45-70 shooter advice

Buffalo bore 8b goes out 2000 fps. I only like it because it’s so accurate in my gun but kicks the crap out of me even with the recoil eraser on it. I will use them only for hunting because of the bear risk if you get one. My marlin and scope has the groups near touching at 100. For deer hunting I am only using the old Remington’s. Have not reloaded anything yet. I won’t shoot much over 100 yards
 
Three inches high at 100 is kind of optimistic, but it's more about where you'll be hunting. It's possible that a 200 yard shot at Bullwinkle won't be happening.
Sighted in 4" high at 100, a regular factory 405 grain SP bullet will drop 14.5" at 150, 32" at 200. However, it's more about the remaining energy. That 405 will only have 1001 ft-lbs. at 200 yards.
Really best to sight in dead on at 100 and know how much hold over you need past there. Still not enough energy.
No ballistics published by Buffalo Bore, but their 405 starts at 1925 FPS.(vs roughly 1600 fps.) So it'll drop a bit less. The figures above are out of a 24" barrel too.
A regular lead cored 405 won't ever be at 2300 fps. A Hornady 250 FTX barely breaks 2,000 FPS at 2050. Although Underwood claims 2440 with a 225 solid copper bullet. At $60 per 20.
 
I found the ballistics for buffalo bore 8b on their website. I am resetting to dead on at 100. Every moose i saw last year except for a cow in a field was in the thickest crumminess soggy miserable terrain this old man ever walked through. Been practicing my calling so maybe this year
 
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I have time and dies maybe try a reload. I think i have some reloder 7. Any suggestions for a 405 or 400 grain

Oh did I mention biting flies. I swear Alaska has flies that can carry you away or drain your blood with one bite. I love it though

And don’t get me started on devil club. A sea of it last year I took a tumble and picked that out of my behind. Lol even after all the surgeries and heart bypass I am still out there having fun in the bush
My goal in life. Die with a fishing pole in my hand or a rifle but not on the couch at home
 
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Better to have a lower velocity rifle shoot a tad high than low. Especially when shooting from a above ground stand and/or beyond your firearms previously dialed in bulls-eye setting. Reason being: in the heat of the moment unless you paced or Range Finder that field of view before-hand?_ Its very hard to determine exact shooting distances by eye.

I hunt with a 270_ 1/4 bore 06 & 300 sav-> (my prefered Still hunting tote-along)
Of the three only the 300 sav shoots a wee bit high. And I'm glad it does. (previous needed snap shooting requiring's.)
 
1,000ft/lbs at 200 yards is "still not enough energy"?

Good thing for us that animals don't read energy tables! :rolleyes:
 
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That speed seems too high for a .45-70,even out of a Ruger. I have a Ruger .45-70. Also had a Siamese Mauser and the 1895 Marlin (not the guide gun). I know the limits to the strongest .45-70, and 2300fps with a 400gr bullet is beyond them!! At least with a normal length barrel.

Pushed to the max, and UNSAFE in any other gun, I can just hit 2200fps with a 350gr bullet in a Ruger .45-70. 2300 with a 400gr bullet is .458 Win mag territory, NOT hot .45-70. The modern Marlin, with a 22" tube can run 400s up to about 1800fps at max, and its not even remotely a joy to shoot. ;)

While you can put even hotter loads in your Marlin, what you can't do is get the fired cases out, other than one at a time with a rod. And that pretty much negates the value of the repeater. ;)

people have been dropping moose and bison with 45-70s at black powder
speeds since 1873. I haven't seen any "study" indicating that animals are any more bullet resistant now than they were then...

Plus, while you can significantly up the speed of standard factory loads, you need to be sure to use the right bullet. Speed makes an excellent 400gr slug for the .45-70, but it is built to give controlled expansion at black powder speed (12-1300 fps) and will definitely come apart in an uncontrolled manner if pushed over 16-1700fps. Been there, done that, seen the slugs. And, that same bullet at 2100fps from a .458Win Mag acts very much like a varmint bullet.

The Hornday 350gr is built differently and does hold together well above black powder speeds. Other bullets are similar, some will handle much higher speeds, some won't. Some research is required to match the right bullet with the right max velocity.

Nothing will make the .45-70 shoot flat, and to me, its not worth beating yourself to death to reduce 48" to 42" at a given range. If you can compensate properly for one, you can do it for the other as well.
Click to expand...
It is high. Of the 4 reloading manuals I have only one that shows a load that exceeds 2300 fps that is the Barnes reloading manual #4. That load is with a 250 grain bullet and a 24" barrel was used for the test. So that chart that displayed those velocities is wrong. Who would have thought since it was posted on the internet.
 
I don't hunt to put meat on the table but I do hunt "X's with the 45-70 is several configurations. Buffalo Bore sells some 45-70 405 jacketed "magnum" loads for the modern lever actions and it's listed at 2000 fps, and my shoulder is already crying in agony just reading the ammo specs !
 
That’s what I been shooting. Bruised shoulder and neck hurting. Just started reloading. Can’t handle any more of them
 
Even though the recoil don't bother me much, I still hold it to approx 1600 fps.

If I want more, I'll just drag the 460 outa the safe and blow some holes with it. It is without a doubt a fun guns and a serious game getter.

The last thing I shot with the 45-70 was a 85 lb pig. Accurate Mold 45-350B.
http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-350B-D.png


The last thing I shot with the 460 was a 105lb deer. That was a reduced load with a 350 gr jacketed bullet.
 
You want some 45-70 pain ? Shoot a steel butt pad 1874 Sharps with a 535 gr paper patched bullet and 81 gr of 1.5F black powder at about 1330 fps. I know this doesn't sound like a stout load, but trust me I did it once, and never again. I left the range that day after shooting about 14 rounds and I was in agony ! I swear my whole upper body was twisted out of position ! LOL
 
I just bought a Marlin 45/70 last week,I haven't taken it to the range yet. It's a Marlin 1895 CB 45/70, 9-shot Octagon tubular magazine 26" walnut stock .
 
For a hard hitting factory load and fairly inexpensive I like the HSM Bear Load. However, this load is slightly over length and the 430 grain bullet has a nearly cylindrical profile so it may not feed well in all Marlins regardless of build era. I have found burnishing the shoulder of the metplat increases feed reliability.

I hand load a similar round also 430 grain gas checked and the same velocity but the bullet is not quite as cylindrical/square edged and feeds smoothly and I load it to maximum standard length as well (but not over length as does HMS). I am shooting a Guide Gun, shoots the heavy loads wonderfully, me, not so much.

3C
 
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