Heavy 45 Colt swc for 45-70 PP load

I have two 45 molds that it seems I might be able to use for my 45-70 Encore barrel. One is the Lee 300 gr. swc gc, the other is a LBT 325 WFN plain base. It would seem from some of the other threads that this could be a good combo. These bullets from a 454 casull are very good for anything on this side of our planet. So instead of buying more molds for the 45-70 I think this might be a way around setting up for another size bullet ie. 458.

This combo at moderate velocity would fine for the woods hunting I like for deer up to moose. Anybody out there tried it.

I know its not the proper bullet or proper rifle for this method, but I don't have the money for all the proper stuff. My 4 little kids fixed that!

Any ideas or experiences would be appreciated.

Bearcove,
I think your biggest problem will be that pistol boolits are normally .452. I suggest casting a boolit and measuring it to see what size it drops from the mould. The 45/70 is nominally .458 so there is a .006" difference. I cast about .460 and size to .459 for my own 45/70 and size to .453 for my 45 Colt.
But hey if they drop close to size you could bump size them to make them a little fatter. 300 grains should be a nice boolit. I admit I only use 500 PB's in mine.
Good luck, hope you have a win.:castmine:

What I was thinking about was paper patching them to make up the difference. They are not large enough to shoot in a 458 bore. But with a 451 dia two wraps of .002 thickness paper puts me in the right ballpark. A few sheets of paper is a lot cheaper than more molds and sizers.

Another path is to use one of the many 8mm molds for my 338-06.

Ah, that may make a difference. I have never paper patched, seen it done, but never dabbled.
One of the many experts on this forum should be able to help with that. Still give it a try, there is nothing to lose.
I may have to give this a try now!
Good luck

Would help if I took notice of what part of the forum I was in - 'specially when it says paper patching!!:groner:

After a while it all starts to look the same!:drinks:

.............bearcove, I did that many years ago just for the shear heckuvit. However the heaviest 45 Pistol slug I had at the time was a GC'd 255gr Lyman SWC. Since it was a pistol boolit AND a SWC at that, the patch was pretty narrow and kind of a pill to wrap. In this instance, the non-existant throat in the 45-70 comes in handy :-)

I used Red Dot and Unique and the patched slugs did quite well out to 50 yards. Definately not real long range propositions. I was using a MAS35 converted to 45-70. Recoil was nil. You're talking about 45 cal pistol boolits of 300 & 325 gr's. You do know that there are 45 cal rifle boolits available of the same weight, right? Or is it you're simply wanting to paper patch them?

..............Buckshot

I cast a Lymon 451114 that drops from my mould .451, give it 2 wraps of 16lb green bar computer paper and lube it BAC. Shoots great!

Bearcove,

I do that exact thing with great success.

I have an LBT WLN that casts out at 0.454" and 320 gr. in WW. I cast some bullets in 30:1 (they turn out about 0.453" and 340 gr., if I remember right), size them down to 0.451" in a Lee push-through die, patch them, lube them with Rooster Jacket, and load them over 50.0 grains of IMR-3031. A heavier load than I need, probably, but it absolutely WHOMPS a whitetail, and shoots well out of my Marlin 1895 (this one has a micro-groove barrel). That's all I've used on deer for almost 20 years now. The paper just disintegrates as it leaves the barrel; no "reading patches" here!

I think you'll be happy if you try this route. Good luck!

Regan

Thanks for the info! Never done paper patching, but this sounds good.

Hi, buckshot the main reason was that I have 5 molds for 45 cal pistol. The other problem is I also molds pistols, and rifles in 22, 6.5mm, 7mm, 30cal, 338, 357, 9mm, 358, 375, 41, 44, 45pistol and rifle, and thinking about a 475. Oh also 50 and 54cal blackpowder. I'm trying real hard not to have one in every calibre. Part of me hopes I fail.

I just saw an article on the 327 federal. Now if they put that in a ruger single six or old blackhawk size frame I'll probably have to get one. See my problem?

Also I've always wanted a 36cal blackpowder rifle, a 17 k-hornet might be fun and how about....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bearcove

Hi, buckshot the main reason was that I have 5 molds for 45 cal pistol. The other problem is I also molds pistols, and rifles in 22, 6.5mm, 7mm, 30cal, 338, 357, 9mm, 358, 375, 41, 44, 45pistol and rifle, and thinking about a 475. Oh also 50 and 54cal blackpowder. I'm trying real hard not to have one in every calibre. Part of me hopes I fail.

I just saw an article on the 327 federal. Now if they put that in a ruger single six or old blackhawk size frame I'll probably have to get one. See my problem?

Also I've always wanted a 36cal blackpowder rifle, a 17 k-hornet might be fun and how about....

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................Oh I understand ALL that :-). After you've been here awile you'll realize that your problem is NOT your problem all by yourself. Probably 80% of the members here are pathetic gunaholics. And like you most are not lacking in aquisition enthusiasm, lack of willpower, justification challanged, and the "Gotta Haves", but money.

..................Buckshot