45-70 Govn't on Henry's

[arthury]

I have a Henry's (https://www.henryrifles.com/rifles/45-70-lever-action/) and I'm starting to reload for the 45-70 Govn't. I have reloaded several other cartridges (308win, 5.56mm, 500SW, 9mm, 45ACP, 44Mag, 357Mag).

My understanding is that this rifle cannot and should not be shot with the Ruger-only loads.
Since I'll be using it for brush and woods self-protection against bears, I'd still like a heavier load albeit a safe one for this rifle.
What are your favorite:

powder
bullets

for this rifle?

Thanks,
Art

[Lead Fred]

I shoot ungodly rounds though my Marlin, I can not think that Henry's cant take the same abuse

[gtgeorge]

I would put a call in to Henry but would think it would be in the lever only loads category.

[MBTcustom]

The trap door loads will shoot clean through any creature on this continent.

[StrawHat]

The trap door loads will shoot clean through any creature on this continent.

Exactly! Increasing the velocity of the original ballistics merely increases the amount of recoil with no appreciable improvement in ballistics.

Enjoy your rifle for what it is.

Kevin

[starnbar]

[QUOTE=goodsteel;3261532]The trap door loads will shoot clean through any creature on this continent Amen on that been there done that got the T-shirt

[725]

+1 for goodsteel and others. Trapdoor loads are nothing to scoff at. You put together a 350 to 450 grain boolit at the top end of the trapdoor range and you, too, will have the technology to make the bison extinct. I'd look for a boolit with a flat meplat for effectiveness. Don't have experience with the Henry (but I wish I did!), so I can't comment on which boolit profile feeds well. Others with Henry's will surely chime in. Congrats on the Henry & good luck. ps: I use 40 grains of 3031 and a 415 boolit. Works safely in my H&R single shot. YMMV

[45coltnut]

Arthury,

I have to second what most others are saying. Don't worry about shooting that big ole hunk of lead fast. I started out last year wanting to shoot my Winchester 1885 Hi-Wall at 2000 fps. But, my shoulder strongly opposed this after a few range session. I'm not a small guy either. And, after reading more and looking at the calculations I've decided that 1500 fps is fine. I now focus on the accuracy more than anything. And, I find it to get better around 1500-1600 fps mark.

So, onto your question;

I personally find that a heavier boolit is what I want. 405 grain is nice and its what was originally designed for. When it comes to molds I find that the inexpensive Lee hollow base works well. My dad's Marlin loves this round pushed around 1500 fps. I also have a custom NOE 460405 that I like allot and shoot in my winny 1885.

Powders will be dependent on your gun. I think IMR 3031, 4895 and H332 are all good choices. H332 works great in dads Marlin. My Winny is liking the 4895 more than any other. I think your on the right path though and you should really enjoy shooting that rifle. I've had my eye on the Henry 45-70 for some time and may have to pull the trigger (no pun intended) soon :)

Keep us informed on what works out for you.

PS. If you'd like, I'm happy to send you some of my cast boolits to try before you order a mold. Especially if you're thinking a custom one like the NOE or Accurate.

[arthury]

45coltnut (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?32152-45coltnut) and others,

Thanks for offering your help.
I'll certainly take into consideration all of your unselfish sharing of info and I appreciate it very much.

[warboar_21]

There isn't a levergun around that will withstand the Ruger Only loads. Most manuals have three listings for the 45-70. Trapdoor, Marlin and equivalent leverguns, and the Ruger #1.
I would develop a load from either the trapdoor or levergun loadings. Leave the Ruger loads for their intended guns.

I have a Rossi Rio Grande which is somewhat a copy of the Marlin 336. Not as strong as the guide gun so I don't load it up that heavy. With that said mid level levergun loads are more than stout enough for me. I think that gun kicks worse than my 375 Ruger shooting max 270gr loads.

[Old Coot]

Unless you are shooting a 105mm Howitzer or its equivalent ; where you hit the beasty is going to make more difference than a couple of hundred ft/sec. A slightly milder load that you can recover from and shoot a good second shot is going to make a lot more difference than a BAD hot first shot.
Brodie

[Wayne Smith]

I think you will find that your shoulder is the most appropriate indication of an adequate load, especially in a rifle as light as the Henry.

[MBTcustom]

I think you will find that your shoulder is the most appropriate indication of an adequate load, especially in a rifle as light as the Henry.

^^^^^^^^^^^SO PAINFULLY TRUE^^^^^^^^^^^^

Especially if you get that one with the nice crescent steel (brass?) buttplate on it. That alone will take a few hundred FPS off your loads. LOL!

[Lefty Red]

The trap door loads will shoot clean through any creature on this continent.

Yes they will! I killed a couple deer out to 150 yards with my reduced loads with Unique and a LEE 405 soft lead bullet. Killed the tree behind them even.

Jerry

[NSB]

I've shot seven or eight deer with my 45-70s and they were all shot with light-medium loads with 405g bullets. I have yet to recover a bullet or lose a deer. I can't think of any reason to load hotter. At 1400-1500fps they're good on game and easy on me. They also shoot very well at these loads. My best powders/groups are with Rel7, 5744, 4198 and 405g bullets.

[kens]

The Ruger only .45-70 loads are actually entry level .458 Win levels.

[John Boy]

What are your favorite:


powder
bullets

for this rifle?
Buy the Lyman 49th Reloading book and use the Trapdoor loading data ...
http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Edition-Reloading-Handbook-9816049/dp/B001FBFW6U

In a lever action, I would use either the 457124 or 457125 bullet

[waco]

144194Still working up a load. This is my new mold from Accurate. SR4759 is where I'm starting. 1,400-1,500fps.

[Ramjet-SS]

I will also agree with most on here other than African game and or Grizzly bear I see absolutely no need for that heavy load. I even loaded my No1 to a level between !arlin and trap door levels. I have taken many many deer with a heavy cast WFN at moderate velocities. I have also taken elk and have never recovered the bullets. In fact I am careful not shoot with deer inline because I may fill tags I do not have.

[rfd]

i ran a LOT of aa5744 through both a .45-70 roller and sharps for trap door speeds with 415 to 535 grain bullets. very easy on the shoulder and will darn near kill any critter in north america, specially with a hefty flat meplat bullet. all that said, good ol' black powder is still the best propellant for these olde tyme cartridges .... and all done at safer chamber pressures (just build the bpc right).

[hawkman]

NSB;

What is your load for RL-7? I was given a load recipe that I can find nothing on to verify level; i.e. trapdoor or lever action or whatever. The load is 43gr of RL-7 with a 400-405 gr clrn boolit. I can't find any info on this load in any manual or online. The only RL-7 load data I have found is for jacketed boolits. So before I go loading anything up I want to try to figure out what level it is.

I also have an email in to Alliant but they haven't replied yet.

Thanks.

[Motard]

May be this can help? 38,8 gr Vhit after 385 CBRN 385. 1450/1500 speed147438
The recoil is minimum. I have the same rifle from Henry and is a fine rifle. On their site Antony Imperato (ceo) states that Henry can stand any loads commercial load for 45-70. That means including bison and grizzly load. There is no reason to don't thrust him. But as everyone here told you with more authirity than me (new be in CB) a mild load is all you need with this caliber and rifle.