45-70 bullet weight

[charlie two feathers]

Iam interested in hearing from pards who shoot long range side matches using 45-70. what bullet weight do you prefer 300 gr or 405 gr? I will be using 1885 high wall with 32" barrel. thanks

[Crazy Mingo]

Heee Haaaa Mr. Two Feathers.. I use 535 gr postel with 70 gr of black.. I shoot a 32 in Taylor's Sharps..Works for me..

 

Heee haaa Crazy Mingo

[Brownie Nash SASS #3656]

Charlie

 

If you are going to shoot 200 yds and further the 300 gr. is not a good choice. The 405 bullet is a fine choice for most guns. 500 gr. and heaver works best for 600 yds to 1000 yds. The old tried and true 500 gr. government round nose is one you can't go wrong with.

 

Regards

 

Brownie

[rebsr52339]

Charlie, if 200 yards is the furthest you will shoot, anything between a 400 and 550 gr will do. Most of us have several moulds to choose from. You should slug your bbl to be certain of it's bore dia. My friend used several bullets in developing a load and we had a difficult time getting it dialed in at 200 yds. After we sluged his bore we found the problem. His bore dia was .459. Larger the usual. His bullets were .456/.457 dia. NOT good. You should at a maximum be only .001 below bore dia and line on line if you can with the proper mould. Use a lube die that matches your bore dia and if possable be .001 larger. Try and not take any lead off the bullet if you can help it when you put it thru the size/lube die. Each gun is different and you may have to find your own way on this. Some guys get it right off with the first bullet, case, primer, powder combo. Good luck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie

 

If you are going to shoot 200 yds and further the 300 gr. is not a good choice. The 405 bullet is a fine choice for most guns. 500 gr. and heaver works best for 600 yds to 1000 yds. The old tried and true 500 gr. government round nose is one you can't go wrong with.

 

Regards

 

Brownie

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

The majority of SASS Long Range side maches are not long range. The are more like speed single shot. Distances, 50 yds to 300 yds. Most are less than 150 yd's. A 405 grain bullet will work just fine. You will need to practice on loading fast and acquiring the target fast to be competitive. The majority of matches do not separate black powder fom smokeless.Winner is most hits in the fastest time.

 

Out past 30 yd's you'll need to go to a 500+grain bullet for stability.

Ike

[John Boy]

Charlie, Brownie summed it nicely for you.

If you are looking for bullets for the CAS LR matches, the 405 hollow base or the 385gr government bullets will produce excellent groups - shooter dependent. Past 300yds, the proven 535gr Postell bullet should be considered

All of these bullets can be store bought if you don't cast

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

Try several bullet weights in your rifle and see what works best. I have a Shiloh that really likes 500+ grain pills. The "normal" 405 grain bullets won't group at all.

 

My Marlin really loves the 405 grain loads. Out of curiosity I single-loaded the heavier bullets (wouldn't feed through the tubular magazine) and they sprayed everywhere.

[Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440]

This is the one discipline within CAS that demands you do a bit of work. If shooting BP, yep, 405, hard card and 70 grains of black SHOULD do it. With smokeless yer gonna wanna do some working up of a load YOUR rifle is gonna like, and yes, most times at least a 405 will be better'n a shorter bullet.

[Smoken D]

Great-grandpa's 1884 Trapdoor, 405 hollow base, 1,375 yards from back deck to target. BP of course, 70gr with compression dye.

[Charlie Whiskers]

The majority of SASS Long Range side maches are not long range. The are more like speed single shot. Distances, 50 yds to 300 yds. Most are less than 150 yd's. A 405 grain bullet will work just fine. You will need to practice on loading fast and acquiring the target fast to be competitive. The majority of matches do not separate black powder fom smokeless.Winner is most hits in the fastest time.

 

Out past 30 yd's you'll need to go to a 500+grain bullet for stability.

Ike

 

 

At our club our long range targets (6 of them) start at 100yds and work progressively out to roughly 535yds.We use a timer as a tie breaker only in the case of more than 1 shooter hitting all of them.

[Iron Pony]

Charlie as a GP bullet the 405 will work in just about every situation we come across in a CAS side match, most up here are 300 yards at a max. Pemi does have a 1000 yard range and you can tell the folks who have worked up their loads versus those who havent.

 

I cast a 520 round nose and a 500 postel along with the 405 and of the three the postel shoots, and chambers, the best. The 300 grain would be ok for plainsman events and I know so folks who shoot it in the HR reproductions as the rifles are real light.

 

Tried some testing with the 500 grain using dead soft lead, 20/1 alloy and dead soft that had been quenched. Of the three, at 100 yards, the deadsoft bullet shot the best groups and there was no leading I could find. This demands checking them at longer ranges once I get off my lazy butt.

 

Getting a BP cartridge rifle to shoot can be as complex as any smokeless rifle and as involved. Drop tubes, compression rates, charge weights, bullet alloy, bullet jumb, crimp, primer, powder grade, manufacturer etc etc etc.

[charlie two feathers]

Thanks for all the good advise,I ordered some 405 from xcalibers. Will add another post after loading some and firing them at the local range. thanks again

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

Charlie

I shoot 405 grain in all my single shots and 300 grain in my marlin lever gun. I've used the 300 grain out to 200 meters shooting cowboy rifle silhouette and it works great with the lever gun.

Scout