is my reasoning ok

[canuck4570]

doctor told me no more hard kicking rifle for me.....
I have a Ruger no 1 in 4570 and hunt a lot with it
my load was 48 gr of IMR 3031 behing a 575 gr bullet (Paul Jones mold) got 1687 fps average on chrono...
my question his if I load a 300 gr (Saeco mold) to about 1400 to 1500 fps will this be ok for deer and moose
here in Quebec the shot are no more than 200 yards and most of them in the 75 to 125 yards....
your experience in the feild would be appreciated... thank you Michel

[Bass Ackward]

I knew a guy that shot his moose with 180 grains at 1500 with a 357. He seem satisfied with how things went.

Can't imagine that almost twice that weight at the same speed would be any worse. The only variable would be "enough" hardness for complete penetration depending on the shot angles you want to take. You can run the water jug test and find that out.

[BruceB]

Michel;

My thinking is that the 300-grain bullet might do for deer, but I wouldn't use it on moose. In fact, I'd lean to a slightly-heavier bullet even for deer, just to ensure reliable penetration. The Lyman 330-grain Gould hollowpoint (457122) is a classic deer bullet for the .45-70, and has been used as such for a century or more. My 457122s cast at 337 grains in straight wheelweight alloy.

The .45-70 made most of its hunting reputation with the 405-class bullets, and this is where I'd start looking for a moose load. The 575-grain is excessive, when considering penetration, trajectory, AND RECOIL! In your position, where reduced recoil is now important, a 400-grain bullet at around 1500 fps will GREATLY reduce recoil, and still offer a usable range of at least 150 yards.

I ran the two loads through a recoil-calculation program, based on an 8-pound rifle.

575 @ 1700 delivers 55 foot-pounds of recoil.

400 @ 1500 delivers 24 foot-pounds of recoil.

That is a HUGE difference!!! It's enough of a difference to take the rifle completely out of the "hard-kicking" category.

Although I've never killed a moose with a .45-70, I have certainly collected a goodly number with other cartridges. I'd have no hesitation in using that 400/1500 load on a moose within 150 yards using a SOFT bullet, or perhaps one of my cast softpoints with pure-lead nose.

I suspect such a load could be zeroed at 125 yards, and could be shot to 150 yards without much worry about hold-over. I might even try a 150 zero, but watch out for a mid-range trajectory height which may be uncomfortably high.

I would definitely avoid bullets under 400 grains for use on moose.

Sorry to hear of your medical problem. Fortunately, your well-tried #1 can still be very useful at speeds well below where you have been using it.

A bientot.

[canuck4570]

my Saeco mold is a 300 gr with no gaz check... any load data to suggest to acheive 1400 to 1500 fps...
I have IMR 4227......R7......

[canuck4570]

I have 300 ...350....400...465...545... 525....Saeco mold...
will try 400 and 465 at around 1400 and see....
or will try the 350 with gaz check at around 1600 fps... should be good...
by the way had a Lyman super recoil pad instald and what a difference.....