500 gr. 45-70 load

[DLCTEX]

I am wanting a load to try in a freinds H&R Buffalo Classic. This is a Lyman 457658 boolit and as cast weight is about 494 gr. Would IMR 3031 starting at 40 gr. be a good powder? DALE

[missionary5155]

The frst step is to discover your freinds rifle´s chamber and barrel diameter. When you have that then you can figure if your boolit is going to fill his barrel. I personally like a bollit .002 larger than the chamber area in large bore firearms... .001 may work OK if the lead is soft and "Bumps" up to fill the chamber. I would use a smaller pure lead boolit with 2 FF.
My info shows your boolit as a spire point 480grain and my old Lyman Cast book shows that powder/ weight as a starting load with a 482 gr. so you should be OK there also. Recoil may wake him up depending on what he is used to shooting.

[DLCTEX]

We are sized 1 thou. over groove size with this plain base boolit. He wants to shoot to 600 yds. and is used to heavy recoil from jacketed loads. DALE

[Sniper Chief]

I am loading 38.5 grains of Benchmark with Large Rifle primers and the LEE mold number 90577 which is: 459-500-3R or a spire pointed boolit that comes out + or - 3 grains at 490 grains with wheel weights and shooting this in a H & R Buffalo Classic, 32" barrel. Off the bag I am getting a nice 3 round clover leaf at 100 yards. I have not had the chance to put this round through the crony but will do so in the not to distant future and post the numbers and if possible some pictures. Caution - this load kicks real bad in your stock H & R B.C. I took a short piece of gal. pipe, I think 5/8 I.D. and filled it with wheel weight lead. I took a rubber sink stopper and on a bench grinder, I ground the stopper down until it fit real nice in the hold in the stock down towards the "NUT" on the bolt that connects the stock to the receiver. This rubber stopper serves as a shield from the lead pipe slamming against the nut. I dropped the lead pipe, approx 2 lbs of additional weight (I don't have a real specific scale to tell just how much additional lead) down into the hold in the stock, placed another bumper on top of the pipe, replaced the cresent butt place and went back to the bench. HOLY COW BAT MAN - what a difference the additional weight made when shooting this load in this gun. Almost like putting down a 12 ga. and picking up a .22. This has been an excellent load so far. Still experiement with other powders while I wait on the 439 grain mold from Ranch Dog Molds. This mold is supposed to have three (3) .460 driving bands and I cannot hardly weight to get one - back ordered until March 2009. I bought several 4 oz. fishing weights (pretty soft lead) and melted it down and casted this boolit and then slugged my gun. It measured .458 and this boolit cast at .459 almost all the time. It shoots real well. Old eyes getting worse, so I mounted a 6 x 18 x 40m aperature scope on a set of low rings on this B.C. I am going to get myself one of those strap on "cheek piece" rigs to help give my face something to lay down on and I think I can do even better in the future. I hope this information is helpful. Keep your powder dry and dont let the Dumm-a-crats know how much lead, powder and primers you have, cause when times get tough, they may want to come and take it all away.

[Freightman]

Hey Dale I use the 500g LEE boolit gas cked with 54gr WC860 + a .5cc kicker of 3031 with good results, 1450+ FPS and it isn't to dirty and cheap. I am sure it will still be going at 600 yds and you get about the same recoil as BP which is more of a push than a kick. Yoy can substitute another fast rifle powder for the 3031, AA1680, what ever and get the same results. Straight 860 will only get you 1100 fps with 60gr.

[bobthenailer]

got a 540 gr saeco, the best load after much testing is 50 gr aa 3100 about 1350 fps but 25 shots at 200 yards in 2 1/4 inches says it all

[DLCTEX]

My freind has also filled the butt stock with lead, and installed a recoil pad. He says hot and heavy loads were brutal without it. We are also going to try the boolit in his 458 Win. in a Ruger #1. Thanks for the info. DALE

[StrawHat]

Dale,

For 600 yards, blackpowder would work pretty good.