I was looking for a load for my ruger no.3 with a nice fairly low vel. load. I didn't have any unique so after seeing that herco was a little bit slower I decide to try that.

465 gr hard cast lee mold

10 grs herco 840fps
13grs 1000
15grs 1080
17grs 1180

Haven't had a chance to group any of them yet But I think any of them well make a nice fun load.

p dog

Why mess with those tiny charges of fast burning pistol and shotgun powders? Old reliable 3031 can be used for loads ranging from duplicating the original military cartridge all the way up to 458 Win Mag levels.

JMHO

Ray

Thats why Tiny charges less muzzle blast low report. Sure I could stuff 30 plus grs into the case of differant rifle powders. But I don't think you can get below 1200fps with any of the rifle powders.

A lot more charges per pound If wanted full power loads I will use any number of the rifle powders I have on hand.

My standard load for my trapdoor carbine is 40 grains of 3031 and the Hornady 350 grain JSP. Chronographs right at 1150 fps, is super accurate and I can shoot it comfortably all day long.

It looks like we think differently. If I want low muzzle blast, etc, I shoot a 22 LR.

Ray

If I wanted to waste 23grs of powder for the same vel I would use 3031. Herco is much cheaper per pound. 2.3 shots extra for herco for every 1 shot for each shot of 3031 Now if you were getting much better vel I say go for it.

With a cast bullet and Herco I shooting for apox 5 cents a round very cheap. 411 shots per pound compared to 175. herco appox 14 dollars a pound IMR 3031 apox 20 dollars a pound 3031 apox 11 cents per round herco apox 3.3 cents per round.

Why I use shotgun/pistol powders money. I try and use the most cost effective bullet and powder combo that gives me the vel I want. If its is a shotgun pistol powder or a rifle powder so be it.

I hope you enjoy throwing 2.3 times the powder down range I don't.

If I want muzzle blast I load max loads into any of my magum rifles I have.

Actually"Modern Reloading,second edition,by Richard Lee 45-70 (1) U.S.Govenment. (2) Mod. 95 lever action. (3) Modern rifle Design. these give you a rather broad selection. With a little inginuity and interpolation your load possibilities are vast.

A shooting buddy of mine shoots a 550grain bullet from his many 45-70s at 1150 fps. I hesitate to tell you how accurate he shoots between 100 and 600 yards. roger

pdshooter

I didn't mean to offend you and I'm sorry if I did.

We think differently when it comes to guns and shooting. With a $1000 rifle and a $40,000 pickup to haul it around, I've never looked at the cost of a pound of powder as a factor in my choices.

That, and I shoot the big boomers, like a 45-70, for the blast, the big bullets, and the holes they make in things.

Ray

I have the Lee book and several others they all are good ref. material to develop loads from.

Cheechako no offense taken at all, We all load for differant reasons. My main one is money savings so I can shoot more for the same dollar amount.

I also drive 40000 dollar pickups and shoot 1000 dollars guns But I normally buy the trks 3 years old and pay less then 20000 for them. I buy the rifles used and freemarket and pay well a lot less for them.

I also like the holes big bores make but if I can make the same hole for 5 cents instead of 15 cents each pull of the trigger I like them better.

take care and enjoy shooting I plan to hit the reloading bench and load up some more cheap 45-70's this morning before work.

I have had REALLY good luck with SR-4759 and 405 cast leads in my GG. Lyman 49 carries the listings. One hole 5 shot groups at 50 and 3/4 inch at 100 (scoped and using a rest). Very Accurate and very predictable. Just my 2 cents. rc

have you tryed trail boss? I'm not sure how low the velocity is that I got, but the bang was very mild

In conjunction with your reloading approach for the 45-70 you might also want to look at Blue Dot. It is slower than Hero but there is a lot of info on this board about it's use in smaller centerfires. Seafire2 has done a lot of shooting in many calibers with the Blue Dot loads. Maybe some of his data would be helpful to you in your search.

Blue Dot should give you the velocity and small charge amounts you are looking for. Good Luck.