Range Report: HR Buff Classic, .45-70, 70 grains Bp and Roundball

[Texantothecore]

Went out Sunday with a friend and tried Round Ball with a full load of FFg Goex on the two hundred yard line as the very large shooting line at the hundred was packed with people and the pistol area had a waiting line. Everyone was very pleasant. I had a some people express interest in black powder in case the gubmint makes modern powder difficult to get.

35-40 mile per hour winds, never hit the paper as my sights were way off and it was just about impossible to adjust them in the wind. It was also raining which did not help.


I used a Lee Classic Loader and loaded (at the bench).457 ball with 70 grains BP. I just filled up the case, tamped it down a bit and added a ball. Simple.

A hoot! When the ball hit the berm dirt went 2 or three feet into the air. A lot of power.

Very little recoil. I was surprised by the small amount of recoil. One of the most pleasant loads I have ever shot.

My Buff Classic is not going to see modern powder again. Bp has become my powder of choice, 'cause its more fun than a body should be allowed to have.

I highly recommend it to all. WooHoo!

[Nobade]

Wow, a roundball at 200 yards in 35 mph wind - about 50 feet of wind drift? That will sure teach you to read the wind!

Give it a try with some .445" patched round balls over about 60 gr. powder. Pretty much duplicates a 45 cal. muzzle loader and doesn't foul the bore as bad. You can load the same case over and over at the shooting bench.

[Texantothecore]

Wow, a roundball at 200 yards in 35 mph wind - about 50 feet of wind drift? That will sure teach you to read the wind!

Give it a try with some .445" patched round balls over about 60 gr. powder. Pretty much duplicates a 45 cal. muzzle loader and doesn't foul the bore as bad. You can load the same case over and over at the shooting bench.

The shots were about 3 to 4 feet in the direction the wind was blowing but I just didn't care it was that much fun. I was very surprised at the lack of fowling I experienced. I was able to shoot a good number of rounds without cleaning and the clean up was quick, maybe two minutes. 2 cups of water followed by three drying patches and an additional oil patch. Nuthin' to it.

The short loads I have been using, 5,10 and 15 grains have given me a great deal more fowling and it was a big surprise to see the barrel nice and smooth after most of the shots.

Maybe next weekend.

[Nobade]

That's pretty wild, without any lube at all I would have thought it would foul out pretty quick.

[Texantothecore]

That's pretty wild, without any lube at all I would have thought it would foul out pretty quick.

The only lube was Johnson's Paste wax on the ball. It seems to work wonderfully and after cleaning the bore looks like a new astronomical mirror.

[RMulhern]

You need a RIFLE.....and lots of reading!

[Texantothecore]

I was shooting my H&R BC. I was fighting 45 mph winds, rain which occasionally became horizontal as it does in Houston and empty cartridges which were filling up with water leading to several misfires. But it still was a blast.

When I arrived home I checked my sights and I had been moving the rear sight the wrong way as we were using a spotting scope which reversed the image and I didn't make the reversal. Next time out I hope it won't be raining and hopefully the wind will be back to its normal level, about 15 to 20 mph.

[cajun shooter]

The reason for the very light recoil is two fold. For one thing, the ball does not weigh near any regular bullet fired from the 45-70 hull. My second opinon is that your .457 ball was not filling the bore as it should.
Slug your bore and if it does measure out at .458 then try using some .459-.460 bullets in the 400 to 535 grain range. I promise your kick will return.
I think with those winds and rain it would have been a good day to pour some bullets.

[Texantothecore]

The reason for the very light recoil is two fold. For one thing, the ball does not weigh near any regular bullet fired from the 45-70 hull. My second opinon is that your .457 ball was not filling the bore as it should.
Slug your bore and if it does measure out at .458 then try using some .459-.460 bullets in the 400 to 535 grain range. I promise your kick will return.
I think with those winds and rain it would have been a good day to pour some bullets.

I had taught a friend from my Bible Study to reload the previous week and he had spent a good part of the week whipping up loads so we went out after church to test them out. His worked well and I was really proud of his newly gained skills. Teaching reloading is one of the real pleasures of this hobby and sport.

I shot only five rounds as I was loading at the bench (normal for me as I rarely have time to reload at home so I just take my Lee Classic Loader and do it at the range. A great conversation starter with other shooters: I never shoot alone) and the cartridges were wet after a half an hour or so I only got off about five good loads before I had misfires.

I recently slugged my rifle and it came out to .4564. I measured the ball with the same micrometer and they came out at exactly .457, so I thought they would shoot well and I do know my sights were way off because I reversed the adjustment for wind.

I probably need to check the micrometer against a known measurement as when I was learning to use it I adjusted it away from the factory settings. I am always doing stuff like that because I love to get into the guts of a tool or process.

Any suggestions as to what I can use for a known measurement that I can use to get the micrometer back to a good zero? Maybe a drill bit?

[Texantothecore]

That's pretty wild, without any lube at all I would have thought it would foul out pretty quick.

I have some homemade Emmerts but I was a bit worried about the fact that it seemed quite hard. I used a quarter pound of beeswax, a quarter of a one pound can of Crisco and sort of added vegetable oil without measuring it. Last night I added another 10 percent vegetable oil so it might be a bit easier to handle this time.

Probably this week I will try to roll out some hot Emmerts, cut some 1/4" deep cookies and see how that goes.

[montana_charlie]

I recently slugged my rifle and it came out to .4564. I measured the ball with the same micrometer and they came out at exactly .457, so I thought they would shoot well
If you aren't experiencing any leading in the throat from bypassing gas, your bullet is sealing the bore ... even if it has to bump up to do it. Since you are burning BP, any bump up is pretty much instantaneous.

CM

[Texantothecore]

If you aren't experiencing any leading in the throat from bypassing gas, your bullet is sealing the bore ... even if it has to bump up to do it. Since you are burning BP, any bump up is pretty much instantaneous.

CM

No leading even with the lower range loads, so it appears to be working well. My sights were way off and it reminds me of one year when I was shooting badly for a while and at one point I laid the rifle in the case and the eye peep sight (Williams FP) fell off. It had been loose and flopping around to different points of aim for a good while.

I wish I had all that lead (405 grn) back. A total waste.

[cajun shooter]

I was not putting down on your effort at all. I have owned and shot 2 H&R Buffalo Classic Rifles. They are probably the best buy on the market to load and shoot BP in a 45-70. I'm in fact loading some RCBS 500 gr BPS bullets for it now. My barrels on both guns were at .458 and I use .459-.460 bullets.
John Boy used his H&R to shoot 1000 yards at a steel ram known as HOMER.
I am by no means the final authority on reloading but after loading since 1968 I do know a few things.
Getting an accurate bore reading is not as simple as using a round ball and a old mike.
The best mikes in the world cost a lot of cash.
I was speaking first of using a egg shaped fishing sinker which is pretty much a easy way to do it if you use enough oil.
Try taking your lead slug from your barrel to a local machine shop and explain what you are trying to do. They may help you for no charge.
I've seen people use a $29.95 pair of calipers and say that it is the correct reading.
One thing that is true with BP and that is if you are in the ballpark, you may get away with being wrong. My point about the use of the round ball is that one 50 caliber lead ball intended for the 50 caliber Hawken is .490 and only weighs 178 grains. So a round lead ball of 45 caliber is going to shoot like a 22 recoil wise.
If you shot many of these it would seem that the lead smears and streaks would soon show up. I was not being negative towards you but explaining why you were absent of recoil.
I intend to install a mercury cylinder in my buttstock very soon. With lube, my bullets are right at 520 grains each. Best of luck and enjoy that H&R. Later David

[PTS]

Hard wind, pouring rain and a waiting line to shoot. The visible excitement is refreshing and encouraging. The fear of our own government as the motivator is not encouraging. Fire in the hole!

[Texantothecore]

Hard wind, pouring rain and a waiting line to shoot. The visible excitement is refreshing and encouraging. The fear of our own government as the motivator is not encouraging. Fire in the hole!

I couldn't believe the crowd. It was not friendly shooting weather at all and the crowds were huge. The parking areas in front of the pistol and one hundred yard ranges were full, the parking lot in front of the clubhouse was jammed full and the parking lot behind the clubhouse was wall to wall cars. The lines waiting to shoot had many people, laughing and talking with others.

A lot of the shooters were women and children and many of the women were on dates as has become "quite the thing" in Houston. It was really gratifying to see so many people having fun at the range.

One of the things that seems to have happened is that the part of the American Character that stresses self reliance seems to have come to the fore in the last couple of years and I am darned glad to see it happen.

I heard a local (?) CHL instructor on the radio the other night and he was saying even the noobies he teaches are now shooting very carefully on each shot due to the difficulty of getting ammunition. He feels that the shortages are generating shooters who are quite good, better than he has seen before and he is very pleased with what he is seeing in his classes concerning the shooting skills of his students. Apparently other shooting instuctors have noticed the same change. No more spray and pray but careful aiming and careful trigger pulls and bullets that are dead on.