45-70 elk/moose gun

Slamfire said:
Barnes Reloading Manual No.1 (1992) lists Level III .45-70 loads that are held to 50,000 cup maximum -

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Older .45-70 No.1 rifles have generous throat lengths as mine does for increased case capacity. Be aware that newer production .45-70 No.1 rifles have much shorter throats which would develop higher pressures for the same loads.

Seems the action itself isn't the weak link because of the inherent strength of the breech block design. The rifle designer purportedly never did succeed in blowing apart the action with extreme pressure loads during destructive testing - the barrel sheared off first.

Interestingly, my calculations indicate that maximum stresses in my barrel at the breech and muzzle ends at 50,000 psi chamber pressure are well below yield stress if the barrel is made of AISI 4140 which it probably is. ;)
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The starting load for the 350 grain fp in the hodgdon manual is 47 grains imr 4198.
And that’s for the 1895s & 1886s.
The heavy loads for the ruger #1 are even more.
I’ve always been a firm follower of the paradigm that neither the critter in front of the gun nor the critter behind it should suffer.;)
 
win94luver said:
Those shortened cases from discharged hornady factory ftx rounds might be useful for loading heavy weight cast lead bullets or as some do the 500 grain solid normally used in the 458 win.
I tried hand loading the 325 grain ftxs and couldn't match the accuracy of the hornady factory ammo.
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Do we know what powder they use?
 
ruger22 said:
Do we know what powder they use?
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Probably a proprietary non-cannister powder.
Lots of handloads can match or even exceed the velocity but not the accuracy of the factory rounds.
The factory ftx 45-70 ftx ammo and marlin 1895s go together like apple pie and a scoop of ice cream.
I get consistent 3-shot keyholes at 100 metres.
Some like to push the frangible 325 gr ftxs to 2400 fps.
You get vaporizing bullets and a sore shoulder ... what’s the point?
The factory 325 grain 45-70 ammo has killed moose dead up to 220 yds to our direct knowledge.
What’s the point in driving them so fast they almost evaporate when exiting the muzzle?
 
Slamfire said:
To push the envelope just for funsies. :)
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That’s cool. ;)
We took 4 fragments of a 325 gr ftx out of a moose carcass that had an aggregate weight of over 200 grains which meant that the part or parts that blew out the exit hole on the other size accounted for the remaining 125 grains.
That’s with a bullet with a me of around 1925 fps out of a guide gun.
The ftx is not a very ‘tough’ bullet.
 
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Wouldn't load those 535 Postells in a tube mag though, single shot only, even if you could get away with the OAL. But they're a great bullet for a single shot. If you have a long throat and can seat them long - even past the first lube groove - so much the better. Haven't chronoed them but they should only be going 1150fps over 70gr 2f. If you could push them faster out of your #1 I bet they'd work well. If you want some to try I'm happy to cast some up and send them over, or you could borrow the mold. I'm by no means the best caster in the world but I've had excellent accuracy with them. Shoot, powder coat them and push them faster and I'd like to see what they do.
 
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Appreciated, I'd like to give cast bullets a try again. The first go-round with these sourced from a local gun store provided less than stellar results - too many fliers and keyholers. No range time for me for a while - too cold. :eek:
 
Alright, well that gives me time over the winter to do some more up, better after hunting season is over anyway. Be a good time killer in the dark days of February. I've shot them as cast, and had excellent sub MOA accuracy out of the Pedersolis, albeit over black not smokeless. I can PC some too.
 
It sure would. I was very close to pulling the trigger on one but went with the sharps carbine instead. I've heard the Pedersoli TDs can have weak ejectors but they take original parts if it's a problem. BPCR shooting has been a lot of fun. Frankly amazed at the accuracy you get from cast and volume measured BP. It easily rivals or surpasses lots of smokeless rifles.
 
remington jim said:
YUP i shoot 400 gr-ers at over 2000 fps from my BLR ;) RJ
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3553 ft-lbs
About the same ME as the factory hornady 350 gr fp ammo but a heavier bullet.
The trouble with the 450 marlin is big bullets take up so much of that small case.
It shouldn’t be difficult to convert a BLR in 450 marlin to a 458 win mag.
The action is certainly strong enough to handle it.
 
Slamfire said:
The .450 Marlin is on a short action BLR and COAL is 2.550" whereas .458 Win. Mag. COAL is 3.340". The conversion could be done on a long action BLR like .300 Win. Mag.
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Makes sense.
But that BLR action can certainly handle the pressure.
It’s essentially a lever actuated bolt action and in the later versions the lugs lock into the chamber/barrel assembly.
It’s up there with the Ruger #1 in robustness.
Surprised no one had done it.
Maybe they have?
It would be a punishing beast.
Notice any shooters with malformed shoulders around?;)
 
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