Good bullet weights for 45-70?

[Mint]

I'm going to reload 45-70 and currently I have 405 gr bullets. I thought I would try either lighter or heavier just for some variation. What would be your second or first pick for your favorite weight?

My purpose is target shooting at 100-200 yards, plinking.

I have heard larger than 450 may not feed through a lever gun so you have to place them in one by one, Im' not sure if that is accurate or not.

[Winger Ed.]

I cast a 405FN for my Marlin. It comes out closer to 420.

The recoil for mid-teen speeds is something to behold. I cast up a bunch of 'extras' for the brass I have and sold the mold.
When I run out, the next mold will be more like a 350 grain FN.

[Mint]

I cast a 405FN for my Marlin. It comes out closer to 420.

The recoil for mid-teen speeds is something to behold. I cast up a bunch of 'extras' for the brass I have and sold the mold.
When I run out, the next mold will be more like a 350 grain FN.

Ah, so you are saying 405 gr ~1500 has some serious recoil? That's great to know.

I have shot only 20 rounds of factory 45-70 in my life, and out of an 1886 it was very fun to shoot standing, not so much at a bench. Now that I'm reloading though and plan to shoot more than 5 at a time, I do want to lessen the recoil by maybe half.

[Texas by God]

Don't overlook the Lee 340gr. It has shot well in several 45-70 rifles(and a .450 Marlin) that I've tested here. I don't currently own a 45-70, but if one shows up that'll be the first mould I try.

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[HWooldridge]

I started with 450 and 500 gr bullets - both jacketed and cast - but have dropped down to 350 over the last few years, in both my Marlin and rolling block. The lighter weight works fine under 250 yards or so and consumes less lead in the cast version.

[1Hawkeye]

Lyman's 457122 gould hollow point 330 gr or arsenal's 460-330 no hollow point copy are good choices for a lighter bullet and lyman's 457125 is a good 500gr choice. As for feeding through the rifle it depends what you have an 86 winchester will feed just about anything but most 95 marlins won't feed a 500gr bullet if you stick to the trapdoor scale of loading data it will do fine in a lever gun but if you persue the 500gr at 2000 fps loads you might need asprin and a heating pad when your done because of the rifles light weight is going to have more recoil force.

[freakonaleash]

I'm shooting 300-340gr bullets. I'm shooting a full case of black powder. I suppose they are moving at around 1400fps. Recoil is minimal in my 86. Accuracy is good.

[stubshaft]

I cast the RCBS 405 and Ranchdog 425, both are extremely accurate in my rifles and have proven themselves many times over on game animals. Because of this I have been tempted but never pulled the trigger on a newer mold.

[JSnover]

I'm going to reload 45-70 and currently I have 405 gr bullets. I thought I would try either lighter or heavier just for some variation. What would be your second or first pick for your favorite weight?

My purpose is target shooting at 100-200 yards, plinking.

I have heard larger than 450 may not feed through a lever gun so you have to place them in one by one, Im' not sure if that is accurate or not.

For casual shooting at up to 200 your 400 grain boolits are all you'll ever need but I get it: no reason not to try different weights.
350 grains are the lightest I ever shot (H&R Buffalo Classic) and recoil is pretty near 'pleasant,' if that makes any sense. If 450 feeds in your rifle it might be about as heavy as you'd want to go. Most levers are comparatively light, making for more felt recoil with the heavier boolits. The heaviest cast boolits I've ever shot were 535 grains @ about 1200-1300 fps. But that's in a rifle that weighs 13 pounds, so it doesn't seem to thump me too hard...
Have fun.

[FredBuddy]

I've been casting and powder coating the
Lyman 457191 (292 gr) - a pleasant load and more
than adequate for mid Ohio deer.

Got the NOE collar button (186 gr) recently.
A guy ought not be allowed to have so much fun!!!

[Harter66]

In my collection I have 458 compatible bullets from 141-535 gr and only 2 require single feed if you close the lever you gotta pull the trigger to get it out lengths . That would be the 458132 NOE version and the 458-500 5 R Lee donor . The RCBS 45-500 FP feeds fine in an 1895G with it's short nose .

I have several 405ish bullets including the 462-420 MP that is PB/HB version at 417/380 gr .

The Lee 458-340 is good .
I found a Rapine 458201 which is intended I guess for 1st gen Colts SAA but shoots well at .459 and 255 gr .

If you decide to paper patch any 45 cal pistol bullets will do the job too . It is a little tricky to crimp them though .

[Larry Gibson]

I suggest two RCBS moulds for 100-200 yard plinking and target shooting in a 45-70 lever rifle. The 45-325-FN is a plain based bullet that will do very nicely for loads in the 900 - 1400 fps range. Particularly when loaded over Unique for right about 1100 fps. For practical longer range, higher velocity loads or the best accuracy for target shooing the GC'd 45-300-FN is an excellent bullet. I have used this bullet upwards of 2000+ fps and it is an excellent performer.

If you can find either of those moulds then NOE, Accurate or MP probably have similar versions.

[gc45]

One great thing among many is; the old 45-70 shoots bullets from 300 to 500 grains quite well and you have lots to choose from.

[Winger Ed.]

Ah, so you are saying 405 gr ~1500 has some serious recoil? That's great to know..

Oh yeah.
I'm 6' & 260. It took me a little bit of head scratching to figure out which end is more dangerous than the other.

[Eddie Southgate]

I been shooting two different .405's but have an old Lee mold that's in the three hundreds and just got a NOE 350 grain mold to play with.

[RickinTN]

I had Tom at Accuratemolds make a 365 grain mold for me with his "Marlin nose". It feeds very well. So far a load of 12 grains of Unique make a very comfortable and accurate load. I have not connected on game with it but have no doubt if I do my part it will work wonderfully.
Good Luck,
Rick

[GL49]

Oh yeah.
I'm 6' & 260. It took me a little bit of head scratching to figure out which end is more dangerous than the other.

Listen to Ed.
Since I'm 5'9 on a tall day, and about 160 soaking wet, my head scratching prob'ly took a little less time. I was impressed. That was 10 years ago when I got my '86 Browning carbine, there's still about half a box left of the "starting load" for the 405gr bullets. Yep, bullets not "boolits". I deal the remainder out at the gun club when somebody wants to say the 45-70 is underpowered.
Now it's 350gr. plain base boolits, the mould from NOE, and a load that leaves me smiling. I've never put a boolit on the scale to see what they weigh. I guess I should. I've got a 405gr NOE mould, still new, never used, I've never felt a need to go down that road again.

[Winger Ed.]

I deal the remainder out at the gun club when somebody wants to say the 45-70 is underpowered.

I do that.
I was at the range one time and a fella was sort of fascinated with the Marlin.
He was an old Viet Nam vet and I told him if he'd joined the Army in the 1870's or so instead of the 1960s-
this would have been the ammo he'd have been shooting.

I asked him if he wanted to fire it. He declined and pulled his shirt off his shoulder.
With all the scars-- His shoulder looked like Frankenstein's.
He said he'd had his shoulder overhauled and rebuilt once, and didn't want to have it done again.

[Midohhntr]

I have the Noe 460-315 wfn sized to .459 and powder coated and intend on using it Monday. I used the Lee 457-340 last year and killed a nice deer with it. Recoil isn’t bad with either one.

[Bigslug]

The big bore 1880's stuff is more my Dad's baliwick. We haven't found a rifle that the RCBS 405FNGC doesn't shoot well in.

It's a good all-around bullet - enough meplat to kill stuff with, but not so much as to compromise downrange stability or feeding. The gas check lets you drive it hard if you want, but nobody says you have to. In an 1895 Marlin kind of platform, the "fun" seems to stop at about 1600 fps (Dad's hunting load was something north of 1900).

Best advice I could give you - if you want a flat trajectory, shoot something else and don't try for it here.