500 grain 45-70 Loads

[spinafish]

Anyone have a favorite 45-70 load shooting a 500 cast bullet?  My bud is buying a Buffalo Classic and has ordered the 500 grain bullet mold from Midway...and he's recoil sensitive!!!!!!!!!!!!  I will be loading for him.

[Stan in SC]

If he is recoil sensitive then the larger bullet is certainly a bad choice.I shoot 300 grain handloads and find that very pleasant and accurate.

Stan

[daddywpb]

I loaded a few 500 grain Barnes solids just to see how they shot. Accuracy was fair, but flinching was high. Recoil is severe from my Marlin Guide Gun. NOT for the recoil sensitive.

[Q]

Not needed. The Hornady Lever 325 grn bullit travels at 2050fps. It's flat shooting with enough nock down power for anything in your sights. There are a few web sights that give the energy level of this round. More than a ton at a 100 yards. With this who needs bullit placement. But if you are stuck on 500grn I hope its black powder. Q

[daddywpb]

Not needed. The Hornady Lever 325 grn bullit travels at 2050fps. It's flat shooting with enough nock down power for anything in your sights. There are a few web sights that give the energy level of this round. More than a ton at a 100 yards. With this who needs bullit placement.

I wouldn't depend on any amount of hydrostatic shock to make up for poor shot placement. I have seen animals shrug their shoulders and walk away from a shot the should have knocked them off their feet and slid them backwards a ways. I guess they didn't read the ballistics charts.

Are 500 grain bullets needed for anything on this continent? No. But that doesn't mean I don't want to have a few laying around. I have a lot of things that I don't need! They are fun to shoot though.

[quickdtoo]

spinafish, slug the bore of the BC so you know what to size the bullet to and it should do fine. Most BCs will shoot a .459" cast bullet well, both of mine do, but that's not written in stone, the bores do vary some.

If standard loads are too much for him, try some of the low velocity cast loads that Greg Mushial has on his web site.

And a slip on recoil pad would be nice if he doesn't want to shoot the light loads, I use a Galco small on my .45-120 BC.

Tim

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/smf/index.php/topic,95365.msg1098232832.html#msg1098232832

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/smf/index.php/topic,62996.msg380534.html#msg380534

Galco slip on

Kick Killer slip on

[Grizz_]

I love heavy bullets, and it's a myth that they are punishing to shoot.


I shoot 525g BTB out of my BC. I'm not recoil shy, but my daughter shoots these loads.

This is safe in my 4 45/70 rifles, I don't promise it's safe in anyone else's. It's 2 full grains shy of a published pressure tested load.

starline brass
39g H322
525g BTB PileDriver
CCI 200 primers.

This chronoed 1440 fps out of an 18" barrel and 1520 fps out of a 26" barrel.

IMO the recoil is certainly less than a 3" 12ga.

You could probably reduce the load a small amount to start. I think it would be really easy around 1100fps.
This load penetrates a dozen one gallon water jugs, and so far I have never seen anything go farther.

http://beartoothbullets.com/WMV_Files/45-70-525.wmv

http://beartoothbullets.com/open_sight/archive_open_sight.htm/21

Grizz

[quickdtoo]

Grizz is right on about the 525gr BTB Piledriver, it just don't get no better than that unless you want to push em a little faster!! I shoot em in my .45-120 BC at about 1800fps, they're very accurate, even with my poor old eyes, they shoot real good at 200yrds with a Williams FP sight, the high shot in the pic was the first hit after moving from 100yds, the lower 2 were after a sight adjustment.

Tim

[bigjeepman]

That is one impressive target Tim ... !!!

[quickdtoo]

Thanks, I was surprised, it's been a while since I shot 200yds with an aperture sight!! I'm gonna work with the Smith long range sight at 300yds this summer, that should be fun. Maybe some day if I get good at 300yds, I'll make the trip to Douglas Ridge and shoot on their 1000yd range!!

Tim

[daddywpb]

Wow! That's a great 200 yard group.

[Q]

Nice group! This will drop anything you want. I like the rifle too. A bench rest shooter told me "Life is to short to have an ugly gun" I guess thats a good rule for all. Mine is a plain jane 22" wood stock that I plan on up grading starting with a pad.

[quickdtoo]

Like this??

[dk17hmr]

I shoot a wide range of cast out of my BC.  500gr RNFP and Pointed (lee molds) down to a 240gr Hollow Point.  I havent found a better powder then Trail boss for any lead I have shot out of my rifle.  I have a 3-9 Redfield scope mounted on mine and can print 3 shots touchin at 100 yards all day with it.

All my bullets are sized to .457" and ussally lubed with lee alox tumble lube.

My huntin load was a 500gr RNFP at 1200 fps, loaded with Trailboss powder, recoil isnt there, and its kinda quiet.

[Grizz_]

I shoot a wide range of cast out of my BC.  500gr RNFP and Pointed (lee molds) down to a 240gr Hollow Point.  I havent found a better powder then Trail boss for any lead I have shot out of my rifle.  I have a 3-9 Redfield scope mounted on mine and can print 3 shots touchin at 100 yards all day with it.

All my bullets are sized to .457" and ussally lubed with lee alox tumble lube.

My huntin load was a 500gr RNFP at 1200 fps, loaded with Trailboss powder, recoil isnt there, and its kinda quiet.

I used Trailboss under some cast 325g this summer. Interesting. Would you mind sharing your load under the 500g bullet?

Thanks

Grizz

[dk17hmr]

Take it for what its worth, this is my data

500gr RNFP Gas Checked Lee Mold
16.8gr IMR Trail Boss
Seated to the last band
Roughly 1200fps

Right now I have some 240gr loaded with trailboss waiting to be shot, Im up to 19grs I can probably only get .5 more in the case then the powder will start being compress by this light bullet, I dont know what the fps is but its still groupin very good with no pressure signs and recoil is low.  I suspect in the 1700fps range right now, but will have to dig out the chrony to confirm.

[Grizz_]

Thanks for the info. I loaded 14g trailboss under the 325g cast bullets. When I called they said don't recduce the load, but they also said don't increase it either. I don't know what that's supposed to mean. I wish there were some meaningful pressure data published by the powder manufacturers.

BTW that 325g load has a discernable pause between ignition and clang at 80 yards, so I know it's a slow go.

45/70 doesn't have any reliable pressure signs except for blown up actions that I've heard of.

Regards,

Grizz

[quickdtoo]

In an ejector barrel, you're likely to get stuck brass if the pressure is a too high, my .405 Winchester barrel will stick brass when the load gets too hot.

Tim