Browning 1885 High Wall, In 45-70 Government

dthunter

dthunter

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
Grande Prairie,AB
Hi guys! I recently managed to find one of these wonderful Browning 1885 High wall in 45-70 Government!

I know the barrel is stamped "Blackpowder Recommended", but can I shoot factory smokeless safely through this rifle? I have seen articles that say that these high walls can be loaded to much high pressures than the traditional trap door loads.

My plan is to primarily shoot 405's and 500 grain cast boolets (Wheel weight alloy, or 40:1) around 1200-1400 fps range, so I can use black powder for this I know.

Would there be any issues in shooting Smokeless powders such as Varget, Imr 3031, H4198, etc. with conventional jacketed bullets?

I got to clean that bore and get her all cleaned up before I shoot it!

I do not want to damage this rifle in the least, and I want to preserve its condition.











Your thoughts would be hugely appreciated!
 
From Chuck Hawks:

There are also two special black powder cartridge versions of the Browning High Wall. These are the BPCR silhouette target rifle, and the BPCR "Creedmore" type target rifle. Both come with special long-range target-type iron sights, pistol grip stocks, and half round barrels. The Creedmore is chambered for the long-range black powder .45-90 cartridge, which throws a 525 grain bullet at approximately 1,300 fps. This is a serious target rifle with a 34 inch barrel, intended to dominate long-range black powder matches (out to 1000 yards!). Its receiver is richly and deeply blued, like the standard model. The BPCR Creedmore model weighs 11 lbs. 13 oz. The BPCR silhouette model comes chambered for the .40-65 and .45-70 black powder cartridges, is fitted with a 30" barrel, and its receiver is case-colored. It weighs 11 lbs. to 11 lbs. 7 oz.
Click to expand...

In my experience, the Browning High Wall rifles are extremely strong and your limiting factor will be recoil.

This rifle was from a limited run that incorporated a match barrel intended for black powder silhouette competition.

I would expect it to gobble up smokeless loads with no issues.

(FWIW, the "Hunter" version of the 45-70 high wall is much lighter and is more of a "carry" rifle meant for hunting. The heart of both, (the action) is the same bank-vault, "fear-no-evil" falling block).
 
Sir, it was not designed to shoot jacketed bullets, but hard-cast lead, hence the markings on the barrel, the ROT and design of the rifling form. The Ruger No1 IS designed to shoot nitro loads in modern pressures - with 300 and 405gr jacketed bullets, so it's if that's what you want to shoot, my advice is to get one.

However, you are not stuck with just shooting BP in this lovely rifle, since I shoot BP, subs, AND nitro in mine. My to-go load is 27.5gr of 4198 under a 500gr hard-cast bullet that I cast and lube myself using a 75/25 mix of beeswax and neats foot oil - good for a temperate climate like we have here in yUK. I can load it by hand - pushing it into the case on top of a twist of natural material filler - up to the bottom of the first driving band. It holds around 1.5" for ten shots with open sights at 100m to get me set up for 5 and 600 yard shoots, and is so pleasant to shoot that even noobs can use it without detaching retinas. Such a load requires no resizing except the neck, and no crimp either, although others will have different experiences in this regard.

tac
 
I have the 85 with 28" octagon, but without the buttstock tang which your BPCR has. I use unique(carefull, no 2X) with 420 and 520 lyman bullet. I started with kapok filler, but found it wasn't position sensitive. Our local gunshow was good, be well Larry
 
I'd also suggest you keep the jacketed bullets away from it and stick to cast loads.

The speeds you're after should work just fine when used with the modest amounts of smokeless typically used for reduced power loads suitable for this sort of shooting.

I suspect the notice on the barrel is as much related to ensuring you shoot cast only through it as it is about the sort of powder to ensure modest pressures.
 
glycerin said:
I have the 85 with 28" octagon, but without the buttstock tang which your BPCR has. I use unique(carefull, no 2X) with 420 and 520 lyman bullet. I started with kapok filler, but found it wasn't position sensitive. Our local gunshow was good, be well Larry
Click to expand...

Great to hear from you Larry!
Unique has been hard to get around here for more than a year! I still have a little left.

I was thinking of trying 22-25 grains of IMR SR4759.
I have a 420 grain mould/ bullets, but need to procure a 500+ grain Accurate mould.
 
I noticed that most shooters are resting the barrels directly onto the front shooting bags. In my experience, resting a barrel on a sand bag disturbs the consistency and grouping of the rifle. I personally will rest the foreshock on a sand bag to isolate and dampen any vibrations during the firing sequence.

What are your thoughts on this?
 
Another good smokeless powder in the 45-70 is 5744. Whatever you use, don't try to make it into a sub-458 Winchester and you'll love it!
 
According to the good ol' boys on the Shiloh site, the 'sweet spot' is 1/4 of the barrel length back from the muzzle. I mark mine with a piece of masking tape.

I don't shoot BPCR silhouette as I cannot shoot for sh!t from x-sticks except from prone.
 
tacfoley said:
Sir, it was not designed to shoot jacketed bullets, but hard-cast lead, hence the markings on the barrel, the ROT and design of the rifling form. The Ruger No1 IS designed to shoot nitro loads in modern pressures - with 300 and 405gr jacketed bullets, so it's if that's what you want to shoot, my advice is to get one.

However, you are not stuck with just shooting BP in this lovely rifle, since I shoot BP, subs, AND nitro in mine. My to-go load is 27.5gr of 4198 under a 500gr hard-cast bullet that I cast and lube myself using a 75/25 mix of beeswax and neats foot oil - good for a temperate climate like we have here in yUK. I can load it by hand - pushing it into the case on top of a twist of natural material filler - up to the bottom of the first driving band. It holds around 1.5" for ten shots with open sights at 100m to get me set up for 5 and 600 yard shoots, and is so pleasant to shoot that even noobs can use it without detaching retinas. Such a load requires no resizing except the neck, and no crimp either, although others will have different experiences in this regard.

tac
Click to expand...

I believe you have a very rare hard to get rifle as not very many made. Especially with the BPCR designation instead of the ordinary hunter version. I just found a new in box one but it's a Winchester.
My understanding is yes you van use jacketed projectiles bought with cartridges off the shelf, but for really long range I have been told the jury is still out deliberating whether the over stabilization given the more aggressive twist rate will be a factor for you. How far are you intending to target shoot with your Browning?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom