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.45-70 whitetail load

7K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  WHCKMSTR1 
#1 ·
Ok, you all have been very helpful in your previous advice.  Maybe some of you can advise on my situation.

I got my .45-70 because it had a certain allure to it, not because I needed it.  (None of you know about that, do you!)  I will probably not hunt anything bigger than whitetail for years to come, until I can afford to come out west and hunt elk and bear.  I almost went with a .35 Remington instead of the .45-70, which would have taken care of my needs.

The truth is, I am not an experienced enough rifle shot to handle full-power loads in this gun.  I find that the recoil is distracting.  So I'm going to use light loads with 300 or 350 grain bullets for a while, till I develop my shooting skills a little more.

OK, for hunting deer, obviously any load in .45-70 will kill the deer.  I shot one the season before with a factory 300 grain hollowpoint, which seemed too destructive to me.  I hunted last season (not enough) with a 300 grain Mid-Kansas hard cast bullet in front of about 27 grains of 2400.  Didn't get a shot.

Some people advise that one should use an expanding bullet on deer with the .45-70, to "dump" bullet energy into the deer, rather than punching straight through with the cast bullet.  My thinking has been that blowing a .45 caliber hole straight through a deer's vitals is sufficient.  I've been thinking that the new BTB 325 grain gas-checked bullet is the way to go, even at lower velocities (1800 fps tops to limit recoil - I can only guess at what a load is doing, as I have no chronograph).  

What do you think?

Thanks for the input,
Ray Floyd
 
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#2 ·
What you are proposing should work quite well. A .45 cal 325gr bullet at 1600-1800 fps pretty much duplicates what you get with top load in a .454 Casull revolver, which has proven quite effective on just about everything.  Find the load that gives best accuracy in your rifle and go for it!
Good shooting
Mark
 
#3 ·
I second the motion... I'm shooting 300 - 340 grain bullets in my .45 Colt revolvers, at around 1100-1200fps, and they work great on game so far (two pigs).  In the rifle any velocity above this should work great.
 
#4 ·
Ray,

If only hunting deer, that .45-325g FNGC will certainly do the trick. (pleasant to shoot too!)  As has been pointed out, anything over 1200 fps will drop Bambi, and any of his kinfolk!  Kicking things up to 1700-1800 fps will flatten the trajectory, and make shots over 100 yards more predictable to be sure, but I doubt Bambi will notice any difference in the end.

Although it doesn't burn clean, using 2400, like you mention does give some really great reduced velocity loads in the .45-70, and across a rather broad range of velocities as well!

Sounds like fun shooting and great hunting medicine!

God Bless,

Marshall
 
#5 ·
Mr. Stanton and all:

Thanks for the advice.  I will order some of those bullets as soon as I can, so I can do some load development well before deer season.  

I will probably keep things tame for practice loads, and develop some medium-velocity loads for hunting to flatten the trajectory a bit.  As available shots where I hunt are generally well under 100 yards, trajectory is not a big concern.

If I can get ok groups using 2400 for range time, I'll be satisfied.  I can live with a little extra cleaning.  The loads I had tried before with 2400 would shoot really high for the first few rounds out of a clean barrel.  I have heard of this before, so I suppose it is normal.

Regards,
Ray Floyd
 
#6 ·
Ray,

Something else you might consider if you want some light, easy shooting and fun loads is to try paper patching.  I don't know if you've ever considered it, but paper patching .45 colt bullets and .45 ACP bullets opens a whole new venue of bullet styles and weights as options for lighter loads in the .45-70!  

I've actually done quite a bit with paper patching over the years, and the accuracy possible is stunning!  When I finish the 12 part series on the .444, then a few other topics, I plan on doing a similar, several part series of Tech Notes on the .45-70 Marlin, and paper patching will be one of those segments!

Just a thought for long summer days of goofing off at the bench!

God Bless,

Marshall
 
#8 ·
Marshall, sideline those articles about that itty bitty 444 marlin and get to the real mans big bore the 45-70!!!
Just kidding but will be impatently waiting for the 45-70 stuff.

Ray, As to recoil from the 45-70, spend the bucks and get a pachmayr decerator recoil pad installed, leave the length of pull with the pad installed the same as it is now or perhaps 1/8" longer and you will find it will help a bunch! It will not stop the recoil but it will make it a lot less painful. Joey S
 
#9 ·
Ray,

I'd have a backup jacketed load just in case it takes a while to obtain quality cast bullets before deer season.

For deer I'd be inclined to use reduced loads with the 300-grain HP's. The lower weight combined with the reduced powder will make the .45-70 as friendly to your shoulder as this big bore can possibly be. The bullets will still expand under 100 yards. Try the sstarting loads in your manual(s). I'll second J. Sanders' suggestion of getting the Pachmayer Decelerator. Well worth the money.
 
#10 ·
Ditto the pachmayr recoil pad.It tames this beast.My deer loads are Nosler 300gr pp partition loaded with 55gr H-4198 W-W cases
crimped with Lee Fac crimp die.
Rem 405 W-W cases 52gr IMR-3031 Lee Fac crimp
These are top end loads for 1895 marlins,modern guns.

NRA member
 
#12 ·
Floyd,
I hunt with an origional Trapdoor Springfield,so my hot loads are ideal low velocity loads for you.
Here are two of my best(in the Trapdoor) 395 gr Lyman #457124 or #457193 HP bullet and 28.5 gr IMR #4198 or 36.5 gr RL #7 powder. I use .5 gr Dacron or top off the case with Puf-Flon filler.
Frank
 
#14 ·
Hey Ray,

There are two books you might want to add to your shelf.   "Forty Years with the 45-70" and "Paper Patched Bullets", both are  by Paul Matthews and I think Wolfe Publishing carries them.

Mr. Matthews favorite whitetail load was the 330 Gould Express.....a 330 grain lead bullet at about 2000 fps in the 45-70.

Lobo in NM
 
#15 ·
I just thpought I would jump in here with my favorite whitetail loads for the .45-70.

I use the Lyman 457122 HP (Gould bullet) in my guide gun.
40.0 gr of Hodgdon 4198 gives 1683 fps
45.7 gr of Alliant Rl 7 gives 1949 fps

The Reloader 7 load is the most uniform over the chronograph. Both shoot very well in my rifle.
I have only taken two deer with this bullet. I cast it quite soft. It expands very well.

I dont want to step on any toes but Westrn Bullet Co. used to offer this bullet at a very reasonable price.

I personaly think that for hunting we want our bullets a little softer is normally talked about. I have found softer bullets to be a little more accurate at less than maximum velocities.
I am talking about light skinned whiteails here.
 
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