Reduced 45-70 loads

[SteelEye]

I shot a 45-70 for the first time last week.  As I'm not a prone shooter at all, I did not place the rifle properly so my should felt like it was hit with a big hammer.  I would guess with a recoil reducer, a shoulder pad and proper positioning (in prone) this pounding would be substantially reduced.

However, I would like to begin shooting reduced loads and work up to the full house loads more gradually.  It is my understanding that charges must fill the case.  I've heard people say that the 45-70 can be downloaded but have never heard how.  Is this done by adding a lot of wads or putting in a layer of something like cornmeal?

Thanks,
SteelEye

[John Traveler]

Even the standard .45-70 load of 405 grain bullet at 1100 fps can thump you pretty good in a carbine.

You can reduce felt recoil in handloaded ammo two ways: reduce bullet weight or velocity.  A standard 1300 fps 405 grain load is 36-37 grains IMR 3031 to give Trapdoor-safe velocity and pressure.

Try going to 300 grain bullets and using a faster pistol type powder (Unique or 2400) for velocities in the 1100-1200 fps range.  The faster powder will not require space fillers.  Try magnum primers for more complete combustion.  The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook will list many suitable loads.

Filling up the cartridge airspace with wads or dacron fibre is not advised, as the potential exists for damaging ("ringing") the chamber.

HTH
John

[Pogue]

Filling the air gap only applies to black powder loads, not smokeless (which would be extremely dangerous!).  A good reduced black powder load is 50gr of FFg (or Pyrodex C) and then fill the rest of the case with filler.  Cornmeal compacts too much and would act like an obstruction, so I use Cream of Wheat.  Fill the case to about 1/2" from the mouth, depending on how long your bullet is.  I then put a 45 cal wonder wad and then the bullet.  The seated bullet should just slightly compact the load.  If the bullet starts to come back out before crimping, you're over compacting, so dump some of the filler.

[ediehaskell]

I'm shooting a load of 5 gr. 4227, with 40 gr. 3f GOEX anda LPDE wad behind a Postell bullet. Velocity is 1100 fps, accuracy is 5/8" at 100 yards. Gentle on the shoulder, but can still grind the skin off your elbows real fast if you forget your elbow pads when shooting prone.

[bumble]

I've gotten alot of smiles from people with reduced loads. A favorite with the 45-70 is 10grs of Unique and a roundball pressed into a partially resized case.