Oregon trail 45-70 loads

[Rikstar]

I just bought some 405 gr Oregon trail Bullets for my marlin 1895. The Oregon trail load manual only lists 5 powders ( IMR 3031, IMR 4198, H 4895, H 4198, and H 4831). Any body have a recommendation on choosing one of these? I've read that IMR 3031 is great but is temperature sensitive and i do plan to use it for whitetail hunting in the fall and it can be chilly in November, even in GA. Thanks for any input.

[dh2]

I have been using IMR4198 for my Springfield trap door with cast bullets and my Marlin 1895 for J-word bullets from 300 to 405 gr. and cast 405gr boolits. I have used this powder in NC at over 90 deg. to MO. well below freezing.

[GoodOlBoy]

IMR3031 is real good in the 45-70, temp sensitivity is minor in my experience with it, but it DOES exist. H4895 is a good powder in other rounds, but I have never tried it in the 45-70.

GoodOlBoy

[dla]

3031, H4198, IMR4198 are the powders to find IMO. You can do cast and jacketed to the full potential of the carbine with them. But the trick nowadays is to find one of them first. 4831 is way too slow for the 45-70, and 4895 is almost too slow.

[44man]

3031 has given me the best accuracy but those boolits might be under size. Got a sample pack and they were .457".

[Rikstar]

Thanks for all of the advice. I figured it would come down to the 3031 or one of the 4198's. I'll see which one i can find and I'll check the Bullet diameters - they were supposed to be 459.
rick

[NSB]

I've shot quite a few of their bullets in several 45-70s I own. I didn't find their suggested loads to work the best, or even all that well in my guns. I've spent a lot of time at the bench and I keep pretty good records. To date, my best loads with cast bullets have been with 5744 and 2400. I've had some decent luck with 4579 also. I haven't had very good results yet with 3031 and cast bullets although lots of other shooters seem to like it. For a powder to use with both cast and jacketed, IMR4198 can't be beat. For just jacketed bullets I use Rel7 a lot. Just my experience. You do need to slug your bore to find out what it is and get the bullet the right size to use in it. So far I haven't found Oregon Trail to be undersized but that's just the ones I got. Others may have different results.

[dh2]

Thanks for all of the advice. I figured it would come down to the 3031 or one of the 4198's. I'll see which one i can find and I'll check the Bullet diameters - they were supposed to be 459.
rick
I am betting on .457 or .458 from the factory cast bullets I have dealt with . I have some 405 gr cast in a rcbs mold and sized them .459 I want to load them in hopes of better results .

[Rikstar]

I just checked my Oregon Trail 405 gr bullets for size. They are .459 as advertized. I just bought some IMR 4198 and some CCI 200 primers. I think I'm in business! I'll let you know how they shoot when I get some loaded up and get to the range.

[40-82 hiker]

I agree with NSB: 5744 gives me best results with 405gr. in TD and '86 Win, and 500gr. in TD. Worked up some loads of 300 to 350gr also, but not enough to wring it out... You might want to check it out. .459 sounds right.

[Larry Gibson]

I've shot a lot of those Oregon Trails 405 gr bullets in my 45-70s. H4895 is not temp sensitive and will give excellent results in your Marlin. I found between 45 gr and 48 gr makes for a reasonably comfortable and accurate load.

Larry Gibson

[wallenba]

Was in Cabela's yesterday in Dundee Mi., 3031 was all over the shelf, everything else , gone.

[osteodoc08]

I launch 400gr boolits out of my 1895GS with Varget. No complaints here. Deer don't like em though. My last GA deer harvested with it