45-70 accuracy

Watchdog said:

What is an accurate load for 45-70, and what would the group be at 100 yds? I just can’t get under 7”……

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This isn’t a cartridge question, although you might think it is. I believe to date I’ve owned seven different 45-70 rifles and I believe this is the least fussy cartridge I’ve ever loaded for. Everyone of them shot very, very well with about every load I put through them. My most accurate one is a Winchester/Miroku High Wall that shoots a good number of loads at or under 1moa at 100 yards. If you’re shooting cast bullets it could be a number of problems with the bullet being used. I got some cast to shoot well after a lot of load development. I ended up buying a lot of Rem 405g JSP bullets and all my problems were solved. Seriously. Everything shoots great with that bullet in my High Wall and in my Sharps, and Win/Miroku lever gun. Only problem is, they don’t make that bullet anymore. My point is, if you’re having trouble getting a good load, try using jacketed bullets. For the most part the heavier bullets shoot the best in the guns I’ve owned so far. Here’s a pic of some groups my High Wall shot when I let a young friend try shooting it. He’s never shot a big bore rifle before this. Not bad for his first time. Add some more info and maybe we can get some better advice.

It's a good idea to slug the bore with a pure lead slug. If you have never done this, it just means running an oily patch through the bore and then taking a pure lead ball or fishing sinker or cast bullets and tapping it into the muzzle with a plastic hammer or a wood dowel, and then slowly pushing it through the barrel with a cleaning rod. This lets you feel for tight and loose spots in the bore. Sometimes, when a dovetail is cut for a sight or a hanger for a front stock, the machinists will run the cut too fast, or they can let the cutter get dull. Either way, it can deform the bore slightly inward, and in that instance, you will have tight spots in the bore near the sights or hangers and often cannot get good accuracy until you lap the constriction out. A dented or off-axis muzzle crown can spread loads out, too, and a loose or irregularly contacting front stock piece can cause it. I've even seen a very heavy trigger pull (about 9 lbs in the case I am thinking of) with a lot of trigger slap causes wide groups, especially in a light gun.

I used to shoot 480 gr Lyman 457658 bullet over black powder in my .45-70 Quigley model Sharps when I lived out west. I used 82 grains (by weight) of FFg with 1/16” compression and a card wad with the bullet seated just short of the rifling. It was a solid 1 MOA accurate load.

When I transferred to the east coast and only needed a short range load, I started using commercial cast 405 gr flat points and used 14 grains of Unique under a polyester ( 1/4”x3/4”x3/4” quilt batting) wad to take up the extra space in the case to create an inexpensive short range load with black powder velocity performance that didn’t require any special clean up. Much to my surprise it was also a solid 1 MOA load.



Consequently, my impression is that the .45-70 isn’t a difficult cartridge to load for reasonable accuracy, at least at black powder velocities.

If you can’t get decent accuracy, take a hard look at the rifle first.

Not sure if this helps

Marlin 1895 GG actually an early production model with the Magna-Ported BBL

I have ONLY shot 405 LazerCast bullets in it

I started with trapdoor loads and started working my way up I settled in at 1450fps using Varget no where near a max load
I sighted her in at 75 yards after getting a Williams Peep sight for the rear..
I haven't changed the sights or loads in over 20 years I can put 3 shots off hand into 2.5 inches pretty consistently and if I miss it is on me ..

The Marlin Manufactured 1895's do have a reputation for being very accurate, I am happy with mine