What "big" caliber in an H&R?

[tdoyka]

The 444 is great to but not as much in choices of bullet weights.

Jedman

beartooth alone has 19 bullets for the 444. http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm
noe molds and the others have a great seletion too.

my favorite happens to be the 265gr(280gr) ranch dog in the 444 marlin.

[gpidaho]

I bought the 35Rem 444 Marlin combo from Bud's. The combo was only $300. I had always wanted the 35 Rem and got the 444 as a bonus on a whim. I really like the 35 but I think I've shot twice as many 444 Boolits, Very fun wimpy to wild. GP

[jonp]

I have the 35 Whelen. It has been a real challenge to resize 30-06 and get it to work.

[big bore 99]

I'd have to say the 45-70 also. Very many options with it. A couple of posters liked the Buffalo Classic. I have a couple other, but that is the one I take out the most. It is great fun and very accurate. I put a Redfield peep on it and it shoots better than I can.

[jonp]

I got a used 45/70 handi rifle in Sept 1999 for $100 from a guy in a wheel chair at a gunshow.

I have shot Ruger #1 only published loads and doubled them 32 gr Unique 405 gr cast, Quickload thinks that is 88,000 psi. I can tell you the brass flows into the extractor.

I have enjoyed that gun more than the guns that cost me $1,000.

Your going to have to enlighten me on why on god's green earth you feel the need to run a 2X pressure load that is clearly overpressure evidenced by the brass flow.

What are you trying to prove except that your reckless and someone nobody should take any advice on reloading from?

[250kt]

You do NEED a 45/70 if you don't have one yet. Just loaded up some roundball loads, 3 140 grain .457 lead balls on top of bullseye. 25 yards all 3 group in about 2 inches about an inch above aim. This from a 16 inch marlin.

[NavyVet1959]

Of course, the *biggest* caliber in the H&R line is their rifled "shotgun". There's one in .729 caliber (SB2-980) and .615 caliber (SB1-920). They call it their "Ultra Slug Hunter". If you are going to cast your own bullets and wanted the biggest available, this would be the one. Your mold choices might be bit limiting compared to .45-70 though. It's just not that easy to find a .729 caliber bullet mold. Round Ball molds in that size are a bit easier to find though.

[Dakoma]

The Handi rifles are no longer being made and the barrel program is limited to what is in stock they will all soon be gone . I go with a 223 Rem. and a 45-70 Handi , got a extra 223 Rem barrel that will be reamed to 22-250 and already got the extractor for the change but I hear good things about the CVA single shots and want a 22 Hornet ! Love those Handi rifles though !

[Skipper]

I have shot Ruger #1 only published loads and doubled them 32 gr Unique 405 gr cast, Quickload thinks that is 88,000 psi. I can tell you the brass flows into the extractor.

[NavyVet1959]

I'm not so certain. I accidentally used Red Dot instead of Longshot in a 10mm M1911 pistol load awhile back and Quickload said that I generated 167K psi. Sure, the brass ruptured, but it wasn't in a fixed breech firearm like the H&R. Plus, the barrel on the 10m M1911 is quite a bit thinner than on an H&R rifle.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post3102678

[dougader]

I can tell you from experience, anything Clark posts is not fiction. In other words, the 45-70 Handi Rifle is a great gun for a great price, and takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

I have been looking at the CVA rifles myself. Wondering about the little 35 Remington, and maybe reaming it out to 358 Winchester for a dedicated cast boolit rifle.

[Clark]

Those coons were killed with one grain of Red Dot and a 145 gr cast button bullet with a steel or Aluminum case filler to get the expansion ratio up and reach the lands. Killing a coon with a body shot that makes the sound of a BB gun and not using a suppressor takes some real doing. The muzzle pressure at bullet escapement must kept below one atmosphere above ambient. Otherwise there will be super sonic gas escapement.


When i did a max pressure calculation on the 45/70, I calculated the chamber for thick wall hoop stress, the action pin in double shear, and the breech face in section modulus.
The math was jr high algebra, but I had not done it before. My father was chief engineer at paccar for 40 years with dozens of gun patents. He helped me over the phone, as did an old mechanical engineering professor on rec.guns over email.
Some on a forum doubted my calculation so I verified it with a 405 gr cast Unique work up. I had my left palm on the butt. The recoil would probably have broken my collar bone if I had it to my shoulder.

[dougader]

So each round on your Red Dot load has its own internal "suppressor" system. How cool is that?

[Clark]

Here is the taper I measured and cut on an insert for 45/70 cases.
It would best be done with CNC, but I just follow the little chart I made with the DRO like a human CNC.
I use Loctite to hold it in place. A bigger flash hole than decapping pin is a good idea. The hole gets too dirty to use the same drill.

If you catch up to two coons, a quiet gun will help getting the second one. The first one will break dance and the second one goes up a tree to watch. And even if it is legal to shoot at your house, the neighbors can still hear the shooting at your chicken coop in the middle of the night, if the gun is loud. A 22 CB short with 0.45 gr Powder in a rifle is BB gun quiet, but you have to hit the coon in the brain. That is hard to do even a few feet away if they are moving.

[Catshooter]

You boys who are kicking Clark must not have met him before.

He enjoys testing, sometimes to destruction all sorts of firearms.

He knows exactly what he is doing so relax.

His information is very interesting to some of us.


Cat

[Catshooter]

The biggest Handi rifle I have played with is one of their 20 gauge USHs. Mag Tec full length brass shells, three .646 round balls (392 grains each) and about 1100 feet. Kinda hard to chrono with three projectiles across the screens.

Took the USH barrel and fitted it to an rifle action, not shotgun.

The load prints lovely little 1.25/1.5 inch triangles at 25 yards, three inchers at 50 and puts a huge smile on the owners face every time he lights it off.


Cat

[Lonegun1894]

I agree. I may not have an interest in trying to see just where that fine line lies anymore, but have been there, and it is interesting and educational. Also helps that I think Clark knows more about this than I do.

[THerbert]

I love my 500 S&W. The Lee 440 gr. boolit, 13 gr. of Trailboss, and it's good out to 100 yards and as accurate as you are. No recoil to speak of, and the way prices are right now, cheaper to shoot than a .22LR.

[NavyVet1959]

I love my 500 S&W. The Lee 440 gr. boolit, 13 gr. of Trailboss, and it's good out to 100 yards and as accurate as you are. No recoil to speak of, and the way prices are right now, cheaper to shoot than a .22LR.

I was at Wal-mart today and checked the ammo cabinet. Surprisingly, they had about 20 or so boxes of .22LR -- Remington Thunderbolt. It was $2.37 per 50 round box. Limit of 3 boxes. Unless I recover my lead, it's difficult for me to reload any other caliber that cheaply -- about $2.50-2.60 is the cheapest I can reload certain calibers. The last .22LR ammo I bought was around $7-8 per 500-round brick, so I decided to wait and see if it goes back down and let someone else who really needs it buy it at that price. They'll probably think they're getting a good deal compared to what some people are charging these days.

[THerbert]

I was at Wal-mart today and checked the ammo cabinet. Surprisingly, they had about 20 or so boxes of .22LR -- Remington Thunderbolt. It was $2.37 per 50 round box. Limit of 3 boxes. Unless I recover my lead, it's difficult for me to reload any other caliber that cheaply -- about $2.50-2.60 is the cheapest I can reload certain calibers. The last .22LR ammo I bought was around $7-8 per 500-round brick, so I decided to wait and see if it goes back down and let someone else who really needs it buy it at that price. They'll probably think they're getting a good deal compared to what some people are charging these days.

I never go to Wal-Mart. The people I see in the local one scare me! I haven't bought any .22 since Christmas before last, and it was $0.10 per round. From what I understand from some of my friends, it's still quite scarce around here. I'm still working on a batch of what seems to be Lyman #2 alloy that I bought from a scrap yard in 1# Lyman-stamped ingots for $1/lb. I haven't called my supplier recently to find out what scrap lead costs these days.