Author Topic: What is your favorite deer load for your 45-70? (Read 2972 times)

jonr · « **on:** September 28, 2004, 04:25:10 AM »

Hey everyone! I have just started to hadload the 45-70 for my modern 1895 and I must say it is a blast!

I am currently using H4895 with 400 grn Speer bullets. What is your favorite load for deer hunting with your 45-70?

Thanks for the feedback!

Jonr

Hooker · « **Reply #1 on:** September 28, 2004, 07:23:44 AM »

300 gr Hornadys and lots of 4198 in Rem brass with Federal primers. It's just below max but very accurate.

Pat

jackfish · « **Reply #2 on:** September 28, 2004, 07:51:28 AM »

Marlin 1895 45-70 22" microgroove barrel
300 grain Hornady hollow point seated to 2.55" and crimped with a Lee Factory Crimp die
Winchester brass, 2.1" trim
CCI 200 primers
55 grains H4198
2180 fps
1.1" five-shot 100-yard groups

Hooker, which 4198? IMR or Hodgdon?

Hooker · « **Reply #3 on:** September 28, 2004, 12:32:48 PM »

Jackfish that would be IMR.

Pat

Buffalogun · « **Reply #4 on:** September 28, 2004, 02:32:05 PM »

jonr,

I don't know if I have a favorite, yet. Since starting with the .45-70, I have taken three deer with it. These were taken with 340g and 405g cast bullets over 25g IMR SR4759. Velocity is around 1,450 as reported by my Pact. Mild recoil! Deadly!

Buffalogun

Big Blue · « **Reply #5 on:** September 28, 2004, 02:52:15 PM »

My favorite 45/70 handload is Hornady 350 gr. RN bullets over 58.0 gr. of Varget.
Don

dla · « **Reply #6 on:** September 28, 2004, 06:35:59 PM »

43.5gr of H4198, Remington 405gr JSP, WLR primers, Remington NP brass, Lee FC die with a heavy crimp. 1780fps from an 18.5" barrel.

Mac11700 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 29, 2004, 08:23:30 AM »

Nosler 300 grain partition...H4198 powder.... Remington 9-1/2 primers.... Remington nickle cases... with using Lee Factory crimp die...2200fps from my 1895GS...

Mac

big medicine · « **Reply #8 on:** September 29, 2004, 09:42:09 AM »

Hornady 300 JHP with Federal 210M primer and 47.0 grains of IMR 4198. Out of my guide gun that load shoots under 1 inch at 100 yards. And it kills deer dead on the spot. :wink:

MSP Ret · « **Reply #9 on:** September 29, 2004, 09:56:31 AM »

350 grain Hornady RNFP with 28.0 grains of 2400...sweet, ACCURATE, no recoil to speak of and knocks them flat!!!....<><.... :grin:

snowdog · « **Reply #10 on:** September 30, 2004, 04:10:42 AM »

Hornady 350 grn FN, 51 grns of IMR 3031 No need to worry
about expansion, hell the bullet before it leaves the barrel is
is as big as an expanded 170 grn 30-30 round. 1.25 inch groups

rickt300 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 25, 2004, 02:28:38 PM »

Hard to figure a bad load. I have used 31 grains of IMR 4227 as fuel for the 405 Rem, the 300 grain Rem HP, the 340 grain cast LEE bullet and now the 350 grain Hornady RN. They all whistle thru yet the deer go down quick. I think I got some expansion out of the 300 HP but not much. Anyone out there got a "bad" deer load for the 45-70? I used the 300 grain Rem HP on top of 53.5 grains of 3031 and definitly got expansion but no recovered bullets on deer.

gallatin · « **Reply #12 on:** October 29, 2004, 06:56:53 PM »

I'm useing rem brass trimed to 2.1" cci 200 primers lbt 405 gr. hard cast over 53gr. of 3031 and very accurate
John

Brian T · « **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2004, 10:34:33 AM »

420 cast LFCGC over 47 Varget

jar-wv · « **Reply #14 on:** November 04, 2004, 02:06:42 PM »

I've been loading 52 grains of H4198 under a Sierra 300 gr hp. I worked it up last year just before deer season and got good accuracy and mild recoil. Have never chrony'ed it but I'm guessing somewhere around 2,000 fps from 22" 1895SS. Only got to use it on 1 deer last year, neck shot a big doe at about 25 yds, wasnt much left holding the head on after that.

jar

Bubba w/a 45/70 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 14, 2004, 11:59:12 AM »

300 gr. Nornady HP, WW mag primers, WW brass, and 38.0 gr. of H4198.

I don't have a clue how fast or slow it goes, it just puts nice large holes in any animal that I hit with it. I have yet to worry about not laying out the deer within 10 yards of impact.

Used exclusively through my Marlin 1895SS, and with factory sights.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #16 on:** November 18, 2004, 04:14:31 PM »

Starline brass @ 2.095"
North Fork 350g bonded FN @ 2.560" COL
Roll crimp in top groove
CCI 200 primer
51.5g H4198
2183fps, 5.0fps Standard Deviation
Excellent accuracy

Have only taken two animals with it, a forkhorn mulie @ 192 yards and a 6x6 elk @ 213 yards, both distances lasered.

glock29 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 23, 2004, 09:25:17 AM »

I use a 350gr Hornady round-nose over a case-full of H4198 in my NEF Handi-Rifle.
This gives me just over 2300fps for 4100 ft/lbs energy at the muzzle.
More than enough for ANY deer inside the 200yd range of this cartridge.
Recoil is quite BRUTAL, but that just lets you know you are shootin' something REAL, not some penny-ante squirt gun.
It really whacks them DEAD, right now, from ANY shot presentation.
This load is definitely NOT safe in a Marlin Lever-Action; it has about 50,000 psi, which is about 10,000 psi too high for the Marlin.
This is a Level 3 load from the hodgdon manual for Single-Shot Ruger #1's, & Handi-Rifles only !

Camp Cook · « **Reply #18 on:** November 23, 2004, 12:15:05 PM »

Rem 405gr or Speer 400gr with 55gr H322 gives about 1800fps out of my 1895GS.
Does no one else use H322?
Cam

Perferator · « **Reply #19 on:** November 26, 2004, 12:36:30 PM »

Quote from: jar-wv

I've been loading 52 grains of H4198 under a Sierra 300 gr hp. I worked it up last year just before deer season and got good accuracy and mild recoil. Have never chrony'ed it but I'm guessing somewhere around 2,000 fps from 22" 1895SS. Only got to use it on 1 deer last year, neck shot a big doe at about 25 yds, wasnt much left holding the head on after that.

jar

Wow, mild recoil w/52gr of H4198? Yikes. I've loaded with 51gr of same using the Hornady 350rn and it kicks pretty good. Recoil is relative but not what I'd call mild :grin:

Hey, took my first with the 45-70 this year with:

Hornady 350rn
IMR4198@44gr
R-P cases (fed's too)
CCI200 primer
Lee FCD

A bit milder (although I miss the whalloping the 51gr of H4198 gave me), very, very accurate.

It would be difficult to find a bad deer round with such a fantastically practical round as the beloved 45-70.

Perferator

Thebear_78 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 26, 2004, 04:32:32 PM »

I loaded up some 405gr Rem JSP loads for my 1895GS using 52gr of H322 and starline brass. This was the first I had shot my GS and hoped this would be a good load. I'm not sure what kind of velosities I am getting but I had heard that when using starline brass that you have to reduce your powder by 2grs due to the thickness of starline brass. I was kind of hoping to get 1700-1800fps out of this load. Well I shoots great out of my GS and I have faith that it will be plenty good enough for most big game hunting. I still have to work up a load with a harder bullet for use on the really big and dangerous stuff. That 350gr Northfork looks like a dandy bullet.
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Camp Cook · « **Reply #21 on:** November 29, 2004, 04:56:24 AM »

Thebear_78.....
I have a Marlin 1895GS as well and have been working with H322 almost exclusively with it. I've gone a bit further with my Rem 405 loads. I am getting 1970fps with 57grs of H322 and have fired several hundred of these loads so far. With a 4x Burris mini scope on this rifle sighted in 2" high at 100 yards and with a hold over of about 6" I nail a 12" gong at 220 yards with every shot. My top bear stopper load is with a 550gr Jay-Bok Young's "Crater" hard cast @ 1600fps.
Cam

Thebear_78 · « **Reply #22 on:** November 29, 2004, 03:26:45 PM »

Camp Cook-

I'm probably going to work those loads up a little more like maybe up to 54gr of H322 and I want to try some Varget powders too. IF I can get a load that shoots well in the 1800fps range with the 405gr Rem bullet I will be happy. I have heard, from a couple of guys that I trust, that the 405gr Rem bullet is too soft for striking velosites above 1800fps, probably work fine on deer at 2kfps, but might blow up on somethign like a moose. I have thought about trying some of those Jae Bok 420gr Crater lights for the big mean stuff.

CEJ1895 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 30, 2004, 03:19:37 AM »

Hi All, I took a ten point, 242 pound buck in Northern Maine 2 weeks ago using a 300 grain Seirra HPFN over 50 grains of IMR4198 in a Remington nickel plated case and CCI 200 primers. Didn't lose any meat at all, except what the bullet removed :wink: CEJ...

muslmutt · « **Reply #24 on:** December 05, 2004, 10:46:13 AM »

Mine likes reloder 7 and 300g sierras. The problem is those 300g sierra hps DESTROY a lot of deer!!! I was warned, but they shot soooo well I had to try it. I think they may have been designed for lower velocities. Like Trap door speeds. Thats like what 1400fps. At 2000 fps they are almost lik a 300g varmit bullet. I shot two deer with them, Bob shot 2 elk & 4 deer, Mark shot 4 deer. We all came to the same conclusion. The first deer I shot was right under me shot between the shoulder blades. Entry wound the size of a pool ball, no exit wound. What's worse is that that deer had to be shot again when it got up to run off.

jackfish · « **Reply #25 on:** December 05, 2004, 05:21:37 PM »

Quote

I am getting 1970fps with 57grs of H322 and have fired several hundred of these loads so far.

That is 2 grains more than the maximum load (39,200 CUP) listed in Hodgdon #27. 55 grains of H322 is a compressed load with a 400/405 grain bullet seated to 2.54" that achieves 1984 fps in a 24" barrel. It is probably unwise to try to fire several hundred more rounds of that load. Some people just refuse to follow reloading data and accepted reloading practices I guess. JMHO

dla · « **Reply #26 on:** December 07, 2004, 05:17:04 AM »

Quote from: Thebear_78

I'm not sure what kind of velosities I am getting

Here are some data points. Remember that Starline brass is going to behave much like an extra 2 grains of powder.

Remington 405gr JSP, WLR primers, Rem NP brass, H322 powder, Lee Factory Crimp die

Marlin 1895GS - 18.5" barrell

46gr - low= 1658, High= 1698, avg=1680, ES=40, SD=16, 5 shots
47gr - low= 1689, High= 1726, avg=1710, ES=36, SD=15.5, 5 shots
48gr - low= 1721, High= 1734, avg=1726, ES=13.5, SD=7, 3 shots
49gr - low= 1770, High= 1816, avg=1789, ES=46, SD=19, 5 shots
50gr - best accuracy - low= 1770, High= 1827, avg=1808, ES=58, SD=26, 4 shots
51gr - low= 1823, High= 1863, avg=1840, ES=40, SD=16, 5 shots
52gr - low= 1860, High= 1875, avg=1867, ES=15, SD=7.4, 5 shots

Camp Cook · « **Reply #27 on:** December 08, 2004, 12:40:40 PM »

Quote from: jackfish

Quote
I am getting 1970fps with 57grs of H322 and have fired several hundred of these loads so far.

That is 2 grains more than the maximum load (39,200 CUP) listed in Hodgdon #27. 55 grains of H322 is a compressed load with a 400/405 grain bullet seated to 2.54" that achieves 1984 fps in a 24" barrel. It is probably unwise to try to fire several hundred more rounds of that load. Some people just refuse to follow reloading data and accepted reloading practices I guess. JMHO

Jack....
I have been using the Speer #10 reloading manual for 45-70 loads since the early 80's......
Maximum load for the Marlin 1895 and Win 1886 lists 56 grains of H322 which does not exceed the industry standard working pressures of 28,000 CUP. So what you are saying to me is that by my working up carefully to a total of 1gr over max listed that I'm not following accepted reloading practices and I am being careless? Makes me wonder what kind of cartridges we would have if people like Elmer Keith had never gone 1gr over maximum?
Let me give an example from the same load manual.
In the case of the 308 Norma Magnum the listed maximum load for Norma MRP powder is 74grs with a 180gr bullet. After carefully working up to the 74grs I was still not getting the same velocity or accuracy of the factory rounds loaded by Norma. I was using the exact same components except for the primer (Norma brass, bullets and powder). I finally pulled a factory round apart and weighed the powder charge which was 75grs of MRP. I increased my powder charge by .3grs at a time until I reached the one extra grain of MRP and totally matched the factory Norma ammo performance. This rifle was my main hunting rifle for over 20 years until I replaced it just recently with a S/S Rem 700 300RUM.
All my loads for the 1895GS are worked up from 49grs of H322 with both the Rem 405gr and Speer 400gr bullets to a max of 57grs starting with 1gr increases and then .3gr increases when I got to 55grs. Also I start over every time I purchase more powder.
Am I being careless in my reloading practices? Hardly!
Cam

dla · « **Reply #28 on:** December 08, 2004, 07:41:36 PM »

Quote from: Camp Cook

All my loads for the 1895GS are worked up from 49grs of H322 with both the Rem 405gr and Speer 400gr bullets to a max of 57grs starting with 1gr increases and then .3gr increases when I got to 55grs. Also I start over every time I purchase more powder.
Am I being careless in my reloading practices? Hardly!
Cam

Hmmm. What pressure do you think you are loading to? Certainly not 28Kpsi.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #29 on:** December 09, 2004, 03:17:57 AM »

Camp Cook

Speer #10 had numerous loads that were reduced in later versions to worn test barrels producing lower than typical pressures. I dont know if that affected the .45-70 or not, but I do know that I have found several errors in the Speer #12 and reported them to Speer who provided me with corrected data.

Speer #12 lists the following load:
Speer 400g @ 2,540, 49.0g H322, 1652fps, 28,000 CUP
Speer 400g @ 2,540, 60.0g H322, 2016fps 35,000CUP

Hodgdons Annual Manual lists the following:
Speer 400g @ 2.540, 55.0g H322, 1984fps, 39,2100CUP

I also started out with Speer #10 back in the early 80s and have had to reduce my 7mm Mag 160g loads accordingly using the #10 data case life was very short (4-5 reloads). I backed off the powder and now case life is up to 18 reloads, and the chrono I acquired several years ago shows velocity is where it should be. My new loads pretty much match Speer #12 data.

I cant say what pressure your load is at but it is highly unlikely that it is in the 28,000 CUP range, even in your unique rifle. More likely its in the area of 40,000-45,000 CUP based on the Hodgdon data, which I trust more than the Speer data. A year or so ago I read an article that showed that in different cartridges a 3.0g increase at already max pressures could bump pressures up by nearly 10,000 CUP a very good reason to be careful when working with max or near max loads.