Cast success with Ruger No.1 45-70 experience???

[Lefty SRH]

Id like to hear the good and bad experiences you guys have had with Ruger No.1s in 45-70 with cast boolits. What boolits and powders worked for you? And of coarse accuracy.
A friend has made me a pretty good offer on a rifle, dies, brass, and ammo. I dont have many details other than the barrel is only 20” long.
I hope to lay eyes on it soon.
Thanks

[rfd]

if the land bore is .450 and the groove bore is .458, AA5744 is one of the premier white devil powders for this cartridge. as to the bullet itself, depends on it's intended purpose and typical shooting distances, for which the bullet weight will depend on the rifling twist rate (1:18 for the heavier 500+). a classic bullet is the lyman postal, 535 grains, plain base. when i was doing greasers in a rolling block i'd load that "gato feo" dip lubed 1:30 alloy .459" bullet along with 24 grains of the 5744 and accuracy was a bench rest 2moa at 200yds.

[Tom W.]

Buy it. Then play with it until you find what it likes. I wish I had one......

[Gunlaker]

I had one of the stainless Ruger #1's in .45-70. I had the throat lengthened though, so not quite the same as a completely factory rifle. I tried a number of different cast bullets. The best was a hard cast 450gr flat nosed bullet with 32gr of H-4198 and a magnum primer. The bullet was seated just off of the rifling. It shot quite well, certainly as well as any jacketed bullet I put through the rifle.

Chris.

[evoevil]

I have had good luck with the Lyman 330 HP Gould bullets out of my Guide gun and NO1. Shoot around 1400. Bullets are PC

[marlinman93]

I used nothing but cast plain base bullets in my Ruger #1 Lyman centennial in .45-70. A much longer barrel, but I'm sure they're likely the same rifling. I used both 360 gr. and 405 gr. bullets, as I'm not a fan of those big heavy slugs some guys like. Mine shot extremely accurate with both bullet weights, and by swapping the rear scope base for a taller one I was able to shoot the scoped Lyman out to 500 yds. with good results.
I think you'll enjoy the Ruger, but the 20" barrel will result in more felt recoil, so stick with lighter bullets and charges.

[Lefty SRH]

I like what Im hearing

[pressonregardless]

I like what Im hearing

Better grab it before someone else does........

[Contenderman]

My #1A has always shot lead. I cast my own Lyman 300 gr and use a Dacron filler over 4198 powder. With its Peep sight I get 6" groups at 100yds. What I find amazing the groups are smaller at 100 yds than at 50 yds. It does this consistently

[Lefty SRH]

My #1A has always shot lead. I cast my own Lyman 300 gr and use a Dacron filler over 4198 powder. With its Peep sight I get 6" groups at 100yds. What I find amazing the groups are smaller at 100 yds than at 50 yds. It does this consistently

What sort of peep sight do you have on your #1A? Thats the route I think I may go.

[DW475]

I've got a couple of the Ruger #1 in .45-70 and I have yet to find a cast bullet the guns don't like. Everything I've casted from 300 to 500 gr shoot great. I've even tested a variety of powders including 3031, 4198, RL7....and have had excellent results. The 45-70 is a great cartridge with plenty of lead choices so I would recommend jumping on #1!!

[Lefty SRH]

I know this is going to sound like a newby question but, this rifle is a package deal. It comes with a set of Hornady dies. Ive never lubed (for the resizing die) any of my straight wall cartridge cases, Ive lubed only bottle neck rifle case. The 45-70 being so long, do you need to lube the case before resizing?

[rfd]

your hornady rifle dies are not pistol carbide, so yes, lube before working the brass. i lube the inside of the case mouth as well, particularly since i straight wall expand new brass to simulate fire forming. i like imperial wax. don't forget to clean off the lube before loading.

the .45-70 is such a great cartridge that can pretty much do it all. i load 14 grains of trail boss under a cast and dip lubed lee 340 grain 1:30 .459" bullet, for when the kids come over for some shootin' fun. then 81 gains of swiss 1-1/2f under a BACO 528 grain patched slick for when the adults wanna have some long range fun. it's all good. 219227

[marlinman93]

I've always lubed all rifle calibers, regardless of straight taper, or bottleneck. Pistol calibers with carbide can get away without it. My preferred lube is Hornady aerosol spray lube. It's so easy to use that it's all I've used since it came out decades ago.

[Tatume]

As noted above, sizing 45-70 cases requires lubrication. When you get the rifle (you are getting the rifle, aren't you?), try H4895 or IMR 4895. I find them to work very well in the 45-70.

[RichardB]

Agree with the last poster. My 4 digit serial no., # 1 shoots cloverleafs with 4895 and a 500 gr cast at 100 yds using a 2 3/4x scope.

Great rifle/scope/cartridge combo!

RB

[Drm50]

I shoot mostly 322gr HPs out of old Ideal Gould Express mould. Cast of straight WWs with about
10% tin added. I found mine shot best with IMR-3031 or 4198. Shoot same in #3 and 95 Marlin
rifle. So far #1 is tops, Mar 95 second & #3 last on 100yd groups. I'm only running at 1350fps.
My 300gr JHP loads for #1 are hot, near max of 3031.

[Contenderman]

What sort of peep sight do you have on your #1A? Thats the route I think I may go.

I put a Skinner Peep on my 1A Really like the set up small and not sticking out anywhere

[Ramjet-SS]

Unique is a fantastic powder in my #1 with 325 grain WFN GC for a light to medium loads. Then Reloader7 for the heavier loads. I find the 325-355 grain bullets to be great for the 45-70 at both ends of the spectrum. My #1 is very accurate with those bullets. Man they hit like the hammer of THOR.

[Lefty SRH]

At the time I started this thread asking about the ins and outs of the rifle and cartridge I had to pass on buying the No.1. I had a prairie dog trip coming up and just couldnt swing both.
Months later, after Christmas, I contacted my friend and asked about the No.1. He said he still had it. I now have the No.1 in 45-70 and Im getting ready to start playing with it. Its a 22” barrel, which isnt much different from the 20” I thought it was originally, but Ill take the extra length.
I plan to load for it this crummy weather weekend. The Skinner sight is on its way also.
I think is going to be a fun rifle! I wonder if the local wild hogs will approve of this rifle??

[marlinman93]

I owned a Ruger #1 Lyman Centennial, but it had the much longer 28" barrel. With the longer barrel it shot cast 405 gr. great, and very accurate. Not sure the short, light barrels ever got the same kind of accuracy the Lyman did.

[Sekiar]

I owned a Ruger #1 Lyman Centennial, but it had the much longer 28" barrel. With the longer barrel it shot cast 405 gr. great, and very accurate. Not sure the short, light barrels ever got the same kind of accuracy the Lyman did.
I have one too, complete in a walnut case with scope, reloading dies, etc. I haven't shot mine very much but do love the longer barrel. I do shot my .458 Win Mag some, however It's not easy to shoot from a bench rest. No problem off hand just a little harder for an old guy like me to hold steady enough for doing accuracy test:) Do like all of my Ruger #1 rifles.

[MTyotehunter]

45-70 is really impressive in a sturdy action! And a skinner peep would make it extra cool!

[pertnear]

This re-newed thread got me to dig out my Ruger #1 .45-70 target folder.

Looking at the targets, I'm still amazed at the cast bullet accuracy with 340 to 405 gr bullets, hand cast or store bought, using Unique. Low recoil & clover-leaf groups.

When I decided to step things up a notch with 300 gr Rem JHP's I tried 2400, H4895, H322, Varget, 4198 & Re7. All these shot fantastic with the exception of Re7 & it wasn't too bad at 2.5"/100 yds. Once velocities passed 2,000 fps with the 300 Rem's my shoulder really started to feel it! 2400 shot excellent but 1,700 fps seemed to be the max on it. For the best hunting load of the bunch I finally settled on 4198. Seems that CCI 250 (Mag LR) work best in all loads, no matter what the load density. My #1 wears a Weaver K4.

A truly fantastic rifle & caliber for the cast bullet aficionado!

JIMHO

[Peregrine]

That exact rifle has long been very high on my want list, maybe in a few years. :(