45/70 molds recommendation

[DrB]

I know this is probably a tired old question, but bear with me as I haven't had much reason to be interested till recently.

I'm looking for mold recommendations for a newly acquired marlin 45/70 guidegun. My priority is an accurate hunting bullet for taking deer up to elk size.

Best regards,
DrB

[StrawHat]

Even tired old questions deserve answers. I like the Lyman 457122, commonly known as the Gould Boolit. A hollow point of about 315 to 330 grains, depending on alloy. I load my 45-70s with black powder and soft lead. It works great on deer.

If you search for just 457122 there are about 300 hits just on this site.

[DLCTEX]

My favorite boolits for guide gun are Ranch Dogs 460-340 and 460-420 over SR 4759 powder. I don't like exceeding 1700 fps for most shooting as heavy loads are not fun! I run the boolits through the RCBS lubesizer at .460 and lube with Carnuba Red, but am planning to try tumble lubing with Recluses 45-45-10 as I'm very happy with results in 45 ACP.

[btroj]

I have a few different 45-70 moulds.

Never got good results withtheLy,an 457122. Casts too small for my Marlin.

The 350 and 425 RanchDog bullets are good. I have both of those and the NOE version of the 350. Have shot a deer with each, all work well.

I mostly use a 460420 plain base from a Lee group buy. I like it more than any of the others. I have shot a couple black bears with that bullet at around 1650 fps and it works very well. I mostly shoot it over 24 gr of 2400 but am looking at reducing that to 22 gr of 2400 and using a filler.

Many moulds work well. I like someing that casts .460 to .461 so it will fit the generally large Marlin bore. I like a big flat nose and weight between 350 and 420 grains.

[StrawHat]

...Never got good results withtheLy,an 457122. Casts too small for my Marlin...

Not being a Marlin owner, not something I considered, good point. I have newer rolling blocks and such. Never tried it in the Trapdoor, yet. If too small, I will see how it "beagles".

[stubert]

I have a GG and am shooting the RCBS 45-405 that was hollow pointed by buckshot. it casts at 390 gr. lubed and checked. shoots great w/ 15 bhn.

[gefiltephish]

I have the standard Marlin 22" model, not the GG.

I have an MP-Molds clone of the 457122. The nose is too long for my Marlin and I have to seat so the canelure is below the mouth edge. Shoots well though and can be cast as hollow point or not.

After that I got one from an NOE group buy called MD 45-70 405gr BGG GB. MD = Marlin Dedicated. I size to .461 and can seat to the canelure. You can see the sketch in post 1 of this thread (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=99058). I haven't hunted with it yet but it seems to work well at the range (100yds). Mine drops around 395gr. Contact NOE to see if they have any left over.

[MT Chambers]

There have been some excellent group buys here for 330 and 400 gr. hollow pts. and one can reverse the pins for nice WFN designs for max. flexibility.

[onesonek]

First I'll say what ever weight strikes your wqnts/needs. Then an email to Tom at Accurate Molds. I prefer 400-425 weight range with a good sized meplat flat point. But I would have to say, a lghter weight would suffice for 90% of my needs. But I always figured with cast more isn't going to hurt none.

[sharpshooter81]

I haven't cast a single boolit YET, but i have ordered a mold for my 45/70 that should be here anyday now.....I went with the LEE .459-405gr-HB (Hollow Base).....I have read alot of good things about this mold (im sure there are some bad reviews as well). These boolits drop at .459 or bigger which is perfect for a Guide Gun since they love fat boolits, and the hollow base is designed to expand to seal the bore as it travels down the barrel!! Its an inexpensive mold (at $25 bucks here in Canada), that will hopefully last me for a long time....If I shot 20 000 rounds a year, then sure, those 300 dolla molds would be fine!! Just my 2 cents!!

[MtGun44]

RCBS 405 FN GC is a great boolit for .45 -70. Very accurate.

Bill

[MT Gianni]

I'd go for a Ranch Dog 350 and the .460 push through sizer die.

[torpedoman]

you shoulder and your gun will thank you for choosing something in the mid 300's and the critters will never notice the difference.

[DrB]

If anyone has some range experience they can post or link threads to, particularly on the md 45-70 405 bullet in a marlin, I would love to look at it.

I gather the md was sized to be a good fit in the marlin throat...

[btroj]

The 460420 PB group buy I have from a years ago Lee buy looks very similar to the MD 405.
The md would be a great bullet in your guide gun. Easy to,load at 1300 fps or crank it up to 1600 plus. Either way, it is going to shoot thru about anything that needs shooting.

[giz189]

457193, in my opinion, as I have never shot an elk with it, would be much more effective that the 457122, which I have used on whitetail and hogs. Just my .02.

[9.3X62AL]

A lot of mass-production moulds designed for the 45-70 caliber cast undersized boolits for the rifles being sold these days. Know the throat diameter of your rifle prior to ordering, and choose a maker that will produce a mould to those specs. Tom at Accurate Molds is one such maker, and I couldn't be happier with the tool he sent me to service my present Ruger #1 and likely levergun in the near future.

Boolit weight? I like 400-425 grains as a do-it-all weight. In my Ruger it stays accurate to 300 yards, and that is farther than I would EVER attempt a game animal shot with the caliber and its rainbow trajectory. 'Trajectory flattening' with the 45-70 is a polite way of saying "my shoulders meet on the far side of my body from recoil."

[mpmarty]

I have two Marlin '95s and they both won't shoot any of the RCBS or Lyman cast boolits worth a darn. On the other hand my Ranch Dog 350 and 4xx gr .460" molds cast boolits that work quite well in both Marlins as well as in my Ruger #1 and Browning highwall. Lyman and RCBS molds drop boolits at .457" and that is just too small to mess with in Marlins. My best are as cast, tumble lubed in 50/50 LLA JPW plain based at around 1700fps.

[DrB]

'Trajectory flattening' with the 45-70 is a polite way of saying "my shoulders meet on the far side of my body from recoil."

:)

That brought a smile...

[Keyston44]

My elk load for my Guide Gun is a Ranch Dog 460-425 over 46gr of H322 assembled with Starline brass and CCI primers. That load shoots out of the muzzle at 1810 fps. It's a little rough at the bench but feels like a ***** cat when it's pointed at an elk.

Key

[josper]

RCBS 405 FN GC is a great boolit for .45 -70. Very accurate.

Bill +1 This is my go to boolit also.

[crabo]

My favorite, the 460420 and it has shot really well in 3 different guideguns. 2 had Ballard rifleling and one was MG.

That boolit in a Starline case, WW primer, 40 grains of 3031, and a tuft of dacron gives you 1500 fps and doesn't beat you up. No need for Gas checks either.

I like AC 50/50 alloy. (pure lead and WWs) It will feed as fast as you can run the lever.

[brotherdarrell]

As a past, and satisfied, owner of a Marlin 45-70 I would only add to pay attention to the sizes listed in previous posts. As long as my molds dropped a boolit that could be sized .459-.460" it was very accurate. Below .459" accuracy suffered.

brotherdarrell

[longbow]

My old Marlin 1895 liked the Lyman 457124 385 gr. RN.

Never hunted with it but it shot very well over either BP or up to heavy smokeless loads in the Marlin. At that time I wasn't smart enough to slug the bore and check boolit fit but I never had leading problems and accuracy was good so fit must have been okay. I must have had a tight bored Marlin or a Lyman mould that cast oversize.

I loaded both heavier and lighter boolits but found that one seemed like a good all around weight giving good accuracy with decent trajectory and moderate recoil.

I will echo the sentiment that boolits of 330 gr. to 400 gr. or so seems like a good weight range. For hunting a nice meplat would be a good addition.

Just another $0.02 worth.

Longbow

[Wayne Smith]

My best friend just spend yesterday afternoon over here casting up 105 457122's for his Marlin 45-70 - it's the 336 action. This after he shot the first 50 he cast two weekends ago! They are sized to .459.

[Duckdog]

I didn't see either the Lee 340 LFN or Lee 405 gr LFN in the mix. I like these two in the 1500 fps range for good hunting rounds. A guy could surely hotrod those as well, but really, why?

As you noticed, all of the bullets are pretty much the same design and will give good performance in a round that is just inherantly accurate.

[btroj]

My favorite, the 460420 and it has shot really well in 3 different guideguns. 2 had Ballard rifleling and one was MG.

That boolit in a Starline case, WW primer, 40 grains of 3031, and a tuft of dacron gives you 1500 fps and doesn't beat you up. No need for Gas checks either.

I like AC 50/50 alloy. (pure lead and WWs) It will feed as fast as you can run the lever.

That is the bullet I use almost exclusively. I run it with 24 gr of 2400 for general use. Have shot two black bears with that bullet over 46 gr of H322. Makes quite a mess of the innards of a bear, they only went about 20 yards each.

If left with only one old for 45-70 this is the one I would choose.

[StrawHat]

Duckdog,

The 340 Lee and 405 Lee PB both are okay. If they had the larger meplat of the 452-300 RF used for the 45 long Colt, they would be better for hunting but as they are, they are okay.

[DrB]

Thanks, all, for the comments and suggestions. I greatly appreciate the tips.

Best regards,
DrB