Noah Mercy
05-27-2013, 10:43 PM
I'm going to "compete" in my first Quigley match in June and have been struggling to get all my ducks in a row. I picked up a fine new mold (525 grain "money" bullet), some 1:20 alloy, a custom expander die, a seating stem that doesn't mangle the nose too much, and made up some simple bullet lube (50/50 beeswax/ Crisco). My primary concern was powder, since pickings are so slim these days. I had a couple pounds of Accurate 5744 I won in a raffle years ago, and have read some good things about it in buffalo rifles, so into the mix it went.
So then it became a matter of determining a good safe load. After spending hours in front of the computer and browsing my loading manuals I came up with...not much! Obviously this bullet is not in any manual and it has a reduced front driving band allowing seating out so case capacity ends up between the 45-70 and 45-90. Well, I extrapolated. I looked at everything I could find on loading smokeless 45-70 and 45-90 loads with Postells (closest common bullet to what I have) and decided on a charge.
After chronographing and shooting today, I am not going to change a thing for the match! Velocities are incredibly uniform for a smokeless load (single digit S.D.s), fouling was light (cleaning amounted to using a blow tube after ten shots to clear the barrel of powder kernels), neither cases nor primers show any sign of excessive pressure, extraction was effortless, and after dialing in my sights my last five shots at 300 yards landed in a group I could cover with my palm. Proof that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in awhile! (A downside: recoil with the crescent steel buttplate is moderate-to-stiff...a recoil shield is recommended for long strings.)
Rifle is a Pedersoli Quigley model 45-70 with a 34" barrel and Pedersoli Soule sights (I am aware they are not great sights, but they are currently appropriate to my shooting ability and pocketbook :razz:).
Cases: R-P multiple fired, tumbled in corn cob and then inside neck cleaned with a rotating bronze bore brush, full-length sized and then expanded with a custom plug (.457 and .462)
Bullets: Hand-cast 525 grain "Money" bullet, certified 1:20 alloy, pan-lubed, loaded as-cast @ .459"
Primers: CCI large rifle
Powder: Accurate 5744
Charge weight: 27.0 grains
C.O.L. 3.020"...this results in the front lube groove being seated completely outside the case
No crimp
Velocity @ 10 feet from muzzle: 1253 fps/ average of 15 shots
This load is safe in my rifle, but being as how it has not been pressure tested, I cannot guarantee it will be safe in anyone else's gun. [smilie=1:
So then it became a matter of determining a good safe load. After spending hours in front of the computer and browsing my loading manuals I came up with...not much! Obviously this bullet is not in any manual and it has a reduced front driving band allowing seating out so case capacity ends up between the 45-70 and 45-90. Well, I extrapolated. I looked at everything I could find on loading smokeless 45-70 and 45-90 loads with Postells (closest common bullet to what I have) and decided on a charge.
After chronographing and shooting today, I am not going to change a thing for the match! Velocities are incredibly uniform for a smokeless load (single digit S.D.s), fouling was light (cleaning amounted to using a blow tube after ten shots to clear the barrel of powder kernels), neither cases nor primers show any sign of excessive pressure, extraction was effortless, and after dialing in my sights my last five shots at 300 yards landed in a group I could cover with my palm. Proof that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in awhile! (A downside: recoil with the crescent steel buttplate is moderate-to-stiff...a recoil shield is recommended for long strings.)
Rifle is a Pedersoli Quigley model 45-70 with a 34" barrel and Pedersoli Soule sights (I am aware they are not great sights, but they are currently appropriate to my shooting ability and pocketbook :razz:).
Cases: R-P multiple fired, tumbled in corn cob and then inside neck cleaned with a rotating bronze bore brush, full-length sized and then expanded with a custom plug (.457 and .462)
Bullets: Hand-cast 525 grain "Money" bullet, certified 1:20 alloy, pan-lubed, loaded as-cast @ .459"
Primers: CCI large rifle
Powder: Accurate 5744
Charge weight: 27.0 grains
C.O.L. 3.020"...this results in the front lube groove being seated completely outside the case
No crimp
Velocity @ 10 feet from muzzle: 1253 fps/ average of 15 shots
This load is safe in my rifle, but being as how it has not been pressure tested, I cannot guarantee it will be safe in anyone else's gun. [smilie=1: