Boolit experiences with Marlin 1895 guide gun

[modified5]

I have one in .450 Marlin that I am looking to turn into a cast shooter. I have not measured a fired case yet, but will. A .458 Lee 405 rnfp slips into the case, so I'm thinking about .460.
I was perusing the Accurate catalog and noticed the 46-300T with a reduced front driving band for the 1895.
It looks like a good one. I also liked the 46-350V. It looks like it has a nice wide meplat for laying a serious smack down on anything that moves.
I get that every firearm is different, but what has been your favorite cast boolit in the guide gun either .450 or 45-70?

[beltfed]

I have shot two different cast bullets in my 45-70 Guide gun:
Initially: 457483-385 gr FP over 48 gr I 3031-Shot deer for many years with
this load in my '86 Win.
Then, for the GGun got RCBS 300gr FP-load it over 50 gr Re7
I like the 300 gr for less recoil, still plenty for deer.
beltfed/arnie

[beltfed]

Both the RCBS 300 and the 457483 loads shoot well in the Guide Gun.
beltfed/arnie

[stubshaft]

All of mine shoot best with the old Ranch Dog 458 425 TL boolit with the RCBS 458-405 coming in second with either Ballard or MG rifling.252251

[az mule packer]

Have a Marlin 45-70 1895ss guide gun that shoots a 405gr LBT Marlin hard cast very well.

[T-Bird]

Boy, y'all are sure shooting this gun hotter than me! My son in law has a 45/70 guide gun that I loaded the 330 gould hp over 29 gr IMR 4198 for 1350ish fps for him and thought it was waaay good enough for everything we see around here. If you think that 300 gr mold will fit your gun, get a load that is accurate and shoots that boolit 1400ish fps and call it a day. Your shoulder will thank you.

[Drm50]

I use the Gould HP too. Mine is old mold and is 322gr. Loaded 25.5gr of 2400. Velocity is 1350fps. Shoot as cast.
50:50 WW : lead with lb of tin per 20lb alloy. My 1895 is rifle before micro groove.

[W.R.Buchanan]

RCBS 45-300 RNGC These will do anything you need to do in the US. I worked up from 25 gr of 5744 to 33 gr which yields 1550-1600 fps. from my 26" barrel. (1895 CB)

Do make sure you are getting at least .460 out of the mould or else you can Powder coat to increase the size. The barrels on these guns are all pretty consistent at .458 groove dia. with .004 deep grooves. With boolits this big .002 to .004 over groove dia is not a problem. My mould drops ww material at .462. I PC them and size down to .461. My best group was 1.75" at 100 yards with iron sights.

If you feel the need to push bigger boolits then the next step up is RCBS .45-405 which is the same as the lighter boolit except longer, below the crimp groove. There is also a .45-500 which is made for insane people who need to get beaten regularly.

Good luck and you'll love shooting that gun as long as you don't try to push it too hard. The Marlins are light guns and as such the recoil can be brutal with heavy loads...

Randy