45-70 - recommended load

[Big Jim Dandy]

I have 3 Rifles in .45/70 & shoot the following loads in them:

Original Model 1884 Springfield "Long Tom"
C.Sharps Arms Model 1875 Custom Target Rifle:

300 gr. RNFP - 12 gr. Unique - Muzzle Velocity approx. 1250 fps.
405 gr. RNFP - 20 gr. SR-4759 - Muzzle Velocity approx. 1260-70 fps.

I put a small piece of Darcon in the case to keep the powder against the bottom of the case.
Both loads are mild & very accurate in both rifles.

Browning Centennial Model 1886 Lever Action:

325 gr. RNFP with GC - 13 gr. Unique + Dacron

This load has produced a 5 shot group all touching at 100 yards - with Buckhorn Sights!

[nuadvntur]

I have a 1874 IAB Sharps.  There was no way I could justify the price of a small car and a multi-year waiting period.  So I purchased what I could afford and stand to wait for.  Nuff said.  As for the loads........I have a keg of IMR-4064 which is left over from highpower matches.  It is going bad and will not hold elevation well enough for Palma matches any more...800, 900, and 1000 yards.  So it is getting used in practice rounds and in the Sharps.  I wrote IAB and asked about the proofing on my rifle.  They answered that it was proofed to 40,000 psi.  That is good enough for my purposes. 

I worked up a load for the 405gr Lyman bullets I cast out of wheel weights.  These bullets are not hardened.  They are about an 8 on the Brinell scale.  I put 40 grns. of IMR 4064 behind the 405 grn. flat point, greased with Micro Lube and sized to .459.  They shoot well enough to kill deer at 125 yards.  ( Yes I measured it with a wheel. )  I load 38 grns of IMR-4064 behind the Lyman 500 grn round nose, same metal, lube and size diameter, which works well enough to kill South Texas hogs at 100 yards.  I have not yet tried them out further than 100 yards on targets.  I have a 600 yard high power range and will try longer distances soon.  The hunting trip proved that these loads seem to work pretty well.  I had a lousy set of sights on the rifle and recently purchased a good set of Pedersoli rears for it which I have not had a lot of time to play with.  The front sight is a hooded post. 

I refuse, repeat, refuse to shoot black powder in my rifle.  Been there done that and want no more.  According to much research and comparison they are approximately 28,000 psi loads and work well in MY rifle.  I know that the purists will look over their shooting glasses and down their noses at me but so what.  The animals I dispatched with them did not care if it was black powder or smokeless.

The cases are New Remingtons which have been trimmed, sized and had the flash holes and primer pockets uniformed.  I use a Win. large rifle primer.

I spent many hours breaking in the barrel prior to any load experinmentation.  I scrubbed the bore with Rem Clean before any shooting to ensure it was a smooth clean bore.   The first loads I shot for a year were PMC cowboy 405grn gov loads and they worked pretty good. 

I am going nilgai hunting in Feb. and will be using the rifle with the 500 grn bullets.  I have no doubt it will do the job.

Hope this has helped.  I am proud to be using a " cheap " rifle and shooting it fairly well for the amount I have worked with it.  To my eyes it is every bit as pretty and useful as anything I have seen and shoots well enough, so far, to be interesting.

Wear hearing protection, eye protection, and have fun........

MNM

" I cannot trust a government which cannot trust me with my guns. "     

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Howdy!

Nuadvntur says some good things.  He prefers to shoot NO BP loads and that's his choice.  I PREFER BP loads but I've had good luck with 405 gr. Meister Hard-cast bullets propelled by IMR 4198.  The IMR (and possibly the Hodge. 4198, too, since now it's the same company and was ALWAYS similar) is good for light loads.  I think that the IMR loadings from the factory call for 19-22 gr. loads.  (See website for specifics, NOT my memory!  )  I've happily used the IMR 4198 for reduced loads in: 45-70, 30-06, 7.92X57 [8mm Mauser], and 7.62X54(R) Russian.  It also is a fine full power load for .223/5.56mm.  Except for 45-70, the other more "modern" loads I've done were for 125 gr. projectile reduced loads.  (More "modern"?    8mm Mau.=1888? 7.62X54(R)=1891 or 2? You know what I mean!  )   Enough of this - I didn't mean this to turn into a pro IMR 4198 commercial ! 

By the way, I've never tried using fillers. Also, the 4198 seems to be less case-position sensitive than the 3031 I also tried.

Try some BP sometime, but be sure to use softer lead bullets with PLENTY OF LUBE!  (I won't recommend any BP loads as I'm still trying to find the right combo for my OWN Taylor's 1874 Sharps by Armi Sport.  Even 'tho I'm essentially a big bore plinker [some would leave off the word "plinker"] I DO like to hit what I'm aiming at, as much as I can.

Have fun!

Jeff  "Steel Horse Bailey"

[ggeilman]

405 gr H4198 27.0 1289 / MAX 31.0 1459 17100 CUP
          H-Varget 40.0 1419 /MAX 40.0 1419 15600 CUP

These are Trap door loads from Lee. 28800 is awefully high for Trapdoor. That is SAAMI specs for Marlin new rifles.