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45-70 reloading

Jowens

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
198
Location
Murfreesboro
Does anyone here in middle tn reload for the 45-70? I have one in a ruger #1 and i am wanting to find someone experienced in reloading to help me work up some loads. Thanks
 
my older brother has a Sharps 45-70 with the tangent peep sight that he took to South Dakota and killed a buffalo with,,he casts his own boolits and uses H335 powder,,

I can ask him tomorrow exactly what he uses but it is almost 458 Win Mag type loads he shoots.
 
I'm not in Tn but I have a NEF Handi Rifle in 45-70 that I load for. Last year I wanted to come up with a hot 250yd load but keep it safe. I ended up with 59.5gr of Varget under a 300gr JHP seated at normal COAL of 2.530. Thru the chrony they averaged 2300fps ten feet from the muzzle. At 200yds I had 1.5" five shot group with 4 holes touching and 1 flyer. Sighted in at 200 it was almost 4" high at 100 and 2" low at 250.

This load will rock your world when you pull the trigger. Max load of Varget for that bullet weight is 61gr. I loaded some with 60gr but never went higher. I only shot 1 deer with this load and that was thru the neck at 50 feet so I don't have bullet performance data at the long range and high velocity that I loaded for.
 
WC, where are you located in AL? I spend alot of time in Lynchburg which is relatively close to the TN/AL line.

I would love to send a few of those loads down the tube in my Ruger.

Gonna send you a PM.
 
44fanatic said:
Read, read and read some more. Reloading metallic cartridges is not as difficult as folks like to think. Biggest thing is the reading, and working up safe loads.

I just don't have the dies and press and would like to learn from someone.
 
Jowens said:
44fanatic said:
Read, read and read some more. Reloading metallic cartridges is not as difficult as folks like to think. Biggest thing is the reading, and working up safe loads.

I just don't have the dies and press and would like to learn from someone.

get on the shilohsharps and castboolits forum, there is a ton of 45-70 info there, I am shooting a .40-65 shiloh sharps with black powder, its just a .45-70 necked down to a .40 caliber
 
The book "Forty Years with the .45-70" by Paul A. Matthews is a very good book on this subject. It deals with all kinds of loadings and their use in hunting with both cast and jacketed bullets( many quite "hot" in my opinion). I think it's still in print.

For hunting deer I believe I'd stick to the less intense loads. Like WC said, those hotter loads will thump you pretty hard....even with the lighter 300 grain slugs. Remember, they decimated the buffalo with "mere" black powder loads.
 
Like the others have said, you can load that old cartridge for about anything. For a smokeless load mine likes the 535 gr. Postell bullet and 45 grs. of IMR 3031...moves it along at 1600 fps. With the 500 gr. Barnes Triple Shock with same load of IMR 3031 it showed 1550.
 

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