Recomandations 45-70
- Thread starter bbobie
- Start date
Sounds like a success story to me. First time shooting a new bullet/load, its always hard to predict where the shots will group. Now you have a solid reference for sight adjustment, for next time. I expect there are still a few more notches yet on the sight elevation that will get you hitting right on. That's a nice, moderate load you have there, which is certainly capable of knocking down any critter that gets in the way. Are you planning on using the factory sights? Aftermarket aperture sights (Lyman, etc.), or scope the rifle? For use as a hunting rifle, its pretty hard to beat a Marlin with a good 4X or low power variable scope on board.
I believe you mentioned you were using Lee lube. Any problems with leading, etc.? There are plenty of homemade lube recipes on the internet. I expect some of the folks on this forum have recipes to share, too. Shouldn't be too hard to find one that works well. Some of the simplest formulas work very well.
Looking forward to some photos.
I believe you mentioned you were using Lee lube. Any problems with leading, etc.? There are plenty of homemade lube recipes on the internet. I expect some of the folks on this forum have recipes to share, too. Shouldn't be too hard to find one that works well. Some of the simplest formulas work very well.
Looking forward to some photos.
Y ai used the lee lube and I was a little worried about it not working so I made up a batch of 1 lb vasiline 1lb pariffine wax 2 tablespoons of the stp.
Put the bullets in a 8x8 cake pan poured the lube in,thats pretty awesome filled the grooves perfectly.
Ill have to forward the pics of target and groups to some one that might be kind enough to post them up,i cant get this photo bucket thing figured
I really like the simplicity of iron sights , 100-150yrds isn't going to be a problem putting 1 of those 405 grainers threw the boiler room of some mamal
Im tossing up what to do this weekend go fishing to Bullshead Res for some BIG rainbows on the fly rod or heading up to the hills to look for a bruin,might do both lol
you guys have a nice weekend
Put the bullets in a 8x8 cake pan poured the lube in,thats pretty awesome filled the grooves perfectly.
Ill have to forward the pics of target and groups to some one that might be kind enough to post them up,i cant get this photo bucket thing figured
I really like the simplicity of iron sights , 100-150yrds isn't going to be a problem putting 1 of those 405 grainers threw the boiler room of some mamal
Im tossing up what to do this weekend go fishing to Bullshead Res for some BIG rainbows on the fly rod or heading up to the hills to look for a bruin,might do both lol
you guys have a nice weekend
What mold did you end up going with?
I've got to get a mighty 45-70 so I can experiment with this. Easier than trying to do .30 cal!
Marlin's are usually around .457" but still vary a little rifle to rifle. Mine is .4575" if memory serves.
Certain alloys expand when they solidify/cool (not sure which). Pure wheel weight alloy and extra hard shotgun shot expands a thou or two with ~.458" bullets. I have several .457" molds that throw bullets .458" to .4585" as-cast. My .459" Lee mold throws .460" to .461". The only molds I have that cast as-advertised are my molds from Accurate Molds. You specify your alloy when you order and they cut each mold to drop precise bullets with that alloy. Change the alloy and you change the size a little.
I'd get either .457" or .459"; whichever has the weight or design I'm after. Both work fine in my Marlin (bullets .458" to .461"). If you're using a softer alloy, 20:1 or something, you may want to get the .459". If you're using wheel weights or a harder alloy, the expansion will make them large enough.
With pure WW alloy and tumble lubing with a plain base bullet I don't usually get leading with a 1-2 thou oversized bullet until 1700-1800fps. I shoot as-cast and don't size plain base bullets. I tried powder coating some 340gr .458" bullets and they shot terribly at ~1500fps. I haven't experimented with it too much since non-PC'ed bullets shoot so well in my Marlin and H&R BC. What kind of velocity are you looking for? A ~400gr cast bullet at ~1500fps will punch paper, sail through multiple 2x4's, and kill anything in North America. I've put some 500gr cast bullets at 1450fps through 12-14" poplar trees.
I'd size them to .458" at a minimum personally; preferably .459". You can open up Lee push-through sizers a little with a dowel and some emery paper. I don't really use GC'ed bullets in 45-70 since if I need more than ~1700fps, something has gone terribly wrong. I get headaches from heavy recoil and have terrible eyes and don't see a need to accelerate retinal detachment.
Most cast bullets perform best when sized one or two thousandths over bore diameter. In your case, if your bore measures .357", either a .358" or .359" cast bullet should work well. Given a choice between the two, the .359" is a wise choice. There are several folks on this forum who are experimenting with powder coated bullets. I believe though, that they are still sizing them the same as they would for a naked lead cast bullet. While you wait for your new rifle, it might not hurt to contact the manufacturer to find out the exact bore diameter. Might save you some time and money in selecting bullets, or moulds.
I took the advise of the members on here and I went with the Lee 405-.459 HB it worked great , I ended up with 125 bullets out of 7 lbs of wheel weights ,and I have 60lbs ,so theres a l,ot of shooting going to happen.
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ok so I went out and fire 5 rounds today,then I fired 2 into a sand bank and found 1 ,im excited to share this with you guys I have 8 photos that I have taken with my I-phone that would love to forward to someone on here so that the pics can be posted .
I used 46 grains of varget this time 2 shots where low so I slide the sight up the ramp and fired 3 more.
No sand backs just using my elbows on the hood of my truck at 100yards,i used the full bead and covered the pink target.
These haven't been sized ,just casted them, pan lubed them,im not sure how much tihter of a group I needs for shooting bear ,moose elk and deer etc in the bush where your shots could be closer than 100 yrds .this isn't a 600yd rifle .Im quit confident shooting it at 100-150 yrds .
My castings ended up weighing 387 grains and the recovered bullet weighs 376 grans,it expanded to.883.it lost 11 grains but its a perfect mushroom.I have pics of it
I wont change a thing right now .
I hope some one will be as kind as to post these up as its all the advise and experience from fellow members on here that had contributed to my success with casting for the 45-70 Marlin
Thanks again to you all !!!
If I can get a e-mail I will forward the 8 pictures to be posted
I used 46 grains of varget this time 2 shots where low so I slide the sight up the ramp and fired 3 more.
No sand backs just using my elbows on the hood of my truck at 100yards,i used the full bead and covered the pink target.
These haven't been sized ,just casted them, pan lubed them,im not sure how much tihter of a group I needs for shooting bear ,moose elk and deer etc in the bush where your shots could be closer than 100 yrds .this isn't a 600yd rifle .Im quit confident shooting it at 100-150 yrds .
My castings ended up weighing 387 grains and the recovered bullet weighs 376 grans,it expanded to.883.it lost 11 grains but its a perfect mushroom.I have pics of it
I wont change a thing right now .
I hope some one will be as kind as to post these up as its all the advise and experience from fellow members on here that had contributed to my success with casting for the 45-70 Marlin
Thanks again to you all !!!
If I can get a e-mail I will forward the 8 pictures to be posted
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Son of a gun. I knew they were available from the Lee custom shop but I didn't realize TotW stocked them. Also avoids the pesky "foreign order" fee Lee changes when ordering direct; was US$15 or so last I checked.
There was some books I was looking to order from TotW anyway so looks like I'll be placing an order. Thanks for the heads up.
Was it comfortable to shoot with 46gr varget?
I have used rl7 and imr 4198 both at 40gr, any more and its starts to get uncomfortable. I was getting around 1.5 inches at 50 yards open sights.
I also tried the 405gr flat base sized to 457 and it shoots just as well in my 1895GBL.
My bore slugs at 4565.
Ordered a .459" case expander and die body as well; should really help to lessen the paper patches that get torn when seating. The RCBS case expander mic'ed at .456" in my set and my PP'ed bullets are .460". "The Paper Jacket" by Paul Mathews is also in stock at TotW for US$21. It's $40+ on Amazon and out of stock almost everywhere else. I borrowed a copy from one of my dads friends and gave it a read a couple years ago and have been meaning to buy my own.
I shoot my 405 OMA bullets at 1990 FPS - lots of Kick - Good Accuracy and LOTS of penetration ! LOL RJ
