Favorite .45-70 plinker loads

[Sierra Sherpa]

Got a lot of help on an earlier post for deer hunting loads with my .45-70 Handi-Rifle.  Thanks again fellas as I'll be heading up in the next two weeks for the season closer.
 
Now I'm looking for a good load that I can use to practice with during the off-season/winter at the local range.  I'm open to all suggestions, though the most bullets I have are 300-gr. Hornadys and a half-box of 305-gr. moly coated Bear Creek Supply lead flatnoses.  Looking for a mild recoiling load to plink with out to 100-200 yds., since the public range includes distances out to 300 yds.  I've a supply of IMR 3031, IMR 4064, Varget and IMR 4198.  If your favorite combo does not include my reloading supply components I would still be interested in hearing what it is.  I'll use the off-season to practice my field shooting positions.  My Handi is scoped.  Thanks.

[tacklebury]

I personally like .457 Round balls.  They are 157 gr. and put a real hurt on ground hogs.    I've done some using thermal receipt paper patches also and these seem slightly more accurate. 
 

[GH1]

For a mild load you really can't beat Trail Boss. I've used it with 350 gr RNFP cast and 150 gr collarbutton cast, 14 gr or so. The collarbutton bullets had virtually no recoil but they're a pain to load. The 350 gr rounds were mild and were accurate and are capable of reaching out to 200 yards. If you want a little more oomph AA 5744 is a real good powder. I use 25 gr of that with my 405 gr cast RNFP. It kicks a little in my Handi but not bad, and according to the folks at Accurate it should be good for around 1250 FPS.
GH1

[StrawHat]

If you are looking for practice load, I recommend a bullet mold to cast something close to the jacketed bullets you have on hand.  Lee makes a mold for a 300 grain bullet, so do others.  I cast them soft and load over black powder but others have used smokelss powder with good results.

[Sierra Sherpa]

Guys are there any safety concerns with loading so little powder in the .45-70 case?  I've not done any handloading with minimal charges (usually stoke the round up mostly for deer hunting) and don't really want to get into the practice of having to use fillers to compensate for too much dead air space in the case.  Thanks.

[BBF]

For those mild loads it wouldn't be a bad idea to add to your selection of powders.
 
IMR 4198 is the best that you have presently IMO
 
I would suggest, TB, SR 4759, 2400,XMP 5744  for the cast bullets you should be looking at. 
TB(Trail Boss) and SR 4759 come in 1/2 pound containers. The powder is very bulky. I do not use fillers.
 
I've used all of these except XMP 5744 with bullet weights from 340 to 450 gr cast
SR 4759 and 2400 with jacketed bullets from 300 to 405 gr.
 
To do 200 yards with those very reduced loads will give you a rainbow trajectory. I have had trouble getting enough elevation adjustment in two of my scopes for this sort of shooting.

[Sierra Sherpa]

Well, I don't have any cast bullets or any casting equipment and would rather spend my limited funds (retired) on powders, primers and bullets of the jacketed kind.  So I'm glad to hear from Scatterbrain that a couple of the powders work with jacketed bullets.  Is the cast bullet load data safe with jacketed bullets of the same or similar weight?  BTW, how few grains of TB and SR 4759 are considered safe for a jacketed 300-grainer?

[Doublebass73]

300 grain lead over 14.0 grains of Trail Boss is very mild and accurate for me.

[tacklebury]

I like the trail boss idea, but not the price.  It's so bulky, it goes through much more powder than my other reduced loads.  I use 10 gr. Unique in my .45-70 and have zero issues with FTF or pressure or whatever.  I use it with RB, 350gr. leads etc.  The only thing you have to do is be careful of re-charging a case and good organization skills and getting in a rut with double checks, necessary with reloading anyway, will take care of that issue.  Plus I get 700 loads from one bottle, compared to like 150 with TB. 

[BBF]

I don't use TB with jacketed bullets. I'm not sure it is recommended.

For real powder puff loads, Unique and several shotgun powders of the ...dot variety work.

[Jimbo47]

You can use TB on both jacketed and lead bullets.
 
It was suggested by some, that it not be used with bottle necked cases, but here is published data that refutes that claim.
 
I've done both, and with the straight walls of the 45-70 it won't make a bit of difference.
 
This is from the hodgdon site or the hosses mouth, whichever you prefer!   But you can use jacketed or lead bullets with TB powder.
 
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf
 
I'm assuming, and you know what assuming means, but jacketed bullets might get stuck in the bore more readily than a soft lead bullet fired with a very low charge of powder.   Just sayin!  So beware.

[Swampman]

I use 12.5 grains of Unique under a 340 grain cast bullet.  It is very accurate.

[Doublebass73]

I like the trail boss idea, but not the price.  It's so bulky, it goes through much more powder than my other reduced loads.  I use 10 gr. Unique in my .45-70 and have zero issues with FTF or pressure or whatever.  I use it with RB, 350gr. leads etc.  The only thing you have to do is be careful of re-charging a case and good organization skills and getting in a rut with double checks, necessary with reloading anyway, will take care of that issue.  Plus I get 700 loads from one bottle, compared to like 150 with TB. 

With loads of 10 grains of Trail Boss you'd get closer to 400 loads per bottle. I like Unique, especially in the 45 LC but in a case as big as the 45-70 I like the added safety measure of Trail Boss. If you do the math for a box of 50 rounds loaded with 10 Gr. Unique vs. 10 Gr. Trail Boss the Trail Boss costs approximately 72 cents more per 50 rounds. Granted the Unique will give you a higher velocity but when you're talking plinkers it's not a big deal. I know lots of people use Unique in the 45-70 so you can't go wrong with that, you just have to be extra careful when charging cases.

[Swampman]

I like to be careful no matter which powder I use.