How fast can you push cast bullets? I'm not sure how to search for that. I'm working up loads for my 45-70, and I'm wondering how fast I can push a 350g wide nose bullet like the ones available from Beartooth. I have found loads for around 2000fps. Can I push a GC bullet that fast? I have never had any leading issues with my guide gun.

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Professional Thread Killer

Mid 2,000s easily enough, if the bore is in good shape and the stars line up. That's a general thought on calibers that are fairly cast bullet friendly and where you have an appropriate bullet and enough pressure available to do it.

Did you slug the barrel yet? My .35 Rem does ~2,300fps with no leading, but I did lap it. Same with a .30-30.

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MikeG

I've never owned a chronograph, so I have little more then a wild donkey guess as to the speed.
Using loading manuals, magazine articles. and Ken Waters Pet Loads I have managed very well. For 20 some odd years I used 54 grains of IMR 4064, who evers cases, A Lyman 445 grain mold, wheel weights with a smidge of tin to hunt with. Half the fun was working up the loads each year, especially if I had found a nifty neat new mold for the 45-70. Over the years I burned up a lot of powder looking for the paradign of cast bullet accuracy and thump playing with the differerent powders, with the various makes of 400 grain molds, 500 grain, settled on 445 grain. Now I use a 350 grain with the same 54 grains of IMR 4064 and sometimes IMR 3031.
Still have no idea what the velocity is.
For what it's worth I use the loads for 220 grain jacketed bullets for my 207 grain gas checked cast bullets in my Winchester 95 with fine results.

Jim

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Cast bullets are the true and rightous path to shooting bliss

i have been shooting 300s with a gas check out of my guide gun so far no leading and i am slinging them pretty faster than 2000 my 06 will shoot 175s at max load with no leading i have also pushed them faster in a 460 s&w bullet fit is #1

Try Hogden 322. Both my son and I did testing on a number of powders. H322 was by far better then any other.

WoodWright,

Where abouts in north Ideeeeeho????????

I tried a 355gr LBT/WFN boolit, and hunted with same during the 2010 season.

In my RUGER #1, that boolit gave chambering problems at times, and never gave me the groups I desired.

Was I pushing it overly fast? Don't know, but nothing - no powder tried - even as I was working up loads ever was consistant or grouped really well.

I did hunt that year with the 355gr slug and a load that clocked 2290fps, and saw velocities a touch over 2500fps during tests.

Looked for better groups, and my research showed that for the best groups, the 45/70 does tend to shoot boolits in the over 400gr range, better then the lighter slugs.

I bought a mold for 465gr WFN boolits, and followed the mold makers recommendations to try H335 for size. That powder/boolit combination, has provided the most consistant and smallest groups I have seen to this point.

Velocity in the 1600/1700fps range.

This boolit, at this velocity is very deadly, with 2 deer and one elk to it's credit at this point. Simply awesome!

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

2000fps should be attainable without much effort.

Bullet fit is most important, then lube, then bullet design, then alloy hardness is about the least important factor. A hard bullet will be more forgiving if one of the other factors are off kilter, but you don't need to make a "hard" bullet to shoot it with some speed.

An example of what you can get away with when shooting air-cooled wheel weights (about 10-11BHN)



Targets were shot around 100 yards of the back of a pickup bed and rifle was a M77 Hawkeye in .358 Winchester.

I missed in your post that you were working with the .45-70.

I push my 350 grain RD bullets out of my .450 Marlin around 1700fps.

A full-snort load runs 1900-2000, but personally, I'd rather back it off a bit to save myself the punishment. Honestly, my 1700fps 350 grain load (using H4198) feels like it kicks about half as hard as a full load (using H322)

If I'm using the 425 grain RD bullet, I run those at around 1550 for the same level of punishment. Sight the 350 grain load 3" high at 100 yards and I am within the boiler room on an elk out to at least 200 yards. The area I hunt, 200 yard elk shots are very rare- as I've shot all my elk inside of 80 yards.