The Accurate Reloading Forums
45-70
11 January 2003, 11:54
<Swift Shot>45-70
I have a Creedmore No2 target made by Navy Arms.(Pedersolli) The rifle has a 30 inch barrel my question is if I reload I think I would do better with a slower longer burning powder I am looking at reloading 300 gr bullets I would like to try and push up the speed a little bit however I do not know enough about the burn rates and chamber pressure to do it with hurting myself or the rifle. I am looking for suggestions on a few loads to start with and work up and on a few reloading books. I would really like to get the most out of a 30 inch barrel.
12 January 2003, 16:53
<Swift Shot>for the love of god man someone help me.....
12 January 2003, 17:01
<Savage 99>Looks like your stuck with me! God help you!
Read this until someone gets there.
www.geocites.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/1221/index.htm12 January 2003, 17:08
m700Sorry, my Marlin has a stubby little 18.5" barrel. Not exactly comparable... Guy
12 January 2003, 17:57
ireload2>>>I have a Creedmore No2 target made by Navy Arms.(Pedersolli)<<<
This is either a Rolling Block or a Sharps?
Are you trying to get greatly improved performance from your rifle or just a little better? I would recommend sticking with Trap Door loads. Don't try the higher pressure loads with these older designs.
H4895, IMR 4895 or IMR 4064 are about the slowest powders that will reach top velocities with the lower pressures you should use. IMR 3031 and H322 are a little faster and will work well too.
Ed
12 January 2003, 18:04
MingbogoMy favorite powder for the 45-70 is H322. For a 300-grain bullet, I would start with around 56 grains of H322. This load should be in the 30 ksi level. Hodgdon has an extensive list of reloading data for all types of lever actions so you may want to check them out. Good luck.
12 January 2003, 18:36
sambofor my marlin guide gun, my favorite load is 38.5 gr. of imr 4198 with hornady 300 gr. HP bullet and wlr primer. this load shot 1.9 in. group(5 shots)at 75 yards, keep the OAL to 2.540 inch. i hope this would help you
sambo
14 January 2003, 11:55
Karl-ErikIf it�s a model of Remington they have tested it in 18.000 CUP and if it�s a Sharpsrifle they have tested it in 25.000 CUP
In my Pedersoli Sharps I use Vithavouri 133 powder for hunting. In Sweden we can�t hunt with BP because it�s forbidden by law. If we want to hunt we must use Pyrodex or modern powder.
The Vithavouri 133 gives the lowest pressure and the highest velocity. I modern bullets, but know I shall start to use bullets of lead too.
Remington 300gr hollowpoint, 55 grains V 133, velocity 2073, pressure 20,000 CUP
Hornady 300 gr hollowpoint, 55 grains V 133, Velocity 2116
Hornady 350 gr, 52 grains V 133, velocity 1984
Speer 400 gr, 49 grains V 133, velocity 1870, pressure 21,000 CUP
18 January 2003, 02:04
M.Fox JancikMy colleague uses 54grs of 4350 from his Single Shot and he is extremly happy with it....uses 300grs lead bullet.
18 January 2003, 10:06
John Y CannuckBe carefull, some of the loads above are NOT for weak actions, and I can't help you 'cause I have no idea how strong your action is.
ALSO it is much harder to read pressure on weaker actions!
Be carefull!
18 January 2003, 17:04
HobieAs recommended by another poster, use data for Trapdoors. Now this is pretty broad advice, but I don't have the manual in front of me! However, you should be able to get about 2000 fps with the 300 gr. bullets in your barrel, no problem. Great deer load.
You don't mention this as an interest but you should be able to move 405s to 1800 fps.
BTW, these loads are also what is recommended for the TC Contender. The Contender is what I have and it is a lot lighter than your gun so shooting yours should be very comfortable with these loads.
Re-reading your post indicates that you may be searching for better accuracy, not necessarily the velocities respondents, including me, have assumed you wanted. You don't say what you are using now, so how can we determine what powders are slower? What 300 gr. bullet will you use? What is the purpose of these loads? You must answer these questions to get truly usable answers.
Good shooting.
21 January 2003, 20:16
<Swift Shot>I am currently not using anything it will be used as a deer rifle I have looked at the seirra 300 gr hollow points. I am mostly intrested in accuracy.
Thank you guys
22 January 2003, 01:19
steve yIn Handloaders Digest, Ken Waters classifies the Navy Arms ROLLING BLOCK as Class II.
The Trapdoors are a typical example of Class I, the Marlin a typical example of Class III.
The Navy Arms MARTINI he classifies in III alongside the Marlins.
Tell me whether it is a Martini or rolling block and I'll send you some data he lists.
22 January 2003, 01:43
arkypeteSwift Shot
You are missing the best part of shooting a 45-70, cast bullets! Clean out the copper fouling, lap the barrel to uniformity, get some 300 gr. sized .459 or .460, and have a ball. I prefer to shoot 350 and 445 grainers in Winchester 1886 and Siamese Mauser, respectively.
I found that 50 some odd grains of Rl-7 behind the 350 grainer works like a charm in the 26 or 28 inch length barrel of the 1886.
I'd bet if you put some 500 grainers in the rifle with a healthy charge of powder you'd be able to do some really long range, 500 meter plus, shooting.
Have fun you've got a real hummer of a rifle.
Jim
22 January 2003, 02:27
Borealis Bobarkypete is steering you in the right direction with the suggestion to use a heavier ( and cast ) bullet. This cartridge was originally designed for use with a 500+ grain bullet and was changed to 405gr. when the cavalry began using it in carbines.
Also, blackpowder generally produces better accuracy than smokeless with this cartridge. That is what silhouette and long-range target shooters use. I do neither of the above but have tried smokeless and black, and the results were better with the latter.
22 January 2003, 03:15
muffinSwift Shot, the 45-70 does NOT need or prefer slower powders, fast(relatively speaking is better) Reloader 7 is an excellent choice, I tried RL-15 but had unburned powder in the bbl. Again go with RL-7 to start, I'm sure there are other brands that will work just fine. Attached are some pictures, of a 510 Grain Paper Patched bullet from a 26" bbl, Marlin Cowboy Gun, and 33 Grains of RL-7, accuracy is around 1 1/4 inches at 100yds, recoil is firm but not abusive, velocity is about 1425 fps at the Muzzel, these rounds were shot into wet sand at about 25 yards. Don't know if this would be an overload for your rifle but it can certainly be toned down some.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290830869Enjoy, Gene