45-70 bullet choices
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: vermonter
Posts: 49
45-70 bullet choices
i was wondering if anybody reloaded 45-70. i was wondering if there was any way you could reload smaller than 300 grain bullets, i'm shooting a marlin guide gun. right now i shooting the winchester 300 grain hollow point. for some reason i dont think i'm getting the expansion i would like. i already thought about the hornady leveralution but didnt wont to waste the money if i could just reload my own.
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
Barnes is about the only people who makes a bullet less than 300gr. I shoot nosler partitions kicked up to 2100fps and they are devastating. I also shoot 300gr sierra Hollow point and they too are good on deer. I just can't afford the noslers anymore. I also am working up a 350gr hornady which I plan to use this year. I wasn't getting the accuracy I wanted with 300gr.
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,813
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
ORIGINAL: ryker
i was wondering if anybody reloaded 45-70. i was wondering if there was any way you could reload smaller than 300 grain bullets, i'm shooting a marlin guide gun. right now i shooting the winchester 300 grain hollow point. for some reason i dont think i'm getting the expansion i would like. i already thought about the hornady leveralution but didnt wont to waste the money if i could just reload my own.
i was wondering if anybody reloaded 45-70. i was wondering if there was any way you could reload smaller than 300 grain bullets, i'm shooting a marlin guide gun. right now i shooting the winchester 300 grain hollow point. for some reason i dont think i'm getting the expansion i would like. i already thought about the hornady leveralution but didnt wont to waste the money if i could just reload my own.
A friend of mine shot a brown bear with 400 Speers... Expanded waaaay to fast with poor penetration... He also shot a brown bear with the 350 Hornandys, not enough penetration even though they didn't expand too fast.
If your talking smaller animals, your either going to have to speed your 45/70 up quite a bit and live with the recoil and muzzle blast, or use soft bullets like "pistol" bullets, and not over speed them...
DM
#5
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
Expansion trouble could be solved by shooting the same bullets at a higher velocity, or using a softer bullet. IMO, it would be a mistake to use a lighter than 300-grain bullet in the .45/70! The 300 is actually a little on the light side for that caliber.
I use 400-grain Speer flatnoses and Barnes Originals. If you loaded the 400-grain Speer flatnose or even the Remington commercial 405 grainer up to 1800 FPS, it will more than make a big hole in things! 53 grains of IMR 3031 with either of these bullets is plenty, even for Grizzly bears!
The .45 caliber rifle bullet is one which is sufficiently large, it does not need to expand at all to make a large wound channel through game animals.
I use 400-grain Speer flatnoses and Barnes Originals. If you loaded the 400-grain Speer flatnose or even the Remington commercial 405 grainer up to 1800 FPS, it will more than make a big hole in things! 53 grains of IMR 3031 with either of these bullets is plenty, even for Grizzly bears!
The .45 caliber rifle bullet is one which is sufficiently large, it does not need to expand at all to make a large wound channel through game animals.
#6
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
ORIGINAL: bigcountry
Barnes is about the only people who makes a bullet less than 300gr. I shoot nosler partitions kicked up to 2100fps and they are devastating. I also shoot 300gr sierra Hollow point and they too are good on deer. I just can't afford the noslers anymore. I also am working up a 350gr hornady which I plan to use this year. I wasn't getting the accuracy I wanted with 300gr.
Barnes is about the only people who makes a bullet less than 300gr. I shoot nosler partitions kicked up to 2100fps and they are devastating. I also shoot 300gr sierra Hollow point and they too are good on deer. I just can't afford the noslers anymore. I also am working up a 350gr hornady which I plan to use this year. I wasn't getting the accuracy I wanted with 300gr.
#7
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The praries,hillsides and bushes of Saskatchewan
Posts: 179
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
The 45/70 is a blast to reload for there are so many options from light plinking loads to tooth shaking ones! I use a 350 grain hornady flat point on top of 56 grains of 3031 in my guide gun drops moose like a semi truck!!
#8
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
I don't think pistyol bullets are an option forthe .45-cal. rifles, as the rifles need .458" bullets, while handguns use smaller ones (.451"-452"). I believe it would be difficult to get the needed accuracy from the pistol slugs...
#9
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
My Guide gun shoot the 300 gr Sierra HP well and with good results. My load is 51 gr of H4198. I've taken 3 black bear with this load with as many shots. For the larger bears though, I would go with a FP and/or a heavier bullet like a 405 gr hard cast.
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
RE: 45-70 bullet choices
ORIGINAL: bronko22000
My Guide gun shoot the 300 gr Sierra HP well and with good results. My load is 51 gr of H4198. I've taken 3 black bear with this load with as many shots. For the larger bears though, I would go with a FP and/or a heavier bullet like a 405 gr hard cast.
My Guide gun shoot the 300 gr Sierra HP well and with good results. My load is 51 gr of H4198. I've taken 3 black bear with this load with as many shots. For the larger bears though, I would go with a FP and/or a heavier bullet like a 405 gr hard cast.
Thinking of getting a new guide gun and trying.