Cast Bullets

tuffteddyb

tuffteddyb

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Hi, I want too try shooting cast bullets out of my Ruger #1 in 45/70.
My problem is I have no idea where too start?
Suggestions are greatly appreciated!
I am going to buy them too start with, We have a couple local companies building them.
But I have no idea what powder or bullet weights I should be looking for.
Thanxs for any information.
tuffteddyb
 
Go to Hodgdon Reloading .Com and they have a wealth of reloading data for all of their powders. Personally my favorite .45-70 cast bullet powders are IMR 3031, SR 4759 about 32- 35 grain loads are fairly close to original BP loadings, SR 4759 is a good powder but very hard to find. If you don't mind cleaning, try some Black Powder loads, tons of fun to be had there! If you're shooting just cast bullets with no gas checks, keep the velocity under 1400 fps and you'll have less leading issues with plenty of plinking power. If you have gas-checked bullets, there are loads for those that are hotter.

Edit: As far as bullet weights go, 300-50 gr is light, 400 is the original standard and anything over 475 I'd say is more of a long range target or heavy game bullet.
 
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It depends on what you're wanting to do with it. Heavy game would need a heavier bullet, while deer would need a lighter bullet. I'd suggest a 400 to 420-grain bullet to start. It's a decent mid-weight for the 45-70, and it's quite versatile. A for load weights, in the Ruger you can load it right to the nuts without any real problems except for objectionable recoil. I'd suggest you find a light starting load and go up from there. There's a ton of recipes for the old 45-70, in loading manuals an t internet.
 
To have any success with cast you need to make sure you know the diameter of your barrel. The bullets should be .002 over the barrel diameter and that will solve the vast majority of any leading problems. Go with a 405 grain plain base bullet and keep it around 1500fps. Will work for any game and is not too much power for deer.
 
Mikeyman said:
To have any success with cast you need to make sure you know the diameter of your barrel. The bullets should be .002 over the barrel diameter and that will solve the vast majority of any leading problems. Go with a 405 grain plain base bullet and keep it around 1500fps. Will work for any game and is not too much power for deer.
Click to expand...

Bore size and leading is one of the great many subjects on the internet that is highly over rated and ranks as just an unproven theory.
Regardless what you read on here and other blogs, whether your barrel leads up or not, is more dependent on whether the bore is smooth, or microscopicly rough.
Some of the magnum revolvers gather lead badly, while others, more often a S&W than a Ruger, will stay clear of collecting any lead in the barrel. One time Ruger report in a manual that their pistol barrels may gather lead when they were new, but as they smoothed up from shooting jacketed bullets they would be better with cast bullets. They also stated that barrels could be worked smoother by using extra fine cleaning compounds, such as house hold Bon Ami.
Marlin rifles have very smooth barrels. I have shot cast bullets in four different, large bore Marlin rifles and never collected lead in any of them.
And in all of the rifles and revolvers that I have shot lead alloy bullets in, I have never slugged a single bore, to check for diameter, to see what diameter bullets I should be using.
Just use the bullet diameter the bore was designed for.
Bruce
 
If you can find a copy "Forty Years With .45/70" by Paul Matthews is probably one of the best all round books on the subject and you are shooting one of his favorite guns
 
You say you are going to buy them at the start, Bullet barn is a great place to deal with. I use their 405 gr bullets and see no reason to go thru the pain of casting my own. I don't like reloading to begin with, and have zero interest in casting
 
Many decades ago, I learned how to reload for an old "sporterized" Trapdoor Springfield 45-70 by reading an article in an old Dixie Gunworks catalogue...I had no reloading gear except for a used Lee mold for a big (500 gr.?) bullet and according to the Dixie Gunworks article, I didn't need any...

....following their instructions, I drilled a hole in a block of wood, and primed the brass by inserting the case into the hole and then tapping in the primer with a dowel and hammer. I didn't resize the brass at all. I cast the bullets from a bucket of wheelweights I bought cheap at Canadian Tire, quenching them hot in cold water to harden, and filled the lubrication grooves with Crisco kitchen grease. I used unweighed black powder with a cut down 45-70 case as a dipper. The bullets were not resized, just shot as cast, a tight push-fit in the brass cases. And thats all there was to it. These cartridges gave reasonable accuracy for about ten shots by which time the barrel fouled up too much from the black powder and crisco.

I later reloaded .38 S+W the same way. Thats the nice thing (or not) about revolvers and single shot rifles...you can pretty much jam anything into the chamber.

It sounds a little dangerous but in fact it didn't seem to be and I also didn't know any better at the time. You perhaps might want to be a little more sophisticated (or not).
 
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Folks new to cast bullets can't go wrong by having the 4th edition Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook along with the 49th or 50th edition of the Lyman Reloading Handbook. I use Bullet Barn hardcast in all of my rifles as they are nearby and they shoot fine with my loads.

I also cast my own using Lee and Lyman molds for shotgun slugs & blackpowder projectiles to eat up wheel weights.
 
I've been loading 300gr - 550gr cast bullets in the 45-70 for years now.

Check out jethunter in the EE for his excellent cast gas checked bullets.

Rusty Wood Trading Company stocks The Bullet Barn bullets and also stocks a 460gr Cast Performance WFNGC.

Do a google search for The Bullet Barn they sell their own bullets online.

You can't go wrong with H322 powder it is by far my favourite 45-70 powder but there are other excellent choices.

There are 3 levels of loading for the 45-70 cartridges Trapdoor, Lever and Ruger single shot you obviously can load up to to pressures with your Ruger you may find the recoil a bit much though.

Actually there are 4 levels I shoot T/C Contender carbines in 45-70 their frames can handle a bit more than a Trapdoor but far less than a lever action.

If your looking at hunting with cast bullets you want to get your hands onto the widest/flattest meplat (tip of the bullet) bullets you can find the Cast Performance 460gr Rusty Wood sells is a perfect example and would be one of my first choices for bullets in your 45-70 Ruger.

Key is do not shoot cast bullets beyond 1300fps if they do not have gas checks issue is the bullets would lead up your barrel crazy fast.

The very best online 45-70 chat forum is http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/45-70-govt/
 
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