Finally Graduated to .45-70.

[Bigscot]

Helped one of the lgs's at the gun show this weekend. Somebody traded in a Marlin 1895 LTD V. It burned me up sitting on the used table all day. Especially when someone looked at it. I finally bit the boolit and bought it at a steal since the guy I was helping let me have it at a discount from the listed price.
Any way, I now have to start looking for supplies and loads. Anyone have any recommendations on boolit moulds and powers for plinking and hunting purposes. Also, if anyone has any brass, dies, sizers, etc. they are not using anymore and want to get rid of, let me know.

Looking forward to getting this prize shooting soon.

Bigscot

[btroj]

I shoot lots of a 420 gr plain base over 24 gr of 2400. Goes 1350 and is quite accurate. Easy on the shoulder too.

[knifemaker]

I bought a new Marlin LTD-V years ago and it is one of my favorite rifles. I have four loads with Hornady 350 gr. jacket bullets and with a Ranch Dog 350 gr. cast that will shoot 1 inch groups with that rifle at 100 yards.
My favorite load in the RD cast is with the boolit sized .460, I do not tumble lube, with white label 2500+ lube on top of 43gr. of IMR-4198. I seat the boolit to where it just kisses the rifle lands when seated. Velocity is around 1850fps. I use the same load or 44 gr. IMR-4198 with the Hornady 350 gr. FN and lightly crimp the case mouth at the cannelure for same accuracy. I have taken 4 bison and one boar hog with the two loads all one shot kills and great pentration and expansion.

[Keyston44]

I've been using the Lee 457-405-F and 14gr of Unique. Very inexpensive start to shooting the 45-70.

Key

[Clay M]

Lots of great powders to choose from in the .45/70.Some of my favorites are IMR3031,H 4895,Rel 7,and IMR 4198.For a mild load,38.5 grs of IMR 3031 and a 400 gr cast bullet is a great place to start. For higher velocities I like Rel 7.I am going shooting today with my Ruger #1 .45/70 .I hope to have some good result to report.

[northmn]

Dropped a deer with the Lyman 322 Gould HP. Very impressed with it. Black powder load and some claim the Gould should not be driven much above those speeds. 45-70 can be loaded to such a range that there is a very wide variety of powders to use. 5744 and 4759 are not all bad for BP loads or a little hotter.

DP

[TCLouis]

I use Ranch Dog 350 or Lee 340, or RCBS 325 in front of 10.5 of a milsurp Unique act-alike.

Right at 1100 fps and PLEASANT to shoot.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Any load -bullet combination that comes near to the old BP loads will make you a very happy new 45-70 shoter. And always remember any 350 grain slug or heavier chunk of lead chugging along at 1300 fps will go through most any critter that we will see on a regular day. Thousands of whitetails are slammed to the turf yearly by alot less. But big holes are always better and you have one of those fat ones.
Mike in Peru

[pdawg_shooter]

From an earlier post of mine; 1895g Load for everything

After five years of trying I have finally found THE load for my Marlin 1895g. Does everything I want done and is still shootable. I started with new Remington brass, annealed the first ¾ inch using the melted lead method, belled with a Lee expander and primed with CCI 200. The powder charge is 52gr AA 2495. I started with 48 and worked up with no signs of pressure. This is a compressed load, even using a 16 inch drop tube. The magic bullet is cast in a Lyman 451114 mould. The alloy is 17 parts pure lead, 2 ½ parts linotype, and ½ part tin. The bullet drops from the mould .451 and is ready for patching. I make my patches from 16lb green bar computer paper, cut 2.750 long on a 60º angle 1.500 high. I dip in water and wrap twice around the bullet. They are left to dry overnight, then lubed with BAC. The next day the tails are clipped and the bullet is run through a .459 Lee sizing die. I seat them to an OCL of 2.580. These shoot clover leaf groups at 25 yards and into 1.75 at 100. This is with a Lyman 66 rear sight and factory front sight. Not bad for 58 year old eyes. Bullet performance on game is all one could ask for. I’ll not quit experimenting, but how does one improve on perfection?

[Scharfschuetze]

Congrats on what should be a very fine rifle for you!

I've had a similar limited run Marlin for sometime now and it shoots just about any cast boolit of quality into a minute and a half with the addition of a Lyman 66 aperture sight on it. You'll have fun sorting it all out, but for higher performance loads I've found 3031 with jacketed bullets to be a good choice and for plinking loads with cast boolits (300 to 405 grains) I've found the old standby Unique to produce great results.

Here's mine.

[osteodoc08]

Nothing like launching a huge chunk o lead downrange. Welcome to the club. My 1895GS is my favorite big bore lever. When stoked to the max, there isnt anything in North America that I'd feel undergunned going after.

[MtGun44]

RCBS 458 405 GC has been extremely accurate in my GG. Low loads of 10-14 gr of Unique are fun
and accurate. My hunting load is 57 gr of W748 under this boolit, turns up 1750 fps, only makes
trapdoor pressures, shoots under 2" at 100 yds.

Bill

[Bigscot]

Thanks for all the replies and help. One question I have for those of you who are shooting Unique or other pistol powder, are you using any kind of filler. I read in the Lyman manual most of the loads using Dacron filler.

Bigscot

[CastingFool]

I have the opposite problem, got 3 lee molds, brass, 2 bags of commercially cast boolits, primers and powder, but no rifle. Still hoping to run into a deal I cannot refuse.

[Scharfschuetze]

Bigscot,

I've used fillers on and off again for some time. I'm not sure that they are necessary with fast powders, although my chronograph does suggest they lower the SD a bit.

The current thinking suggests that fillers with a fast powder may ring your chamber at the base of the bullet. I've never seen evidence of that, but others say they have. I first read of the issue in the American Rifleman back in the mid seventies and I'm sure that the issue has been in debate even before that.

Given that, I'm not using fillers with the faster powders anymore. I've found that Tightgroup for plinking loads, without a filler, in the 45/70 gives me extreme spread and standard deviation figures that rival black powder loads.

[303carbine]

Helped one of the lgs's at the gun show this weekend. Somebody traded in a Marlin 1895 LTD V. It burned me up sitting on the used table all day. Especially when someone looked at it. I finally bit the boolit and bought it at a steal since the guy I was helping let me have it at a discount from the listed price.
Any way, I now have to start looking for supplies and loads. Anyone have any recommendations on boolit moulds and powers for plinking and hunting purposes. Also, if anyone has any brass, dies, sizers, etc. they are not using anymore and want to get rid of, let me know.

Looking forward to getting this prize shooting soon.

Bigscot


My new 86 Winchester launches 420 grain gc cast bullets at 1650 fps over 40 grains of IMR 4198. This loading and bullet combination will flatten anything that has the misfortune to step out in front of it. I have never recovered a bullet shot into game all the years I have been shooting 45-70.
The only one I have ever recovered was one that went through seven railroad ties at 100 yards, the only reason I found that one is because it hit a big knot in the backstop post.

[MtGun44]

No filler with Unique.

Bill

[miner_loads]

I would recommend slugging the bbl, I had about a hundred rounds loaded up before realizing my boolits were .003 small. Congratulations on a really fun rifle.