574 14.1 F210 .459 2.500 2” @ 50 Yds
Test rifle is a Marlin M1895 with Ballard rifling. A Weaver 2-10X scope was used for all tests.

[hornsurgeon]

well, i did drop down to 2.8 gr of unique with the 0.8gr dacron. not any quieter, and started getting delayed ignition and inconsistant burn. i've gone back to 3.5gr. i amy try some other pwoders as well such as trialboss.

[jimwill48]

I use 2.5gr of 700x and a 405 Cast. Will penatrate to the base of the bullet in a well seasoned oak stump (end grain). Sounds about like a CCI Long CB cap.

James

[StrawHat]

Okay, not a 350 grain bullet but a light load anyway.

In an article by Gil Sengel (Handloader, May-June 1988) titled "Classic Loads for Modern 45-70 Rifles he mentions one gallery load, the 45-5-140. He says it can be duplicated by using 5 grains of FFFg, an over powder wad, two lubed "wonder wads", and a 457 RB seated on the last wad. Claims +/- 400 fps and good accuracy to 50 feet. I have not yet tried this load but will do so over the summer season. I may modify it and use the GB Collar button boolit and see how it shoots.

I can supply a copy of the article if you would like.

[Tazman1602]

PM sent Strawhat

[freedom475]

I just tried this with my sharps...

Loaded 5gr.(vol) of 4ffff BP into the sized 45-70 case and just tapped a .457 RB into the case mouth. No filler or anything

Load was very quiet and went into the same hole at 15yrds with no change to my sights.. was able to hit the dog house at 80 yrds with the ladder set to 200yrds. You could see the ball heading to the dog house but it still had enough power to shoot through the 1/2" plywood and bounce around inside the house (Don't worry, I have too many dogs anyway

[StrawHat]

I just tried this with my sharps...

Loaded 5gr.(vol) of 4ffff BP into the sized 45-70 case and just tapped a .457 RB into the case mouth. No filler or anything

Load was very quiet and went into the same hole at 15yrds with no change to my sights.. was able to hit the dog house at 80 yrds with the ladder set to 200yrds. You could see the ball heading to the dog house but it still had enough power to shoot through the 1/2" plywood and bounce around inside the house (Don't worry, I have too many dogs anyway

Going to make it drafty on the nights you're sharing the quarters with the dogs won't it?

[Lostknife]

A 45-70 mini plinker:
I used a 0.5" pure lead ball that I also shoot from my 28 ga, forced it through a 45 ACP carbide sizing die at 0.460 and lubed with Lee liquid lube after sizing, The bottom punch is a homemade unit with a slight cavity to form a beveled bottom and using a 45ACP seater screw. So far so good, nice looking round nose, a short bearing surface and a bevelled base weighing about 200 grains. Plan on starting with 2.5 gr Bullseye. New Marlin Ballard rifling slugs at 0.460". Hoping far a very short range "Gallery". Bullet the will feed flawlessly thru the lever gun. Anyone else tried this?
Lost

[paul h]

well, i did drop down to 2.8 gr of unique with the 0.8gr dacron. not any quieter, and started getting delayed ignition and inconsistant burn. i've gone back to 3.5gr. i amy try some other pwoders as well such as trialboss.

For the quietest loads, you need to use the fastest powders and throttle them back until bullets won't leave the bore. You should also consider a bullet design that has minimal contact with the bore as it will require less pressure to drive it and hence lighter powder charges. I'd suggest paper patching a 200 gr 45 handgun bullet and bullseye, clays, red dot or 700X. I never did much experimentation with my 458 lott, but with the 35 whelen I was able to get down to a cap gun report.

[wmitty]

Lostknife:

I've gone the same route you have - .498 Lyman round ball sized thru a Lee push thru .457 die which I lapped to .460". I ran out of Bullseye and will use 700X or Titegroup . Marlin is a microgroove which likes .461" boolits (.46-70?)

[frnkeore]

To keep the report down, I would suggest these powders:

Norma R-1
Nitro 100 NF
Nitro 100
N - 310
Ram Shot Competition
Titewad

They are the fastest available and will give the least muzzle blast and pressure.

Frank