45/70 short throat or ?

C

c.t.smith

Regular
Rating - 100%
113   0   1
I picked up a nice stainless #1 in 45/70 and loaded up some speer 300gr bullets. No issue at all Then I tried some RCBS 405 grain cast bullets and it is a no go. Even tried them in short FTX brass but I cant get them shot enough to chamber. They are sized to .458 and also seem to fat. I bought this thing to chuck lead so Who in BC can help me. Im Williams lake area and frequent the Island

Thanks
 
what are your cast bullets sized to?
measure the diameter of a fired case and then measure the diameter of a case with your cast bullet loaded.......your newly loaded brass shouldn't be any larger in diameter then a fired case or like you found out.....chambering becomes difficult........
 
yodave said:
what are your cast bullets sized to?
measure the diameter of a fired case and then measure the diameter of a case with your cast bullet loaded.......your newly loaded brass shouldn't be any larger in diameter then a fired case or like you found out.....chambering becomes difficult........
Click to expand...

Ill do that thanks. I think its a tight chamber and a short throat. Im used to my marlins where .460+ was the ticket
these bullets are .458. Not my own cast but my buddies he bought. I still need to buy molds but need to get this fixed first
 
do this........

slide a bullet into the chamber with no case....push it in until it contacts the rifling, slide a cleaning road down the barrel until it makes contact with the bullet, mark the cleaning rod at the muzzle.....remove bullet and close the action, leave the rifle in the cocked position though, slide the cleaning rod down until it contacts the back of the boltface and again mark the cleaning rod at the muzzle......measure the distance of those 2 marks and that should give you the OAL of a loaded round to kiss the rifling......set your seating die up to make a dummy round at this OAL.....it should chamber if the bullet is not to "fat" and should also give an indication as to how much lead is in your chamber......
 
yodave said:
do this........

slide a bullet into the chamber with no case....push it in until it contacts the rifling, slide a cleaning road down the barrel until it makes contact with the bullet, mark the cleaning rod at the muzzle.....remove bullet and close the action, leave the rifle in the cocked position though, slide the cleaning rod down until it contacts the back of the boltface and again mark the cleaning rod at the muzzle......measure the distance of those 2 marks and that should give you the OAL of a loaded round to kiss the rifling......set your seating die up to make a dummy round at this OAL.....it should chamber if the bullet is not to "fat" and should also give an indication as to how much lead is in your chamber......
Click to expand...

Thanks will do
 
Seem to recall loading 405gr cast bullets in my No.1 45-70 before I got the throat lengthened and had no issues (??). The cast bullet was seated as deep as the Remington 405gr jacketed bullet seated to the top cannelure and both rounds chambered ok. They look like as shown below. Maybe your chamber needs a good cleaning? :confused:

34671002372_1e79692fc0.jpg
 
So I did the cleaning rod test and came up with 2.43" so I made a dummy round with FTX brass and got one to work with a total length of 2.44" but it takes a little thumb push to seat and there is slight engraving and thats with the bullet crimped at the very shortest possible in the crimp groove. Im happy enough with this as it will not see max loads and most likely not going to be hunted much. Im going to get a 350F lee mold and see what I come up with and hunt down some FTX brass. Kinda a shame to use short brass in a gun with all that potential

Thanks for all the insight keep it comming
 
Speer Reloading Manual No.12 mentions the shorter throat in newer production 45-70 No.1 rifles which is what their test rifle is for the 45-70 strong action load data. COL is listed as 2.54" using their 400gr FN bullet.
 
custom trim brass for that rifle so you can crimp in the crimp groove of the bullet.........

a light jam of a cast bullet has never hurt anyone, infact it's good for accuracy
 
The Ruger #1's in .45-70 made in the last ten years or so had short throats. I tested a pile of different bullet designs on mine and there were a number of jacketed bullets that would not chamber if seated to the length shown in the reloading manuals. I had the throat lengthened on mine.

I remember that the Remington 405's worked well, but the Speer 400's wouldn't fit. I think the Hornady 350's were good to go. The 405gr bullets sold by the bullet barn didn't fit at 2.55" either, although they've changed their design since then.

Chris.
 
You can use a bore rider bullet if you want the extra case capacity. Also, there is no need to crimp for the 45-70 in a single shot rifle. Just set the seating die to remove the flare.
For most purposes, short throated 45-70's with smokeless powder are a good thing. Use up some of that excess case capacity. The cartridge was designed for bulky black powder, and can fit more smokeless than you need. Trapdoor level loads can push a 405 to 1800FPS and most shoulders cry "uncle" before you exceed that level.

Stomp:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom