.45-70 blackpowder cast

[irishtoo]

good morning, tell me about reloading .45-70 blackpowder cb loads? these will be mostly deer/bear hunting in Pennsylvania. i lost all my reloading equipment 10 yrs ago. since that time i have built and shot flintlocks. i have casting equipment and blackpowder for that, now i would like to try reloading again. i recently bought a winchester 1885 45-70. havent shot yet. let pick your collective brains. thank you irishtoo

[montana_charlie]

What books have you read that provide the kind of information you seek?

CM

[irishtoo]

several, "mr singleshot" by de hass, hornadays book of cartridge reloading, and lymans blackpowder by fadala, lymans classic american calibers, and this site for several weeks before i joined.

[montana_charlie]

several,
Then, you must be looking for amplification or clarification on something contained in those works.
Go ahead and ask your question.

CM

[littlejack]

irishtoo:
Welcome to the CastBoolits sir.
I your rifle an original or one of the later Miroku firearms?
Jack

[TXGunNut]

Welcome to the forum! Which moulds do you have? Have you used any of your casting equipment?

[Lead Fred]

Primer
powder
pack powder
cookie/wad
hunk O lead

Repeat until arm is tired, then repeat some mo

[irishtoo]

hmmmm, lets see.....the use of spacers with low volume loads, doesnt pff melt?, which cast bullet for hunting? light round ball loads for fun or small game? a shot load in 45-70 case? i currently have no molds or equipment suitable for 45-70, i do have a lead supply, casting pot and 3f goex and 3f american pioneer product powder (left overs) yes the 1885 is a miruko from cabelas it has a 24in hexagon barrel and standard rifle sights, weight apox 8lbs 4 oz. i have not shot it yet, maybe this week. thank you all.

[Gunlaker]

That rifle will have a 1:20 twist which will affect bullet selection. Due to the light weight of that rifle you'd probably want 500gr or lighter bullets anyway though.

Chris.

[RobsTV]

This book:
http://www.4570book.info/

Start with what it was designed for, then if desired, make changes.

Hollow base 405gr soft pure lead with a little tin works great. The Lee mold is cheap and does the job.

Full case of "real" black powder (2F would be more correct and none of that APP), slightly compressed as most manuals on the 45-70 BP loads suggest.

Shoot it.

Repeat.

[CanoeRoller]

hmmmm, lets see.....the use of spacers with low volume loads, doesnt pff melt?, which cast bullet for hunting? light round ball loads for fun or small game? a shot load in 45-70 case? i currently have no molds or equipment suitable for 45-70, i do have a lead supply, casting pot and 3f goex and 3f american pioneer product powder (left overs) yes the 1885 is a miruko from cabelas it has a 24in hexagon barrel and standard rifle sights, weight apox 8lbs 4 oz. i have not shot it yet, maybe this week. thank you all.

Use of spacers goes back to the beginning of the 45-70. The cavalry used a spacer which reduced the powder charge to 55 grains. Nearly everyone uses a spacer of some sort in their loads. It's main purpose is to protect the back end of your boolit from distortion during the BP's combustion. Some hunters choose not to use wads (spacers), but they are a minority.
If you are in PA, you will probably not be going after elk, so you might be happy with the Lyman hollow point, the 457122. The deep grease grooves work well for BP, and the light weight helps with flatter trajectory. You may also choose a slightly heavier boolit, in the 400 grain range, and there are lots to choose from. Most shooters feel a flatter nose is better than a rounded or pointy nose.

As you are used to muzzleloaders, you will not be surprised if the deer fails to drop at being hit, but instead bleeds out first.

Your rifle is on the light side, so you most likely find heavier loads of boolit and powder to be a bit rough on your shoulder, but then you may be tough enough to not care about bruising, pain or other such girly matters.

Balls have been loaded into 45-70's but do not expect any accuracy beyond 50 yards.

As far as shot loads, I am afraid I have no experience there.

[irishtoo]

i have a single pound of 2f, but ill be ordering a case in the spring. i go thru roughly 1 pound a month. i can order a mixed case. there is a possiblity of a western elk trip in 2yrs. i like single shots, i like black powder and thats why i settled on the 45-70. i guess ill just be forced to buy a different mold and experiment more, but that means more trigger time and range trips. darn it!!!

[irishtoo]

another question...........how fast can i drive a cast lead boolit before it skips or strips the rifling? when casting, the fresh slug is dropped directly into cold water to temper it like a piece of steel, does that harden the lead? thank you....

[RobsTV]

The 405gr HB boolits, unsized from Lee mold, with 68gr of 2F drop tube then compressed with a die, enlarged primer holes and magnum primers, chrono here at just below 1400fps. Zero issues. Took many hours of reading , then many more experimenting before I gave in to what was published by Spence on how to load these classics, and everything then fell into place.

Don't water drop. You want soft.

Never needed a wad or filler. But if it helps you then of course use one.

[CanoeRoller]

If you use BP, you will max out around 1400 FPS, depending on the type of BP, amount of BP and the weight of your boolit.

[bigted]

the classic load is ;

1- Lyman mold number 457125 casting a 520 grain boolit of gubberment style.
2- take this boolit and lube it up with SPG or NASA lube.
3- trickle down a long tube [drop tube] ...[ from 8 inch to 36 inch ]... 70 grains GOEX 2f powder.
4- use a full sized Winchester case that is belled at the mouth to receive your lead boolit and not shave it.
5- prime the WW case with a CCI 200 large rifle primer.
6- after the powder is dropped into your case ...[now the math will come into play]... measure the distance from the base of the boolit to the top crimp groove or over the top tapered ring whichever you desire for a beginning ... now take your compression stem from BACO and compress the powder to the measurement you arrived at.
7- load your lubed boolit on top of the powder and crimp your case over the ring on the boolit.
8- repeat this sequence till you have 20 or so loads done.
9- now carefully take these fresh loads to the shooting range and let fly the first ten.
10- now take a cleaning rod and clean your barrel with spit or water to get the fouling out ... stop the grinning ... shoot the last ten at a target to see where you are hitting and how close to each other they are ... really gotta stop that grinning ...
11- now go home and as you clean your rifle as must be done ... set there and ... hey, stop that grinning now ... contemplate the sequence of shooting events and the satisfaction found shooting a round that in this very condition has been causing grin's just like is on your face rite now for a spell of time.

it be just that simple. you can work from there for more accuracy unless ... forbid the thought ... it is TOO accurate ... then you will want to change something so you can join the rest of us slobs that are still sniveling about the dismal affects that this super round is shelling out.

oh yea ...WELCOME TO THE FORUM !!! may your days be filled with the aggravation that is so common with this new art of loading shells in brass cases with the dreaded blackpowder and ... hey now ... that stupid grin is still on yer mug !!!

[irishtoo]

you must have seen me at the range. i grin every time i pull the trigger on a black powder gun. thanks for all the replies and the info. irishtoo