LEE 45/70 450gr mould

[Huntsman]

Hey guys, I came accross a Lee mould that measured .457.
I thought great!! since I just bought a Marlin 1895. Now is this boolit too long for a lever action? Should I switch to a 405gr or lighter.
I'd like to use this rifle for deer, moose & elk etc.
Thanks all,

[454PB]

I shoot the 500 gr. Lee GC boolit in my Marlin. With sufficient seating depth, I'm sure you can make a 450 gr. work.

[WHITETAIL]

What you need to do is make a dummy round.
And measure the over all length.
Then compair it with the max in a Marlin.
2.550 max.:cool:

[WyrTwister]

Hey guys, I came accross a Lee mould that measured .457.
I thought great!! since I just bought a Marlin 1895. Now is this boolit too long for a lever action? Should I switch to a 405gr or lighter.
I'd like to use this rifle for deer, moose & elk etc.
Thanks all,


My experience is you are better off with a .460" or bigger bullet . So , go for the 405 grain Hollow Base bullet mold . Pour the lead just hot enough to 100% fill out the bullet well .

Try them lubed with Lee Liquid Alox & see if they will feed as cast . If as cast is too big , buy the .457" bullet sizing die from Lee and hone it out to .460" .

I used to size my bullets to .457" , it was the worst thing I could have done for the .45-70 .

God bless
Wyr

[Huntsman]

I sent back the mold to Lee because it did'nt line up and I was getting "messed up" boolits.
So I bought a LEE .459 405gr mold.
I made a dummy round and it chambered nicely. Can this boolit be used with smokeless powder and will it need a gas-check? Powder I have on hand is Varget.
Thank-you in advance

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Yes you can use smiles powder, gas check would depend on how hard you push this boolit.
Most folks run out of ability to deal with recoil from the Marlin before they reach max loads with the cast boolit.

The gas check option depends on the alloy you use and velocity....so no in most cases IMHO

[Huntsman]

Off to the reload bench I go then, Thanks guys:)

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon
As you begin to sight that load in you might consider making a set of cross sticks. Shooting any large bore on a bench can be trying. Shooting off cross sticks can be as accurate IF you put in a little time getting settled and learning to hold steady. I can shoot long strings off cross sticks that would be VERY punishing on a bench...

[Huntsman]

So I loaded up four rounds just to try. I used 46grs of Varget, Federal primer.
Now, after shooting 4 Remington 405gr factory rounds I was'nt prepared for the good kick I got from these loads. From here I will do more work on groups and what not but 1st I need to get myself a Lee factory crimper and different powder(s). IMR 3031 and Reloader 7 seem to be popular.
One quick question, I noticed the 1st batch of casts were cracked and deformed???
I re-did some more both water dropped and not water dropped.

[phaessler]

Sounds good Huntsman. But cracked? deformed? wrinkled or non-fills maybe? Search for "Lee-menting", alot of good Lee mold tips there, they(Lee molds) seem to never be as clean as they can be even after you clean it 5 times. Most likely your issue, been playing with a 405 PB Lee mold myself today, and still it needs some work, looks like it needs vent line cleaning.
Keep us posted.

[Cheshire Dave]

Good afternoon
As you begin to sight that load in you might consider making a set of cross sticks. Shooting any large bore on a bench can be trying. Shooting off cross sticks can be as accurate IF you put in a little time getting settled and learning to hold steady. I can shoot long strings off cross sticks that would be VERY punishing on a bench...

I use a standing bench rest, fancy title for a ladder with a sand bag. If I lean aginst the door frame of my shop a handy stump is about 55 or so yards. I can get pretty good groups and it lets me give with the recoil. I've been using shooting sticks also and really like them. When shooting off a bench get a good grip on the forend or you'll tend to string vertical. At least I do.
Huntsman I've had good results with 3031 with my RCBS 410 grain GC. With 50 grains I get right at 1800 fps from my 22" Marlin and about 1" groups off my ladder.

[Huntsman]

Sounds good Huntsman. But cracked? deformed?

Yeah cracked??? What I did was, last nite I cast 6 boolits to try out my new mold.
I then applied some lube and let them sit overnite. So today when I was ready to load some, I gave a quick inspection and noticed cracksin the bottoms and nose.
Plus some mild deformation around the rim of the hollow base. I re-melted these and cast some new ones and used them for my loads.
They seemed to have worked fine.
I did a search on cracks but found nothing.

[phaessler]

In the Lyman cast bullet handbook, they go over the metallurgy and crystalline structure of lead, and I remember something about how cast bullets will crumble or crack if some element is missing or over used. LEt me get thru work and I will see what it says again.
Will let you know.
Pete

[Huntsman]

Thanks Pete!

[rayzer]

you do not need to use a Lee factory crimper on cast boolits. this die might swage youre boolits down enough to cause leading in youre barrel. save youre money, and buy more powder.

[45r]

Get some AA 5744 for plain base boolits in 45-70.Works great with 400 grain and up boolits.