Does anyone have any tried and proven loads for Blue Dot in the .45-70?

Mine is a Browning M1886, 26", OBFMSB.

Thanks

AC

Sorry, but Blue Dot is the wrong powder for 45/70.

What bullet, and WHY?

[ 03-22-2003, 05:31: Message edited by: ShondorP ]

SHon is right, BD is a bit too fast for the 45-70. Having said that, it could be used w/ a cast bullet & over powder wad for a reduced load. I used to shoot Unique in my 1886 w/ a 300gr LFP @ about 900fps. Too much trouble though. I would go w/ IMR3031 or RL7 for "plinking" loads in your 45-70.

Another vote for staying away from Blue Dot with 45-70. H4198 would be a good powder for lighter loads. Take a look at the reloading data from Hodgdon. Good luck and have fun.

I have worked up a 45/70 load from the wimpy to the brass flowing with Unique and I have done the wimpy with IMR4895, and I think I could go fairly high in velocity with IMR4895.
All that was with 405 gr bullets. They will work in the 47/70 from powders way too fast [Unique] to powders way too slow [4895].

With lighter bullets, there is more of a problem.
I just built a 45/70 with a .452" barrel. I have been shooting 230 gr FMJ .451" bullets with Re7. This is more like the optimum speed powder for 45/70.

But if you want to use Blue Dot with 405 gr bullets, I think is will work ok. According to Quickload, 22.8 gr should give 25000 kpsi and 1500 fps. That is 200 fps slower than what Re7 will give at that pressure, but it will work just fine.

But why?

I guess my response is "why not"?

I understand the problems of fast burning powders in large combustion chambers fairly well. Have been loading well over a hundred different "calibers" for more than 50 years all told.

My standard loads for this particular .45-70 rifle include

300 gr. Sierra with 29.0 grs. 2400
350 gr. cast or jacketed with 58.0 grs VV-N135
350 gr. Hornady jacketed with 52 grs. RWS 5000
Ly 457125 with 40 grs. 3031

However I have quite a batch of Blue Dot for which my only other uses are in my 10 mm Glock (in a Ruger Blackhawk) and .38-40 Ruger.

As I do very little pistol shooting anymore, I just want to have a light plinker load for the 45-70, maybe with collar-button bullet or round ball even, to putz around with in the evenings when I take a walk across the fields and shoot at inanimate targets of opportunity.

Thanks for your concerns for my safety, anyway.

AC

Now it makes some sense.

I even have a sensible contribution. Some of the older moulds for the .45 Colt cast huge. Big enough to make make very decent plinkers in the .45-70 I once owned, anyway. It's a 255 grain RNFP. Don't recall what powder I used or how much, though.

Being me, were I to do it again, I'd look up the top charge for Blue Dot with that bullet in the .45 Colt and use that as a starting load in the .45-70.

300 cast with 16 gr blue dot...1200 fps..there you go!

Can someone out there run this load of 16 grains of BD and 300-325 Grain Cast boolit thru Quickload and see what they get for pressure?

Alberta
You could take a look at a Lyman Handbook that has Unique Loads. I am sure if they can make Unique work you can make Bluedot work since it is much slower burning.

16 gr BD and 350 gr is 11,000 psi and 1200 fps in a 24" barrel.

Unique is a better choice for big empty cases and very low pressures if accuracy is a goal.

I shoot a load consisting of 19.5gr unique,CCI 200 primer, and a 300gr Cast bullet (RCBS) in WW cases. I love it as it has very little kick and shoots to point of aim at 100 yards with my scope set for my 405 Jacketed load zero'd at 75 yards. Its a great fun load. I have a 1967 Lyman manual that lists unique loads for several bullet weights in the 45-70 and the ones I've tried have worked well.

IMR lists reduced .45-70 loads using Trail Boss on their website.

Hmmm...A 500gr subsonic .45-70? Pest-control for some really big pests - and a lot of fun plinking! I like it!