Browning B78

[inpursuit]

Don't know if this has been addressed or not. But I have a Browning B78 in 45-70 and I was wondering what you guys and gals might recommend as a load for this rifle using Unique. I have 350 j bullets and 405 j bullets and 405 cast w/0 gas checks. I also can cast 405 and 450 as I have the technology, don't ya know. I have a considerable amount of Unique and thought I would use it up some. Also, with these bullets what would be the max hunting load recommended. I don't want to shoot a animal through a bois darc tree but want a good dependable round. I have some trailboss and 3031 and varget, etc so I could build some pretty strong loads but why when the majority of my action will be hunting whitetails here in Texas.

Thanks in advance for all you help. If I am replowing the field let me know and I will try to search it out. I'm just not too good at searching.

Bill [smilie=s:

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

inpursuit,

First, let me tell you what I am not and then I don't need to go there again.

I am not one who likes or thinks it is good to switch back and forth between loads in a hunting rifle. I feel it is just a good way to not learn a rifle and to have a shot go in error because of not really knowing just where the shot will land.

So, for the most part, except when building "reduced loads" for close in practice with new or young shooters, I chose what I feel to be the optimum bullet for a hunting firearm, then build a load around it and that is what I shoot ing tha gun.

Second, I bought into the 45/70 for one reason, which was to use my own cast bullets for hunting and therefore, just don't do "J" bullets of any kind.

Then, I am just so very impressed with the game taking ability of a non-expanding Wide Flat Nose (WFN) at a reasonable velocity, I see little reason to go any other direction.

Choose a bullet profile with the WFN and over 400gr, put it out the barrel at 1500 - 1700fps and you will have a rifle able to take anything in the North American.

ZERO need for any more velocity. I have taken a few critters, including 2 elk with a 465gr. WFN at 1650fps and it is over the top awesome. Good but not excessive wound channel which is looooong!

I am using H335 for my loads.

Enjoy your Browning! I really like their looks, but for me prefer the non-exposed hammer of the RUGER #1 so that is the directions my single shots take.

If your 405 cast is from the RCBS mold, Lloyd from over on the Cast Boolit forum really likes them and apparently has taken lots of game with that boolit.

Keep us posted.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Shooter]

I have one f the "Japchesters".
Get a 457122, it will save lead, and kill anything in N. America.
Apply your Unique in doses from 10Gr. to 17Gr. in your Browning.
Don't use heavy loads in lesser actions.

[Reverend Al]

I've owned two of these B-78 Brownings in .45-70 to date and the first one shot the plain base Lyman 457193 in COWW and 33 grains of IMR4198 very, very well. Soft recoil and so very pleasant to shoot especially with that traditional thick steel curved rifle butt plate! The 457122HP was another very good performer and it shot well in my rifle too, but the gun seemed to shoot a little bit better with the 457193. Both that rifle (sadly long gone) and the one I currently own also love the 300 grain jacketed HP by either Hornady or Sierra with as much IMR3031 under it as you can stand the recoil for! The hotter I loaded the better it shot (in both guns) and my "Moose Masher" load is a case full of IMR3031 with the 300 HP Hornady set just off the rifling and the crimping cannelure well outside of the case mouth (which you can get away with in a single shot like the B-78). I recovered one of the 300 grain HP bullets just under the hide on the "off side" of the last Moose I shot with my current gun and it still weighed 291 grains and had expanded beautifully. My gunsmith mounted a small action .22 Target Martini folding aperture sight on it's nice little saddle mount at the back of the receiver on that first B-78 I owned and it worked great along with a Lyman 17A front aperture sight. That rear sight with the saddle was the best choice we found due to the B-78's lack of an extended tang like on the later Browning 1885 BPCS rifles with the long tangs and the traditional tang sight. I still prefer the older B-78 version of these guns with their shorter barrels and handy overall length rather than the later version of the Browning 1885 with it's longer 28" barrel ... but that's just my personal opinion ...

[bigted]

Bill ... welcome to the forum. hope you have as much fun here as I do... :drinks:

that 45-70 is going to be your 1 in all rifle im bettin. the 45-70 round is just awesome in all respects as long as you be a hunter instead of trying to be a sniper for hunting. the rifle is a hoot as well and I have 1 in the "hunter" mode with the 28 inch barrel.

couple loads I use and load for others are as follows;

1- 400 grain boolit [greaser] in .460 inch diameter loaded ahead of a healthy charge of IMR 3031 powder and sparked with a cci 200 large rifle primer ... this all housed in a Remington case.

2- an accurate mold boolit that shucks a 350 grain boolit in the same .460 inch diameter ahead of either RL-7 or again IMR 3031 to push it out at 16 or 1700 FPS sparked up with the same primer and in the same case.

3- fun load is 34 grains RL-7 then the rest of the void filled up to the base of the boolit with corn meal for filler and this charge behind either the 350 or 400 grain boolits in again the .460 inch diameter same case and primer.

4- any boolit with 9 or 10 grains Unique powder and no fill. same case and primer.

5- gotta spend some time with the original load of 70 grains blackpowder GOEX 2F. 405 grain boolit. .060 inch wad overpowder. Winchester case and same primer ... compress the powder with a steel stem tho instead of compressing with the boolit. using the boolit for compressing will deform the nose at least and destroy accuracy.

all these loads are good and will bring home the freezer filler. all boolits of mine are lubed with SPG lube. I also usually load the blackpowder in Winchester cases.

[Reverend Al]

Oh ... and if you want to have some fun one day ...
Take a primed .45-70 case and stuff in about 8 to 10 grains of Unique, then seat a .45 calibre gas check over the powder charge, drop in 3 x .440 muzzle loader round balls, and then put an upside down .45 calibre gas check over the top ball and give the whole works a light roll crimp to hold it all in place. Those 3 RB's will stay together in about a 4" to 6" inch circle at 100 yards (in my gun it will). A word of warning for you though ... I thought to myself ... "Maybe three .457 round balls would work even better?" NOPE! The 3 undersize (.440) round balls seem to stick together along with the 2 gas checks and it all pass through the barrel with no problem, but the three .457 round balls seem to "swage up" upon firing and grip the brass case walls inside SO tightly that the front 2/3'rds of the .45-70 case separates and tears off just above the rim, and the whole works goes right up the barrel along with the three .457 round balls inside the torn off brass cartridge case just like a great big jacketed bullet! (Just ask me how I know all about this!)
:oops:
If you're going to try this multi-ball trick just stick with the .440 round balls!

Also, if you're hunting big game in Grouse country a bit you might want to try a shot load, with a similar charge of Unique, a gas check, about 1/2 or 3/4 oz of lead shot, and another upside down gas check to hold it all in place. They're a handy thing to have in your pocket when you're hunting Deer or Moose or Elk and Mr. Grouse casually saunters out onto the logging road 15 yards in front of you!
:bigsmyl2: