Lucked onto my 45-70 Quigley load

[Noah Mercy]

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:

[bobthenailer]

Ive had excellent results with 50grs of 4831 with a 540gr saeco bullet about 1,350 fps

[Noah Mercy]

That's flat movin' for a 540 grainer, and with that big meplat I would imagine it would put the beatdown on any animal unlucky enough to get in its way. Is that IMR 4831...Hodgdon?

[Noah Mercy]

I figgered about 1 1/4 MOA. That was off bags, sitting on a sturdy chair at a concrete shooting bench, steady wind, good light, no distractions...in other words, ideal conditions. Seated on the ground and shooting off cross sticks with hundreds of other buffalo guns going "bang" around me, unknown conditions, etc...if I can hold 2 1/2 MOA I'll be happy! I just like knowing that if I miss a target, it's something I did wrong, not my ammo.

I forgot to mention that my variation on those beautiful Money bullets is less than .2 grains from heaviest to lightest. These are the finest bullets I've ever cast...I had to learn how to ladle pour to get this kind of consistency, and my rejection rate is high, but every time I do everything right I get a bullet that weighs the same as its neighbors. I used to question whether quality molds were worth their high prices, and now I have my answer.

This weekend I go to a range where I can poke some 800 yard targets...longest I've ever shot with open sights. Hope the wheels don't fall off my load when the barrel gets stretched!