Pedersoli Model 1871 Rolling Block 45-70

F

fusil

Inactive
I have a new Pedersoli Model 1871 Rolling Block Target Rifle in .45-70 Caliber with a 30" heavy barrel. Could someone point me in the right direction on a cast bullet that I can purchase that will shoot well in this rifle. The loads I will make will be black powder. I know there are many combinations,I'm just looking for a starting point without doing alot of wasted bullet and powder load testing. Your thoughts?

Thanks

Don
 
Im not sure what twist you have in the gun but the slower the twist the shorter the bullet will need to be. I seem to remember the Midway is selling Hock molds. I normaly cast mine 1 part tin to 25 parts lead. If your going to hunt with the gun a flat point bullet will preform better on game, for target and silhouette shooting a spitzer will work much better. The bullets will need to be lubed with a black powder lube of some sort, SPG works well, if you want to make your own you can mix a pound of parifin wax with a pound of vasiline and a table spoon of the old RCBS case lube. I have used that mixture for years with out to much trouble, you will find that when the outside temp gets above 75 degrees or so, the gun will tend to foul more if you are using stright black powder. You will need to get yourself a plastic tube that will fit partway down the chamber then blow 3 or 4 good slow breaths down the barrel through the tube this will soften up the fouling for your next shot. There are lots of different black powders out there I use GOEX FFg you will need find the one that shoots the best in your gun. I have had the best luck with Remington large pistol primers in all my black powder cartridge guns. You are right there are lots of combinations you can load probably thousands, but you are going to have to do some testing with different loads, in all my 30+ years of shooting black powder cartridge guns I have found that there is not one load that shoots in all guns. I hope this helps. If you get the black powder cartridge fever your hooked for life, I havent found a cure for it yet so I just keep shooting and love everyminuet of it.
 
I have a Pedersoli Sharps rifle w/ 34" barrel chambered in .45-70.

If you are determined to use black powder, I can't offer any guidance. In mine, I use a commercially manufactured 405 grain hard cast bullet and IMR-3031 smokeless powder.
 
hi fusil,, just thought i would add my .02,,,, when i load for my wifes roller,,, if i use a bullet to long,, which will make the c. o. a. l. to long ... you will not be able to chamber the round,,, on her gun for the long bullets i took the hammer out of the action and with an endmill cut a radius in the top of it for clearance so i could use some of the longer flavor bullets,,,, even with the hammer mod. i can't use the postell style bullets,,,,you get what i refur to as a 3 point jam,, the nose of the bullet hits the bottom of the chamber,,, the side of the case hits the top rim of the chamber and the rim of the case hits the hammer,,,,, her rifle likes the smitzer style lyman bullets,, but i have to seat them deeper than i would really like to get them in the chamber,,, also these bullets are really wind sensitive when they start to slow down,,,, around the 450 -500 yrd. mark,,, but she likes to play in the 200-350 range so it doesn't matter,,,, any way you might want to try some 405 gr. bullets,, i would hate to see you buy a mould for a particular bullet and then not be able the chamber it,,, or you could buy and load just a few different ones,,, you may even talk to some of the people out there that sell bullets and see if they would send you a few ,,,like a sample,, until you see what your gun likes... i hope this helps YMMV.. :D

ocharry
 
As stated above, you'll have to experiment.

God bless you for deciding to use Holy Black! I have a 32" Pedersoli Sharps, and I use Goex Cartridge grade BP. I don't use a blow tube, but burn clean enough to avoid fouling after 20 rounds or so. (Like old-timers ever used blow tubes when they were hunting buffalo in the late 1800's) I use a natural bullet lube comprised of lard and beeswax, which keeps things soft enough to prevent accuracy problems. Remember, no air space in the cartridge between powder and bullet, and you should use a wad of some sorts between powder and bullet, to protect the bullet base and act as a bore cleaner between shots.

Cartridge over-all length may indeed be a problem with your Rolling Block, both from the rolling breech and hammer side, and from the chamber throat. You'll have to experiment once you get past the 405gr bullets and head towards 500gr spitzers, 535gr Postells, Schmittzers, or Creedmoors. You may have to adjust seating depth based on where the bullet kisses the rifling upon chambering.

I have a derelict old military .43 Egyptian Rolling Block barreled action that will become a .45-70 or .40-65 Creedmoor conversion once I get off my backside and do it. I noticed the hammer nose is already radiused to allow cartridges to clear, I wonder if it was a common modification?

Let us know how your project is faring from time to time, and congratulations on your Rolling Block!
 
The Pedersoli Rolling Blocks do have a minor problem with longer bullets. It's not a big problem, pulling the hammer back all the way will allow the cartridge to chamber.

As far as loads go, I've used 67 gr of 2f GOEX, a 500 grain(or more) bullet with a fiber wad over the powder.

A bullet mold from Lyman/RCBS/Saeco is a good starting point. Beyond that, you'll need to see what your rifle shoots best. There are lots of variables to try and no way to learn what's best other than testing.

Don in Ohio
 
Sundance44s

Meister makes so pretty good spg lubed bullets , they are a bit pricey ..i didn`t buy many before i ordered a mold from Lee and cast my own ..
But if ya want something thats serious in the 45/70 black powder load .. there were the best i tested . .btw i only have used the .405 gr.
 
The Meister bullets are regular bulk cast designs. They are available with SPG black powder lube, but they don't carry much of it. Try Sagebrush. If a .45-70 won't shoot the Postell, something is wrong.
http://www.sagebrushproducts.com/bullets.htm#Postell

MIdway carries the Montana Precision Swaging line of bullets in traditional designs with SPG, several weights to choose from. Heavier is usually better, up to 500 gr at least.
http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.exe/search?TabID=0&category_selector=9315&search_keywords=montana

Good description of the basics of BPCR loading at
http://www.ssbpcrc.co.uk/Resources/Introduction to BPCR Loading.pdf
 
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