Subsonic - Suppressed 45-70

[kadams]

Has anyone casted some 400-500 grain soft 4570 boolits for hunting suppressed? if so could you share some suggestions on Molds. Id rather not reinvent the wheel. Also Id like to hear your results on actual game.

Thanks for any replies

[marlinman93]

Has anyone casted some 400-500 grain soft 4570 boolits for hunting suppressed? if so could you share some suggestions on Molds. Id rather not reinvent the wheel. Also Id like to hear your results on actual game.

Thanks for any replies

Sub sonic with the heavier bullets will likely also be very close range and make a decent woods load. I've made up light loads to plink with at lower velocities, but never took them hunting or used a suppressor as no need to suppress my rifles for deer hunting.
I haven't found slower velocities that would be sub sonic to be all that accurate myself. I had to push them to a certain velocity to get decent accuracy, and that wasn't sub sonic anymore. Usually around 1300-1350 fpps.

[Elmer Fudd]

gmdr.com has a lot of light loads listed and tested for accuracy in their test gun. They list the parameters so you can compare to your own situation.

I use TrailBoss a little, but I use pistol powders more. Mostly Red Dot. And all my subsonic 45/70 use cast bullets; personal choice, and I love to cast. Lyman's cast book has some data that gives the lower speeds, but I don't recall any actual subsonic data. That's where gmdr comes in.

[Gunlaker]

Years ago when playing around with Trailboss and heavy bullets in a 28" barreled 45-70 I had a load that was quiet like a 22, but every 6th or 7th round would come out supersonic and make a loud crack. At first I thought it would be a fun plinking load that didn't need hearing protection

[gc45]

10 grains of unique with any 400 grainer will kill deer size game to 100 yds if you you can hit the vitals. have plunked a few in my day around the farm with just such a load.

[Bigslug]

Should be a fairly simple formula.

I'd be looking for a 500 grainer with a large meplat (.34") and a short, lever action-friendly nose because that would put more of the base of the bullet inside the case and reduce your powder capacity, while increasing pressure with the smaller charges you'll be using for the low speeds you need. I'm a tumble lube fan, so the Accurate Molds 46-500C or something like it might well be one that I'd try in your shoes. Methinks the long shank would require starting charges lighter than those listed in the Lyman manual for the longer-nosed 500gr. 457125, or even the 535gr. 457132, and would happily put you into the top end of the subsonic speed range.

20-1 seems like the no-brainer alloy to me, though you could certainly go even softer - - you're basically building a REALLY BIG .22LR Olympic match load.

As to "results on actual game", the reason we don't see newscasts about massive herds of bison blocking traffic on the I-90 is because slow impacts of large, soft, and often .45 caliber bullets killed most of them long before the invention of the automobile. You will have more than doubled the weight and added 300 fps to .45 ACP hardball (who's side job was to kill cavalry horses). There's not much mystery there.

[725]

Sub-sonic .45-70, suppressed, interestingly enough, is a feature in Mike Sutton's novel "Primary Candidate". Enjoyable read.