Original Trapdoor 45-70

[Cocklebur]

Anyone have experience with reloading 45-70, 300 gr cast bullets, and Unique powder?

[Rockindaddy]

See if you can get your 300 gr cast boolits sized and lubed up to .462 diameter. 4759, 4198, 5744, Reloader No.7, and 4227 powders work better than Unique. Unique is a much faster burning propellant than the ones I've listed. Easy for a double charge too! Trapdoor Springfields have a large groove diameter. My 1873 Springfield Cadet Trapdoor really shoots well with the 300 gr boolit. I had to open up my Lyman mould to get it to shoot accurately. Good luck! Have fun whipping up your own handloads.

[MOshooter]

I've just started shooting and reloading for a 1884 US Springfield Calvary carbine.
My advise make sure you are using 1873 Springfield loading data. My Lyman 50th Anniversary loading manual shows 3 levels of 45-70 loading data, with the TP the as the weakest action, next Marlin levers, and the potent 45-70 loads reserved for Ruger no 1's.

From what I understand in the little research I've done, no expert by any means. I've read the 405 gr. hollow base was the original 45-70 Gov't load.

If you're a caster and reloader you're gonna enjoy your TP Springfield Rifle

[cwtebay]

Can't say I would advise Unique, but I have shot my 1873 with dozens of loads thousands of times.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[M-Tecs]

Unique was once/is very popular for TD 45/70 loads. Some listed here

https://www.nzha.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Lyman44.pdf

https://forum.castbulletassoc.org/thread/your-favorite-reduced-loads-for-45-70/

https://www.levergunscommunity.org/viewtopic.php?t=26124

As stated above the bores tend to run large.

A 385 grain cast and Unique is my favorite plinking load.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?268609-Anybody-using-Unique-for-45-70-loads

Just going from memory but Bullseye seemed to be recommended a lot for the 300 grain and under loads.

good info here https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?190999-My-Trapdoor-Loads-Technique-and-Equipment&highlight=trapdoor+loads

[ascast]

yes to above- be sober when loading and check for double charges --wipe any lube off bullet bases.

[Pirate69]

May find something useful here. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?460898-Load-for-my-New-To-Me-45-Govt-Springfield-Trapdoor

[Shawlerbrook]

Just finished loading some 45 70 for my 1884 TD using imr4198 and GT bullets 390 gr. hollow base.

[MOshooter]

Here's the data for 1873 Springfield TD from Lyman's 50th Anniversary Edition Reloading manual

324037

324038

[MtGun44]

My best results were with Lee 405 HB mold, cast soft and 10-12 gr Unique in original Trapdoors. Barrel dimensions
are all over the place. I had terrible luck with anything else, barrel too big, bullets tumbling with WW and .458
diameter, my cast 405 RCBS, or factory 405 which are pretty hard.

I got a book...40 years with 45-70, IIRC, and he had worked for years with the Trapdoors, and finally started pulling apart
old factory ammo to learn. Soft bullets, hollow bases and BP, which has a rapid pressure rise to "bump up" these bullets
is what worked back in the 1870s and 1880s. He had Lee make the HB mold, which was in their catalog, I haven't looked
recently, tho. Cast soft with Unique to give a good hard whack, but low peak pressures and instantly I was shooting 4"
groups at 100 yds where getting a sideways impact anywhere on a 4x4 ft target backer was what I was getting before.

Give it a try. IIRC, up to 15 gr is still well within Trapdoor pressure range.


Bill

[Larry Gibson]

Years Back I shot quite a few 319 gr cast bullets I got unsized/lubed from Liberty out of Oregon (long out of business) over 15 gr of Unique out of my TD. Unsized they ran 461 and shot fairly well. Velocity ran 1375 fps out of the long barrel. I ended up using a dacron wad as that load is very powder position sensitive. I don't use a wad anymore and fell a filler is excessive. Thus, I no longer use that load or Unique for such. For numerous years I've been using a Rapine 270 gr [460250] over 8 gr of bullets for 1050 fps, excellent accuracy and no filler needed. Accurate makes a copy of that Rapine bullet BTW.

[tejano]

8.0 gr. of Bullseye, Larry. I use your load. :)

[gc45]

My current trapdoor is the model 1884 rifle; it gets the Lee 405HB boolit with Unique, 5744 an occasional few loads of black powder. One of the most enjoyable rifles to shoot IMO- I had to raise the front site some as these rifles seem to shoot high, at least the ones I have owned do that.