SWC design for 45/70

[RKJ]

I've searched the few makers I know of and was not able to find a Keith style SWC for the 45/70. I like the cutting aspect of the SWC and think it'd be good for hunting too.(?) I've got a Marlin (Remlin) 1895 and am shooting the Lee 340 PC'd but want a better mold and like the SWC style. The usage would be mainly for the range and maybe Missouri deer hunting. I found an Accurate 46-350L that looks like it would fill the bill but not quite a SWC design. Is the SWC not a good design for the bigger bores? Also, if anyone has any input on the 46-350L mold I'd appreciate it. Any suggestions on a different mold are welcome too. I'm still in the planning phase so nothing is set in stone. Thank you all.

[kokomokid]

I had Accurate to make me the 46-507B which has a small metplate. It seats well out of the case in my Krieger barrel sort of like the paper patch boys are doing. Easy to get 78 grains 1 1/2 swiss in a case without much compression. Five shot groups have been 1.5 moa +/- at 370 yards with limited testing. Just saying the metplate nose should not be a problem.

[Piedmont]

SWCs tend to not cycle smoothly in lever actions.

[RKJ]

SWCs tend to not cycle smoothly in lever actions.

I didn’t think of that, that makes sense with the edges as they are.

[longbow]

What Piedmont said. Not sure if it applies to a long round like .45-70 but it certainly does to my 1894 Marlin in .44 mag. SWC's wouldn't feed well at all without considerable mod's to the carrier. Only reasons I did it is because I was given a beautiful Mihec boolit mould H&G#503 SWC... and I wanted it to feed "everything" anyway.

Also, on the notion that the shoulder of Keith style boolits is what punched a hole through critters... well, maybe not! Have a read:

http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/methods.html

To me an RNFP with large meplat has always made more sense than a SWC but... different strokes. For lever guns though I think the RNFP or WFN is an obvious choice for functionality and feeding reliability.

Again, different strokes.

If you want an SWC design there is a group buy on for one right now: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?354139-ACTIVE-Mihec-45-70-quot-Keith-styled-quot-400-gr-HP-SWC

Longbow

[beagle]

Just for grins, try a couple of unsized but lubed 452424s back to back and see where you are. They'll probably bump up and give fair accuracy as they'll probably not separate. At least you can get a feel for what the rifle will do with a SWC design.

Some guy in Africa was using that load in a .458 X 2" and said it was deadly on warthogs./beagle

[RKJ]

I didn't know why there wasn't any SWC designs for the 45/70 but mow i suppose I do. I didn't think of the problems with loading in a lever action. I'll just use what I've got and make it work. Thanks all.

[kokomokid]

I didn't know why there wasn't any SWC designs for the 45/70 but mow i suppose I do. I didn't think of the problems with loading in a lever action. I'll just use what I've got and make it work. Thanks all.

Lyman made a nose pour mould very much like the one I showed you. Tom can redesign this any way you want it. Wish I could find one of the original moulds. A BPCR shooter used one of these for years and I would put him in the top ten in the country.

[RKJ]

Kokomokid, I just saw the design you mentioned. I think that is too heavy a bullet for me. I'm wanting something in the 350 range. I like the 46-350L but am not sure how good the design would be for hunting, I don't know how much I'd use the Marlin for hunting but I want the option. I keep thinking that this thing throws a big heavy bullet so it's not like a 95 grain 243 that would slip right through, but I don't want to shoot a deer and have it run off and not be able to recover it either.

[country gent]

A quick inexpensive wat to test your idea would be to buy a lee 45 mould swc as heavy as they make and lap it up to the dia you want for your rifle. If you get a .454 dis its only .003-.005 to lap out. Cast a few bullets add a stem and start with 230-240 compound and work to 320 grit or so. Will be a little time consuming but will tell you what you want to know. Lapping isn't a hard process to do, work it slow and easy check often. I have a small lead pot going while doing this so when its time to check I clean the blocks dip mould to warm and ladle cast a few bullets cool and measure. Then work from there.

[nicholst55]

Mountain Molds will make one if you decide to go for it.

[Edward]

I didn't know why there wasn't any SWC designs for the 45/70 but mow i suppose I do. I didn't think of the problems with loading in a lever action. I'll just use what I've got and make it work. Thanks all. NOE makes a 460-350grain FN PB+GC which worked well (OUTSTANDING) in my Marlin 1895 25grains 2400 with 1/2 grain dacron ,2inch high@ 100yds/and POA @200 using bottom post on my 2x7 Leopold . Shot deer with plain base /gas checked and PCed none survived :bigsmyl2:

[waco]

Not a SWC but the Accurate 46-405-V is a shooter and feeds like butter in my 1895.
http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=46-405V-D.png
They make this same design from 325gr up to 500+gr

[fredj338]

It has pretty much been proven the "cutting" shoulder on a swc does little damage to the target. A wide flat meplat is a better tool.

[Good Cheer]

229669

Some day I'm gonna get a .45-70 lever gun and try out this LBT mold.
Going off of memory it dropped out at 270 grains.
Guess I'll load it like a slightly fat .444.

[RKJ]

NOE makes a 460-350grain FN PB+GC which worked well (OUTSTANDING) in my Marlin 1895 25grains 2400 with 1/2 grain dacron ,2inch high@ 100yds/and POA @200 using bottom post on my 2x7 Leopold . Shot deer with plain base /gas checked and PCed none survived :bigsmyl2:
I’ll take a look at it. I like the looks of the Accurate 46-350L. Thanks for the info.

[Intel6]

I have an LBT mould for a 45-70 bullet that is a SWC style. Not shaped like a Keith SWC but it does have a SWC shoulder. It is Veral's "M" style bullet that he designed specifically for Marlin 45-70 Leverguns. It is a 405 gr. bullet that shoots real well in my 1895 Marlin SBL.

You can see it in the pic below, second bullet from the left.

229796

[Petander]

Intel6, I like that bullet. I never thought about SWC for 45-70.

Here is my main Marlin 1895 bullet since early 2000s, a Robert Applegate design. Drops 483 grains and feeds like butter.

229806

229807

[longbow]

Intel6:

While that boolit has a small shoulder I would hardly call it an SWC. That shoulder is barely there unlike a typical Keith style SWC where the shoulder is very prominent. That's almost like a nose bore ride boolit with real short nose bore ride section.

However, I guess technically it is an SWC.

Longbow

[RKJ]

I tried a 300 grain 454 that I have that was PC'd to size. I didn't use Darrin or filler and had a hangfire. It fed just fine but that soured me on it. The lee 340 (PC'd) shoots okay. I'm still looking for something(not sure what yet though).