45/70 bfr

[Old Caster]

Was shooting with a bunch of people this weekend and someone pulled out their 45/70 BFR. I shot it and was amazed at how anemic it felt. It is heavy and the factory bullets he had may have been for an old gun that can't take what the lever action or bolt guns can. The bullets were in a sealed plastic bag and I didn't get a close look so I have no idea what manufacture they were or even how heavy the bullets were. The flash in front of the gun was enormous so the powder was for the most part burning after the bullet was gone.

Since I have loaded a lot of 45/70 for lever guns I offered to load some back up for his pistol when he had enough brass to make it worthwhile but after looking in all my books, and on the net, I found nothing in the books and almost nothing on the net. I even searched on this site for BFR 45/70 and got nothing.

What I am wondering is whether people just go with standard rifle loads or do they try powders that are relatively faster for the shorter barreled pistol loads.

[monge]

I just bought one and took 44man advice 350gr boolit 30grs of Sr4759 just a hoot to shoot add a tuff of Dacron!He uses magnum pistol primers.A nother great load is 350gr boolit 39 gr imr 4227. That's my guide gun load. both loads are accurate and very soft shooting.

[Randy C]

That's a big one
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/rd2560/BFR_45-70_1.jpg

[Old Caster]

I'm not real sure but I think the one I shot had a longer barrel. I don't know what lengths they come in. It seems that everyone just uses rifle loads.

[44man]

Mine is the 10" and with 4759 is the most accurate gun EVER. There is a scare that 4759 is due to go out of production so I have been testing other powders with no luck yet. Nothing has worked and 5744 actually leaded my barrel. 4227 sucked for accuracy.
The short barrel does not like rifle loads at all, no load info either so it took me a long time to find what works, a month before I pulled the trigger but my BFR has done 3/8" at 50, 1/2" at 100 and I once shot a 2-1/2" group at 500 yards.
Look at my avitar, one is the 45-70.

[historicfirearms]

I had one in 450 marlin for a while. It was the most accurate handgun I've ever owned. I got rid of it though, if I'm going to lug around that much weight, might as well have a rifle.

[Wis. Tom]

I have a BFR in a 30-30, and just started with rifle loads, because I can't find any info on reloading, so it is trial and error. I now have a chronograph, so things are looking up. This revolver is very accurate, and I am shooting1/2" to 1" grouping at 50yds, if I do my part, with Nosler 30 cal. 308 ballistic tip bullets, and Varget. I'm running at 1870 for an average. Too small of a powder load with Benchmark, and the the chamber locks up and binds, so I have to keep on the mid to high side of rifle powder charges.

[44man]

I have a BFR in a 30-30, and just started with rifle loads, because I can't find any info on reloading, so it is trial and error. I now have a chronograph, so things are looking up. This revolver is very accurate, and I am shooting1/2" to 1" grouping at 50yds, if I do my part, with Nosler 30 cal. 308 ballistic tip bullets, and Varget. I'm running at 1870 for an average. Too small of a powder load with Benchmark, and the the chamber locks up and binds, so I have to keep on the mid to high side of rifle powder charges.
Yes Varget is a powder that Hodgdon has no idea about how versatile is is. I use it in the 7BR and 7R with light bullets for deer after they told me NO, too slow.
4759 will work in the 30-30 too and was my go to powder in the TC 30-30.
I have wondered about the BFR 30-30 and appreciate the info.

[44man]

Big gun for sure, not a sidearm at all but it is a hunting gun. I use a sling on mine and no matter what, it is better then a rifle. Shoulder holster, primary hunting gun, not a back up at all. This is NOT a "HIP" gun, it is a replacement for a rifle. Since I hunt deer only with revolvers, It is no different then a BFR .475 or .500 JRH in the shoulder holster. Even the SBH .44 goes that way.
You see, the revolver is always placed as a carry, back up. Short barrels and light weight. But the big ones are what to hunt with right at the start. Stick the little 2" .454 on your hip but the revolver in hand is what you hunt with. Why would anyone need a 2" on the hip when they have a rifle unless they lean it against a tree when gutting in bear country?
See what I am saying? The big BFR is your hunting gun, not what is on your hip when fishing.

[C. Latch]

factory bullets he had may have been for an old gun that can't take what the lever action or bolt guns can. The bullets were in a sealed plastic bag and I didn't get a close look so I have no idea what manufacture they were or even how heavy the bullets were.

Old, weak 45/70 ammo would still qualify as giant-killers by handgun standards. :mrgreen:

[44man]

Great old caliber but you must hit what you shoot at.

[Old Caster]

Old, weak 45/70 ammo would still qualify as giant-killers by handgun standards. :mrgreen:

I was shooting my 44 Anaconda the same day with a 255 grain Saeco and 22.6 grains of H110 and it was way more powerful than the 45/70 loads however that was because most of the powder flashed outside the barrel in the BFR. There was a flash of fire about a foot in diameter. The Anaconda doesn't kick very hard either because the barrel is 8 inches and the underlug makes the gun front heavy. I also had an old Ruger SBH from the late 60's and no one wanted to shoot it twice because they said it kicked too hard. It only has a 7 inch barrel and of course the cowboy grips.

[Old Caster]

I found the right spot for 45/70 loads.

http://www.loaddata.com/loads/45-70caliberloads.html

About 2/3 of the way down there are loads for 45/70 pistol.

[44man]

I can tell you for a fact that 3031 does not burn in a 10" barrel. It was on the bench and in the brass. So was RL7. 4198 worked with the 300 gr Hornady but had pressure excursions with cast to 1800 fps and stuck brass.

[ShinyPartsUp]

I own a 10 inch BFR in .450 Marlin and started working up loads last year before I got sidetracked -- still have some test loads in a case to fire. I found 405 grain hard cast lead shot pretty well with H4895. RL7 sucked. You can get pretty hot with 45/70rounds approaching if not equaling the .450 Marlin. A very fine gunsmith got me the maximum cup for the 10 inch BFR in .450 Marlin. I have it written down somewhere, but it was north of 50,000 IIRC.

[bigboredad]

A friend of mine has one with a 7.5 inch barrel and hitting :velocities in the 1600fps range with 350gr bullet point isn't that hard. With a bullet that size I'm not sure why you would need more. As far as accuracy those guns are pretty easy to hit with. I hate shooting at paper so know idea of group size but I can usually hit what I'm shooting at with it. I wish I could afford to buy my own.

[ShinyPartsUp]

...velocities in the 1600fps range with 350gr bullet point isn't that hard. With a bullet that size I'm not sure why you would need more....

In my case I had the 405 grain cast boolits laying around. Ya never know when a moose will stick his nose in your house. :mrgreen: