Handi in 45-70-sight in?

[Bamasnyper]

If I sight my 45-70 in to be dead on at 100yds. using Remington 405 gr. bullets, what will be the trajectory at 50 and 150 yds.?
Is ther a better way to sight it in? This will primarily be used as a treestand gun for whitetails with shots less than a 100 yds. What is a better factory bullet to use that don't kick so hard? I have the Leverevolutions but they recoil pretty good, for me anyways.

[bigjeepman]

I am no expert ... but if it were my 45/70 rifle, I would start at 50 yards, sight it in, and then move to 100 yards to see where it hits the paper. I would then adjust to 100 yd sight-in and leave it there. Now move to a 150 yd target and see where it hits the paper. Just to double check, I would then shoot at 50 yds again to see where it hits the paper. Now you know you are good to go at 100 yds and also know the adjustments you "might" need to make for a 50 yd shot or a 150 yd shot.

Without knowing the muzzle velocity, this is the best I can suggest. I do not own a 45/70 but this is what I did with my .45 colt Marlin rifle for hog hunting. I just happened to look at the new 45/70 Leverevolution ammo at the gunshop Sunday. You need to go to Hornady's site below ... it looks like the drop between 100 and 200 yards is 1.1" ... wow!


https://www.hornady.com/index.php

Good shooting to you ....

[FLNT4EVR]

Bigjeepman is giving you good advice on the sighting in of your rifle.In order to reduce your recoil you could try a lighter bullet, 300 to 350 grns which are available from WW or remington. Another option would be to use some of the new cowboy loadings on the market . These reduced loadings should have all the punch you need for tree stand hunting.Just be sure to use the same ammo your going to hunt with to sight in with.

[45/70fan]

The factory Remington 405 load (rated at 1330fps) is about as light recoil as you're gonna get without going down to cowboy loads. If you zero at 100 yards you'll be about 2" high at 50 and about 8" low at 150. The factory Remington 300 load (rated at 1810fps) would be about 1" high at 50 and 5" low at 100. I would shoot at those ranges to verify.

[Mac11700]

I recommend putting about 1-2 lbs of lead shot in the butt stock..add a $3.98-$4.98 Bob Allen shell nylon holder with a piece of soft foam rubber under it on the butt stock...and a good recoil pad like a Limbsaver or Declarator...then go enjoy your 45-70 more ...Doing this..will allow you to shoot the heavier or much faster bullets with out the punishing recoil...You certainly get by with a 300 grain bullet at the same velocity at those distances...and a good bullet that doesn't cost a lot is the 300 grain Speer Uni-core bullet...or even a good gas checked cast bullet will work great...Buy adding the weight and the soft cheek piece and good recoil pad..you've turned your light weight bruiser into a much more manageable killing machine... You'll need to shoot it at the elevations of your stands to be certain of where it will group..and with a well equiped Handi..it will make it more fun and beneficial than a pain in the face and shoulder...

Mac

[Badnews Bob]

I don't know the ballistic charts to well,But, My handi .45-70 sighted in 2 inches high at 50 is about dead on at a 100. I've never shot it past a 100 on paper but I dropped a really nice 8 pt 180+ lb buck this season, I hunt in eastern Kentucky so 50 is usally a long shot. BTW I use 405gr hard cast lead @ trapdoor levels mostly two deer in the freezer with that load, works for me.

[Bamasnyper]

Thanks for the help! I don't have any trouble shooting the 405 gr. bullets, but the 325 gr. Hornadys pack a pretty good punch.

[RickC.]

Snyper (where in Bama?)

  I shoot Rem 405s at 1450, just a little hotter than Rem factory loads, recoil isn't bad.  Just a shove, not a smack.  If you don't handload, this is a great opportunity to start-- brings the price of shooting the .45-70 down considerably, and you can tailor your loads to your own needs, as I and many others have done.

 I found the higher end Marlin level loads uncomfortable in the Handi, but the Cowboy and Trapdoor loads are fun, AND effective on deer out to 150, and can be at 200 IF you know what you're about and practice regularly at that range.

 I had to use a 6 o'clock hold with the factory iron sights, the Simmons 4X32 shotgtun scope took care of that.

 The Remington 405 factory loads and the PMC Cowboy loads recoiled about the same to me, trajectory should be similar.  Either of those will give you a formidable tree stand rifle without beating you to death.


 
                             Rick

[quickdtoo]

I wouldn't count on PMC anything, they went out of business last year, dunno if Jamison, who bought their equipment, is going to put them back into production.

Tim

[Grizzx2]

Quickdtoo Guess I should feel lucky to still a couple of boxes of their shells for my BC.
BAMA I've got the Limbsaver Recoil pad on mine along with a lace up sling. They both help on the recoil. Just something to think about.

[RickC.]

I wouldn't count on PMC anything, they went out of business last year, dunno if Jamison, who bought their equipment, is going to put them back into production.

Tim

 I sure didn't know that!  I bought that one box of PMC 405 RNFP when I bought the rifle 4 years ago, still using the brass from that.  I use that for my 405 Rem, Starline for the 405 lead, and WW brass for the 300 Speers I load for the Marlin.

 Bamasnyper, that leaves the Rem 405 and handful of 300 gr loads that are out there.  I had a Rem 300 HP come apart on a deer at 25 yds, I load the Speer for hunting now and use the Rem 300s for the range. Very accurate bullet, but I didn't like what happened when it hit bone. 

There are some other Cowboy loads out there, but the green box is going to be easier to find.


                                       Rick

[quickdtoo]

Here's the PMC scoop!

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/10/26/news/business/news674.txt

This is a 2003 list of 45-70 factory ammo, some are no longer available, prices changed, but should be checked out if anyone's in the mood for factory fodder.

Tim
$41.54 250g @ 2200fps, 2687fpe, Barnes X Flat Nose (Conley)
$??.?? 300g @ 1810fps, 2182fpe (Remington @ Remington web site)
$20.39 300g @ 1880fps, 2355fpe (Winchester JHP, Natchez)
$20.60 300g @ 1880fps, 2355fpe (Federal, Natchez)
$29.81 300g @ 1880fps, 2355fpe (Winchester Partition Gold, Natchez)
$22.84 300g @ 2100fps, 2938fpe, HP (Conley)
$44.66 300g @ 2100fps, 2938fpe, Barnes Original Flat Point (Conley)
$32.50 300g @ 2100fps, 2938fpe, Nosler Partition (Protected Point) (Conley)
$41.54 300g @ 2100fps, 2938fpe, Barnes X Flat Nose (Conley)
$25.08 350g @ 1970fps, 3017fpe, Hornady JFP (Conley)
$34.89 350g @ 1800fps, 2519fpe, BCSP (Corbon @ Corbon web site)
$19.47 350g @ 2025fps, 3188fpe, PMC @CheaperThanDirt.com)
$39.99 350g @ 2150fps, 3593fpe (Buffalo Bore Ammo @ Cabelas)
$24.99 400g @ 1250fps, 1388fpe (Black Hills @ Cabelas)
$44.66 400g @ 1900fps, 3207fpe, Barnes Original Flat Point (Conley)
$54.46 400g @ 1900fps, 3207fpe, Swift A-Frame Flat Point (Conley)
$12.99 405g @ 1350fps, 1639fpe (PMC @ Cabelas)
$18.99 405g @ 1100fps, 1088fpe (Ultramax @ Cabelas)
$22.50 405g @ 1325fps, 1579fpe, RNFP (Conley)
$18.99 405g @ 1330fps, 1590fpe (Remington @ Cabelas)
$24.50 405g @ (Winchester @ Cascade Ammunition web site)
$35.57 405g @ 1700fps, 2600fpe, FPPE (Corbon @ Corbon web site)
$22.99 405g @ 1900fps, 3247fpe, JSP (Conley)
$39.99 405g @ 2000fps, 3597fpe (Buffalo Bore Ammo @ Cabelas)
$41.99 405g @ (Obsolete Ammunition @ Cabelas)
$50.00 420g @ 1850fps, 3200fpe (Garrett)
$39.99 430g @ 1925fps, 3537fpe (Buffalo Bore Ammo @ Cabelas)
$34.50 460g @ 1650fps, 2780fpe, HC (Corbon @ Corbon web site)
$41.99 500g @ (Obsolete Ammunition @ Cabelas)
$52.99 500g @ 1625fps, 2931fpe (Buffalo Bore Ammo @ Cabelas)
$50.00 540g @ 1550fps, 2880fpe (Garrett)
$180.00 500g @ 1530fps, 2600fpe (Speer AGS Tungsten, Garrett)

[bigjeepman]

I'm hoping you "copied" and "pasted" quick ..... gollyyyyyyyyyyyyyy that's a lot of writing.

[quickdtoo]

Nope, not me!! It's from a post on MarlinOwners making a comparison of the factory ammo availability for .45-70 to .450 Marlin.

Tim

http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=6701&highlight=4570+factory+ammo

[RickC.]

Holy Moley!!

 Just handload, it's easier (and cheaper).


           Rick

[wgr]

hey quick  if he is shooting 405  grain bullets at 1330  thatsa about the same as a 50 cal muzzler loader with a maxie ball    i sighted mine in at 2.5 in high  at 50yd    it then hits right on at about 75/80 then about 2.5in low at 100 yards wouldnt the 45-70 be about the same

[quickdtoo]

I'd say it was close, but I've not chrono'd the 405gr Rem loads, but have read of others that have and they don't get what Rem says, so the best way to find out what it does, is to shoot it at those ranges to see what the actual trajectory is.

For example, it's been a while, but I shot the PMC +P 350gr ammo at 100yds and 200yds, 4" high at 100yds put me 5"-6" low at 200yds, the factory specs said I should be 12" low at 200yds, so ya can't go by what they say you'll get, gotta shoot it to make sure.

Tim

[Swampman]

I've always felt the lighter .45-70 bullets hurt more to shoot than the heavy ones, even at the same velocity.  I don't shoot the 300 grain bullets much for this reason.

[RickC.]

Swampman,

 They sure did in mine, but I was loading it bit hotter also.  I guess it doesn't make much sense for one powder to have more recoil than another, but DANG, H335 kicks!


                                                  Rick