Unique and the 45-70 Velocity and hunting ability?

[BIG45-70]

I've just started experimenting with some light cast loads through my 45-70 Marlin. Today I put together a nice little load of 14.5grs of Unique and a 405gr cast boolit and really enjoyed shooting it. It had very little recoil and was very accurate through my lever. Just wondering where my velocity through a 22 inch barrel would be and if its an acceptable round for hunting white tale and black bear?

[bruce drake]

I don't shoot the 45-70 (yet) but there are a LARGE number of 45-70 fans on this site who will be particularly happy to vet their secrets.

And welcome to the site!

Bruce

[BIG45-70]

Thanks Bruce, I feel lucky to have stumbled on this great resource!

[35remington]

In my 22 inch Marlin, 16.0 Unique and a 405 plainbase Lee bullet gets around 1260 fps, so you're doing somewhat less than that. Call it 1175 fps or so. Since this equals many magnum pistols in energy, it's probably fine for hunting within the limitations of its rather looping trajectory.

At low speeds bigger flatpoints do better work, but even so don't expect huge amounts of tissue damage with such a load. Most likely it will poke about an inch to inch and a half hole through the lungs, the deer will run about 60 yards after the hit and pile up. It will surely completely penetrate anything you hit with it but soft tissue damage will not compare to, say, a close range hit with a .270.

In some respects that's a good thing, as there's not much bloodshot meat should you happen to hit something more substantial than ribs with your shot.

[WHITETAIL]

BIG45-70 Welcome to the forum![smilie=s:

[WHITETAIL]

Yes, once you start loading for the 45-70 it becomes a habbit.:Fire:

[BIG45-70]

Its funny, when I first started handloading for my 45-70 I ran everything to max loads. It took me awhile to understand that not every heavy chunk of lead needs to be driven to 1800fps (especially when I was only killing paper) as I've played with different loads and started running them around the 1100-1300 fps mark, I've began enjoying my shooting more then I ever have before. My plan after playing with all these faster burning powders in a 405gr bullet is to move into heavy bullet weights and find a nice soft shooting hunting load around the 500gr mark.

I do plan on casting my own at some point but as of right now me and my girlfriend bought a small condo townhouse, the back yard is considered a "common area" and I don't think I could get away with a melting pot. :Fire:

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. With a 405 grain bullet. 15 grains of Unique will give you around 1300 fps. That weight bullet traveling at that speed will produce a muzzle energy of between 1400 and 1500 footpounds. (at 1500 fps the energy would jump up to one ton) That 1300 fps loading will provide adequate power for deer, elk and black bear and a few other things. It pretty much duplicates the original velocity for the Springfield trapdoor. The recoil is tolerable. Higher velocity is of course obtainable, but Unique is not the wisest or recommendable choice to do that with. Medium powder like 3031 or 4320 can and will put you safely in that ballpark of 1600-1800 fps, but to do what with?, unless the bears are grizzlies or bigger. And the recoil is really a lot tougher. That factor becomes more prevalent with 500 grain bullets. Even at the velocity mentioned above they don't really shoot "pleasurable", but alhough individual tolerances do differ you want to be able to work with your rifle for a while without getting "flinchy", fatigued and/or turned off. Best hing is to work up and around in the parameters/limits that you are comfortasble with and enjoy/be satisfied with the results. Good luck. LLS

[Lead Fred]

Id not wish to wound an animal with low speed rounds.
I use 40gr R-7 and it sails the 405RN @ 1700fps.
It snaps the ankles of deer as they hit the ground.

[Catshooter]

I use 15 grains of Universal Clays (very close to Unique) under a group buy 365 grain boolit. I get 1318 fps out of my 22 inch H&R single shot with inch and an eigth groups at 100 yards.

Quite pleasant to shoot, even off the bench.


Cat

[TCLouis]

10.5 grains of a milsurp powder that mimics Unique's performance yielded 1100 fps with a 378 grain CPB RNFP out of my original 1886 and Remington Rolling Block.

14.5 and 405 oughta stomp what ya can hit.

[Fly-guy]

I've just started experimenting with some light cast loads through my 45-70 Marlin. Today I put together a nice little load of 14.5grs of Unique and a 405gr cast boolit and really enjoyed shooting it. It had very little recoil and was very accurate through my lever. Just wondering where my velocity through a 22 inch barrel would be and if its an acceptable round for hunting white tale and black bear?


I shoot an 350 gr fmjfp through my 45-70 and it is a tack driving, man maiming machine! I also run 340 gr Lee fp's through it with unique, and talk about lobbing a slow moving chunk of lead.

A word of caution, when using any powder (like unique) that doesn't fill the case up, use some kind of wad or filler that keeps the powder next to the primer. I've heard that if you don't, you could have a charge that "implodes" instead of "exploading". An implosion can cause uncontrolled preasures - not good!

[Tom-ADC]

I loaded some up for my sharps it is a tack driver load and zero recoil of course the sharps is 12 lbs or so. I wouldn't be afraid to let my granddaughter shot that load if she could support the rifle, maybe my trapdoor..:D

[35remington]

No need for a filler with Unique for any reason. Fears of some odd wreck without a filler are imaginary.

It is not position sensitive, and the 45-70 acts like an overgrown pistol cartridge when it is loaded with it. Mild muzzle blast, moderate report.

I'll stand by my educated guess of 1175 fps for 14.5 grains with a 405 flatbase if your barrel length is near 22 inches. Near 1300 fps with that charge seems unlikely, but the proof will be in the shooting.

[BIG45-70]

No need for a filler with Unique for any reason. Fears of some odd wreck without a filler are imaginary.

It is not position sensitive, and the 45-70 acts like an overgrown pistol cartridge when it is loaded with it. Mild muzzle blast, moderate report.

I'll stand by my educated guess of 1175 fps for 14.5 grains with a 405 flatbase if your barrel length is near 22 inches. Near 1300 fps with that charge seems unlikely, but the proof will be in the shooting.

What would you give as far as recoil difference between a 14.5gr load compared to a 16gr load with a cast 405gr RNFP bullet?

[haven't got a clue]

I load a 350gr LBT over 17 gr. of unique for a fun light load. It chronos out at 1365 fps. Very mild recoil, fun to shoot.

[bigboredad]

big45-70
I feel your pain as far as not being able to cast however if you get a a lee pot or something similar and a good source of clean lead casting out of your backdoor should not even draw any attention. As far as your .45/70 nice choice it is one of the most fun rifles I have ever shot right now all my cases are loaded up with 20 grains of h4227 and a lee 340 grain slug and it feels like you are shooting a 22 but a lot more fun. also you can pick up a chrony chronograph for under hundred bucks and give another toy to make you want to shoot more and you will then know where tour loads are at. good luck and don't be afraid to share or ask questions the 45/70 has a big fan base here so there is lots of good info here

[beagle]

Kind of look at the old BP load for the .45/70. Basiacally the Gould bullet (457122HP) at 330 grains and 1338 FPS and it had a reputation as a bad load for black bear and other big critters.

I think you could get there with Unique./beagle