45-70 plinking load

[Tom-ADC]

These measured 480.1 grs on my scale powered by 10.5 grs of Unique. A member here shoots this and is very happy with the results. I'm going to shoot them Monday.

[waco]

hope they do good for ya.
i shoot a lee 405 hb over 10gr unique as my plincker

[Tom-ADC]

hope they do good for ya.
i shoot a lee 405 hb over 10gr unique as my plincker

I have a few of those loaded up also.

[Okie2]

Do you guys use some kind of spacer to fill up the volume of the cartridge?

[Tom-ADC]

No filler just tilt the cartridge some all the powder is against the primer. One of the charts I've seen uses a 5/8" square of 1/4" thick polyester.

[218bee]

curious to see how they shoot. What range you shooting at. Met a guy at the range with a 38-55 using 8 (if I remember correctly) grains Unique and a 300-400gr cast boolit and claimed he shot that load competitively at 200yds. Hell I use 10gr in my Blackhawk 45Colt.

[MtGun44]

Unique doesn't need powder positioning or a wad or filler in large volume cases.

Bill

[boommer]

I just don't get it ! 45-70 plinking loads? Why waste the lead? WHY take a chance on ringing a barrel? WHY 480gr bullet? WHY when you can't get full accuracy the gun? These are only a few WHY'S

Don't get me wrong here, but why? when I shoot my 45-70 be it black or smokeless they are loads that preform or 30-30 or 223 or what ever, loads or sights are set.

Now if recoil is not what I want to deal with this day,I'll shoot a diff caliber. The old 22 rf will kill a can or paper just as well. Now if you want trigger time with rifle,without the recoil and then with recoil it won't do you hill of beans because controlling recoil is half of the game.

Now if I was going to plink load a 45-70 a 300 gr bullet would be my choice.

Not picking here but why?

[Tom-ADC]

Boommer, This load has been used for years, a friend gave me a bunch of these to try, sounded like a fun load, everything else I'll bring Monday are along the more serious loadings.
Up until now my 45-70 shooting has been BP, this was just a chance to try something a little different. I still have two smokless powders I want to try 5477 & 4759. Perhaps some Trailboss.
BTW I only loaded what you see in the picture.

[wellfedirishman]

I have found about 12 g of Trailboss under a 340 grain Lee mold bullet to be a very pleasant plinking load, with enough energy to ring steel gongs hard at 100-200 yards.

I use this in a TC Contender 14 inch barrel.

[blackpowder man]

I like that same boolit with 22.5 grains of sr 4759. Shoots nice from 1885 winchester.

[NickSS]

I load several different bullets in 45-70 and to different levels for different reasons. The majority of the ones loaded produce velocities in the black powder range regardless of whether I am using black or smokeless powder. The function well and shoot well and from experience there is little reason to load any warmer loads for hunting as anmals die very fast when whacked with a 3 to 400 gr slug going at 1200 to 1400 fps. Personally I see little benefit from being pounded by hot loaded 45-70s just to prove how macho I am. I have loaded such loads but they were for self defence brown bear loads for fishing trips to Alaska. Now if I was going to Aftrica I really can see loading a 45-70 with a 500 gr solid at 1800 to 1900 fps but not to shoot a deer at 40 yards.

[Ramsgate]

I just don't get it ! 45-70 plinking loads? Why waste the lead?

Well, because it's just plain fun. I use a variety of fast powders and bullets over 400 grains and at 1000 fps, I have an accurate load with considerable authority.

But you can do as you see fit and presumably the original poster can do so as well.

[TCLouis]

+1 what Ramsgate said.

It is for practice, is accurate and fun.

[218bee]

WHY????....WHY NOT????
Why not try something lighter or different. For me "lobbing" a heavy slow moving slug and being able to hit something with it is extremely enjoyable. I don't own 10 rifles each for a specific purpose. I enjoy using one rifle and exploring all the possibilities. I also shoot a Blackhawk 45 Colt that I can vary loads to suit my needs I don't feel the need to load it full house everytime I head to the range. I enjoy that but also enjoy target/plinking loads and don't feel it a waste of lead or my time.

[schreibwy]

I use a similar load a lot in my Contender. First of all it's fun and it's a killer. Accuracy is all I need. I even have a cat fart load which is even lighter which I got out of Paul Matthews book, "40 years with the 45-70." That load gets used to let kids shoot this monster pistol. I have a friend whose 4 year old shoots it from a rest and can hit the trunk of a rip ripped car at 75 yards. It pokes a hole in it every time. The little boy laughs and laughs and laughs. That, my friends, has a high intrinsic value.

[jon skorepa]

the ideal / lyman co. made collar button # 457130 for indoor reduced charge shooting.

[Tom-ADC]

This scan is from my 1973 Lyman cast bullet handbook:

[Okie2]

Tom...is there anyway to enlarge that?

[45r]

22 to 26 grains 4759 for a 405 grain and up boolit gives very good accuracy with a half grain dacron or cotton wad tamped down on top of the powder,some leave it fluffed out to bottom of boolit.It holds the powder against the primer and burns cleaner.I've heard 31 grains 4198 with a wad works well with 405 grain and up boolits but I haven't tried it yet.Some like 25 grains 2400.I've tried unique and it works but have heard some say you risk chamber ringing so I don't use it anymore.I've never seen it myself but guess it does happen.I use 27 grains 5744 when I don't use a wad.The most accurate medium kicking 45-70 load I've tried is 49.2 grains Vitt-133 under a saeco 350GC.