H & R centerfires

[sunsetrider2012]

Hey Guys new to the forum,,   was doing some research for my 45/70 and trail boss,, and stumbled on the forum. great i do say,,I am glad there are other  h n r connisuers  like me,, ,,heres my list of H& Rs to date, 22 hornet, 204 ruger, 223, 22-250, 243, 7mm-08 ,270, 308 and 45/70,, every one has prove accurate,  my target rifle is my 243 and  has won me many comps at the 1000 yard mark,, very happy with them.
 
This is what I am looking for, I want to reload for my 45/70  so went ahead  and picked up some trail boss and some hornady 350 grn pills,  I started out with 12.5 grns and stepped it up  gr by gr to 18.5 gr ,, most accurate load was the 18.5 grains  at a 100 yards for POA,  rings the gong 9 out of 10,  all the information i have been reading ,, it is beyond suiitable,, not finding any pressure signs or flattened primers,, recoil is negligible.   
 
I would like your thoughts on this, also have a 38 -55 in a lever that i will be starting to load for  with trail boss and would like some information on it,  i would also like to state the 45/70 is a basic model,,not the buffalo classic,, that will be the next investment. 
 
 

[RangeRat]

Welcome to the Greybeard forums. Look over the FAQ section. You will find a wealth of great information in there as well as plenty of ready help from the friendly folks here.

[Dinny]

Welcome! Here's the data I trust and follow.

www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

Thanks, Dinny

[cwlongshot]

WELCOME SUNSET!!!

 Happy New Year, grab a coffee and pull up a chair... TONS of stuff to read and friends to make!!  Start reading!!!

Range Rat is correct, we havd a collection of posts and thread complied in one seachable thread stickied at the top of the page in the H&R area. Its a bit intimidating, but F3 does a great job of whittling things down to what you need. If problems arise, make a post here and ask. There are no stupid questions!

Good job with that 243 @ 1000!!!


CW

[petemi]

I'm glad to see that as a wandering Handiholic ya finally made it home.  Welcome.  It's great to read something wonderful about the .243 for a change.  I didn't get one for a long time because of the bad PR.  I finally got a Superlight, and it may well be my best shooter.  There's reams of info here on the .45-70s.  Wade around in it and have fun.

Pete

[sunsetrider2012]

Thanks Guys,I spent alot of time here last night after signing up, doing some searches but still didnt find anything i was kinda looking for in regards to 18.5 grns of trail boss in 45/70,, maybe I am missing something. 
 
As for my 243, its a varmint target, bull barrel, with my  handloads  it is quite amazing.  just the other morning i had a coyote walking across one of my middle pastures,   ranged and 730,  I have a tasco mildot  zeroed at 300 on it  btw    3rd  dot elevation and    4 mins of wind , dropped him where he stood.. This rifle is scary accurate. I have had guys over the years brag up how well their customs shoot,  and tell them to put their money where their mouth is, if they have any sense at all  they will decline,, However there is always someone who has something to prove, they show up with a 6 or 7000 dollar custom  and cant hit the  500 gong  8 out of 10 shots..Thats when i bring out my H&R 243,, ,i start at the 500 and go out to the 1000 in 5 shots. Its an expensive lesson for them. lol   the secret of being profficient at those ranges is you have to practice and practice alot, alot of bench time is what secures the knowledge to make the the long shots count with a light calibre, just as proper bullet powder combinations will as well. Nothing makes history better than  experience.

[Doc Fillem]

Welcome to the site from Arkansas!
I participate in Cowboy Long Range matches at my local shooting club. 100 yards with a pistol caliber lever action rifle, 200 yards with rifle caliber lever action and 300 yards big bore single shot. I use a Marlin 336CB in 38-55 at 200 yards and it is very accurate with .379 diameter 245 grain bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. and 8 grains of Unique powder. I have also used the same bullet with 11 grains of Trail Boss. Either load works well.
For the 300 yard targets I use a Buffalo Classic shooting 405 grain bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. and 13.5 grains of Trail Boss. I tried 300 grain bullets but they don't seem as accurate as the 405's in my rifle.
Good luck!

[sunsetrider2012]

Heres a pic of my rig 

 

[sunsetrider2012]

Welcome to the site from Arkansas!
I participate in Cowboy Long Range matches at my local shooting club. 100 yards with a pistol caliber lever action rifle, 200 yards with rifle caliber lever action and 300 yards big bore single shot. I use a Marlin 336CB in 38-55 at 200 yards and it is very accurate with .379 diameter 245 grain bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. and 8 grains of Unique powder. I have also used the same bullet with 11 grains of Trail Boss. Either load works well.
For the 300 yard targets I use a Buffalo Classic shooting 405 grain bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. and 13.5 grains of Trail Boss. I tried 300 grain bullets but they don't seem as accurate as the 405's in my rifle.
Good luck!

Thanks I may have to look at getting some cast bullets for both my 38-55 and my 45-70,    Have you ever went over your 13.5 grains of trail boss  with any different results?

[gcrank1]

I have the UH and an original 1884 SF trapdoor, as well as two H&R 38-55s; use TB in all and have compared full BP loads and have a friend with an old British pressure gun and did trials with TB.
I use 85-100% loading density of TB with no pressure signs or issues. The pressure gun supports the manufacturer that 100% loads are not overloads. The 70% starting loads are certainly a good place for a new user of TB to begin, or for youngsters or recoil shy shooters. The 85% load is a better 'all rounder' with the feel of a big bore, yet still mild. I LIKE TB.
Sounds like you know how to sort out a rifle and loads, so come often and stay late  .

[sunsetrider2012]

I have the UH and an original 1884 SF trapdoor, as well as two H&R 38-55s; use TB in all and have compared full BP loads and have a friend with an old British pressure gun and did trials with TB.
I use 85-100% loading density of TB with no pressure signs or issues. The pressure gun supports the manufacturer that 100% loads are not overloads. The 70% starting loads are certainly a good place for a new user of TB to begin, or for youngsters or recoil shy shooters. The 85% load is a better 'all rounder' with the feel of a big bore, yet still mild. I LIKE TB.
Sounds like you know how to sort out a rifle and loads, so come often and stay late  .

Thanks I appreciate that. I really like the trailboss for the reduced recoil  option,  this is my first 45/70 that is light weight, the other one is  just about 17lbs  and only shoots black powder,  it shoots well but only comes out on special occasions lol.   so when this H & R come up  I snapped it up ,,it was light weight and a 45/70, however that being said,,it can be a bit of a mule with factory loads, because of the light weight of the rifle, felt it in my sholder for about a week,  so have decided to search out some more managable loads,  what i have found so far is 18.5 gr of trail boss is negligble recoil and POA at a hundred is right on. just wondering if anyone else has tried it and what results they  have had.  Alot of the searches I have come up with ,, have ranged from 13 grains to 16 grains.  I find the velocities were barely breaking the 1000 fps mark,, with the 18.5 grns I was getting 1260 to 1350 ranges for velocities. this is with a 350 gr hornady jacketed bullet mind you.    There was some mention of pressure spikes using trailboss with jacketed bullets,, I am just not seeing it yet.

[quickdtoo]

Welcome aboard sunsetrider2012! I haven't used any TB yet, got some for the 50-140 BC to use sometime tho. The reason jacketed bullet loads weren't recommended when TB first hit the market was because Hodgdon hadn't fully tested it yet and only approved it for cast bullets, they've since tested it and have guidelines for its use with jacketed or cast bullets which Dinny posted.

Tim

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail%20Boss%20Reduced%20Loads%20R&P.pdf

[glockmeister]

sunsetrider2012, welcome to the wacky world of ''handiholics.'' We don't have a 12 step program, we just live with our addiction and enjoy it very much. Keep us in the loop on your matches and loads. Take care, John.

[gcrank1]

SSR, I find a bunch of speculation online about TB that is not what I have experienced, other than (oh surprise) low velocities with low volume loads  . I incrementally worked up by 5%'s from the recommended start load of 70% to bullet base and found happiness in revolver to rifle loads. I chrono'ed 100% 45-70 loads last year against full BP loads with 350/405 gr. Lee casts and got comparable velo (not perfectly the same but within reason). I am currently using more TB than you without issue to me or rifle, and I am recoil sensitive. As an old target shooter in several disciplines, with some wins and places, Ive been having more 'fun' shooting (sans Anal paper group trials) with these rifles of late on steel and 'informal' targets. All I can say for sure is these loads are pitching them where Im looking  . As always YMMV.

[tacklebury]

Welcome aboard.  I personally prefer Reloader7 for .45-70 and have great sub moa accuracy out of it.    I load from 34 gr. trap door loads up to 52gr. Ruger #1 loads depending on what is going to be hunted or type of shooting.    BP loads are fun also.

[sunsetrider2012]

Thanks Guys ,,I appreciate the help, its nice to have a place where we can chat about our twisted lil addiction with Harrington and Richardson, Fisrt one I ever owned was in a laminate stock 308,, and that thing would print sub moa groups with factory loads,, with my handloads it even got crasier,, the next was my 22 hornet,, And Boys I would have never believed that a hornet could be that accurate, with my handloads its punchiing over 3000fps,, and 1 ragged hole, extremely deadly on gophers coyotes and badgers,,and lets not forget the magpies and crows,, unbelievable  what that lil cartridge will do,  next was my 243 on a whim, and it completely through me out of the water when it came to target shooting, I have shot benchrest 1000 yrd for years with my 6mm rems and loved them, right out of the box this thing was cloverleafing  at 200 yrds. So with a few tweaks on loads and a lil more time with range developement it actually groups better than my custom 6mm rem that i have 4 g into,, I have 500 bucks into the 243. who woul dhave know such a great lil entry level rifle would do the job the big boys do and do it better. My daughter shot it at the last match and cleaned up with it and only shot it a few times before that.  I have taken moose in the neck at 350 yrds and droped them in their tracks,,and same with elk one shot in the neck and lays  them where they stand.  I dont care what anyone says ,,Only accurate rifles are interesting,, and the H&R line up has me sold on each one I own so far and still going to be adding to the collection. I Hvae recently sold the majority of my big money rifles  because they serve no useful purpose  because my H & RS do it better.. Now If  I could find someone willing to chamber one in 6mm rem with a 1-9 twist , I would be in H & R heaven.