Trailboss

[patw]

I love to shoot the 45-70 cartridge.  I have one T/C pistol, one T/C rifle, and two trapdoors in that caliber.  I also have to admit that as I get older I am starting to find shooting sessions to be a little hard on the wrist and shoulder.  I read about Trailboss powder and decided to give it a try.  The loads were from the Hodgon site  http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp  .  I started off loading a few with 14.1 gr behind a 300 gr cast bullet.  That is supposed to give about 1200fps  At the range,  the loads were VERY mild in the pistol, could have shot that all day.  Went back home and loaded some more.  I told this to a friend who has a 45-70 guide gun and was thinking of selling it because he does not find the recoil as much fun as it once was.  He and I went out and played with the loads.   I only used the trapdoors for this shoot.  He shot one and broke out in a laugh, and said that he was not selling his guide gun any more.  We then went on to sight in the guns.  We ended up shooting 40 rounds, almost all from the bench.  We did not actually shoot groups, spending most of our time trying to get the gun on at a hundred.  From what we could see, it looked like we were getting 3-4 inch groups at 100, about the best we could hope for with our old eyes and iron sights.  Once on at 100, we went to sighting in at the gong at 220 yards.  The last three shots all hit that 12 inch gong.

I also loaded a few rounds with 500 gr cast bullets.   8 gr  pushes it at 700fps.  Recoil was about the same, very mild.  I did not have enough to see how it grouped.  I just wanted to see how heavy bullets would kick.

I had also brought a 38-55 model 94 that I have had forever, but do not shoot because of the recoil.  I do not know if it is the steel crescent butplate, but the kick is absolutely brutal, worse than any of my other guns including magnums.  I loaded and shot some with trailboss according to the Hodgdon data.  That was the first time that I shot that rifle without wincing every time I pulled the trigger.

Now I am thinking of taking some 100+ year old rifles deer hunting.

[kitchawan kid]

I think Trail Boss is the best thing since sliced bread,I use it for .45 LC,45 ACP,.38 SP,45/70,never a problem and no way you can double charge.

[stimpylu32]

For the 45/70's & 45 LC's about the only powders I use anymore are Trail Boss and Unique , both do a wonderful job with cast bullets , keep recoil to a manageable level and go a long way for a pound .

Me likes TB .       

stimpy

PS -- They made it just so the new cowboys could shoot the old cowboy guns , low pressure and low recoil = great idea !

[mauser98us]

How does trail boss compare to Accurate 5744? any body try both?

[Bart Solo]

I have just started shooting Trail  Boss in 45 LC.  I started with the bottom load on the Hodgdon site, 5.5 grains behind a 200 grain cast bullet, and loved it.  At a cowboy shoot the other day I was talking to another, far more experienced reloader who uses Trail Boss in his 45s. He says that for cowboy shooting he uses 5 grains with 200 grain cast bullets without any low pressure signs. That way he gets a few more shots out of a pound and the already mild recoil is a little milder.  he said that at cowboy distances accuracy isn't affected. He told me that from his experience Trail Boss is very forgiving. It is darn near impossible to double load (a real problem with denser powders in big cases like 45 LC) and very difficult to overload as long as you avoid compression.  He believes that as long as you are loading for target shooting and plinking with cast bullets it is the way to go. 

Semi taking his lead this weekend I am going to be shooting 5.4 grains behind 200 grain bullets.  I will see how that experiment works out.

Of course it is what it is.  If you want to load up for some high powered cutting edge cartridge because you like a stinging feel in your wrist, there are other and better powders.

[Ranger J]

I 'discovered' Trail Boss a while back and love it for my  2 45/70s and my .44 mag handi.  As you say you can shoot it all day and not have shoulder problems.  The only 'problem' I have with it is that blackens the brass.  It is really the thing for we older fellows who no longer feel we have to prove our manhood by the amount of pain we can bare.

RJ

[GameHauler]

Anyone try it in 375 JDJ.
IMR does not show any data.

[Ladobe]

Anyone try it in 375 JDJ.

 

[GameHauler]

Anyone try it in 375 JDJ.

 

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