45-70 elk/moose

Not the Hornady soft tip ammo. They look good on paper but make large but shallow wounds on bears. I wouldn't hunt anything other than deer with a 45-70 without some modern ammo.

It would be in your best interest to figure out if you have a reloading buddy, buy dies, powder(4198, rel 7, 3031, etc) and 350-400 gr jacketed or 400-450gr flat nose hard cast bullets and a 6 pack for him to show you how to assemble them. It's worth it and you will make your investment back after about 4 or 5 boxes of ammo.
 
What 45/70? Especially in that circumstance it could make a pretty big difference even without being a reloader. There are factory ammunition options that are only safe in certain rifles.
 
Can't go wrong with a heavy (400+ grains), gas checked, hard cast bullet with a wide meplat (.360" or wider), at moderate speeds 14-1700fps. That's what I'm aiming for in my 1895CB for this years hunt.
 
If using factory loads, the 405 grain soft point Remington or Win. is a better bullet than the Hornady Leverevolution ( sp?) flex tip for bigger animals. I believe Remington loads two power versions of their 405 grain load, choose the one for modern rifles only and you won't be disappointed. Also, i would not hunt anything bigger than deer with the various 300 grain hollow point jacketed bullets. There is a Barnes copper bullet of around 300 grains loaded in vortx ammo that looks good, but i have no experience with it.
 
hornady 350g or speer 400g or Remington 405 g. Could do the barnes also but at extra cost. Not sure if is required since it is a lever.
 
At those ranges, any handload will do the trick. Remember, BP loads were used to virtually exterminate the bisons. As far as Hornady goes, I used the 325s on a 225 lbs. wild boar and it want right through.
 
Papaclaude said:
At those ranges, any handload will do the trick. Remember, BP loads were used to virtually exterminate the bisons. As far as Hornady goes, I used the 325s on a 225 lbs. wild boar and it want right through.
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Bad example. We're talking about ethical hunting, not indiscriminate flock shooting.

For the OP, I would be using a bullet like the Lyman 457193 which drops from my mould at 418 gr. It runs at 1950 fps which will do everything you need.
 
The 45-70 is the most misunderstood cartridge. It's taken many moose and bear over the years. Have a look at the following article. It explains quite a bit about the cartridge and it's penetrating power.
http://www.garrettcartridges.com/penetration.html

Using a factory load like the rem 405's running at 1300 FPS works fine. Or load up some hard casts like Crater and Crater Lites(my favourite) with IMR 4198 or 3031 and get them moving around 1300 fps are deadly or make them more stout will give you a flatter trajectory with a bit more kick.
 
Excuse the slight Hi-Jack but what is a good source of hard cast that won't kill me on shipping to B.C.? I want some hard hitting stuff to max out hunting usability of my 1885.

Dirk
 
BigUglyMan said:
Bad example. We're talking about ethical hunting, not indiscriminate flock shooting.

For the OP, I would be using a bullet like the Lyman 457193 which drops from my mould at 418 gr. It runs at 1950 fps which will do everything you need.
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Thats zipping along pretty fast, what powder?

Where do you find the moulds for that bullet?
 
scott_r said:
Ive never seen those carried in any shops I frequent. Im assuming they are an Australian manufacturer.

Cheers!!
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I believe Trade Ex carry the in Canada? a few CGNrs currently Run the Woodleighs in their rifles! I cant really point you in the right direction but Sus out Slamfire? he buys woodleighs from somewhere!

It is Aussie made projectiles but man, Top of the Line, world renowned for sure...... Some guys are swaging down these to .452/1 for that 450 Marlin thing...........
il let you hit the google an look for the Woodleigh page, has some info ..

Well priced too!!!! forgot to mention that....... incredibly, You guys Pay LESS than we do here LOL
 
Woodleigh 405gr 45-70 are bonded core bullets so these should provide controlled expansion. TradeEx sells these, check out the link below.

I haven't tried the 405gr Woodleigh's yet but have used 400gr Swift A-Frames which are bonded core and these worked pretty good on Elk. Recovered bullets at impact speeds noted. The Swift's are likely thicker jacketed than the Woodleigh's.

https://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/w30b-woodleigh-bullets-4570-405gr-flat-nose--

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350gr RN Hornady didn't work too bad. Bullets shown here recovered from Bull Mooses at impact speeds noted.

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405gr Remington worked not too bad. A bit too much expansion and not quite enough penetration for my liking. A recovered bullet from a Bull Moose at about 1600 fps impact speed. A raking shot that broke shoulder bone and lodged in the neck.

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Whats yer price on Swifts over there?
we are around $110 per 50 pieces LOL Jammed Up on Import ETC $$$

Woodleighs around $65 per 50..

id Wager any Woodleigh 45 bullet will do as good if not better than the Swift for Game of this Size.... on Buffalos the swift might perform a little better, deeper perhaps.

if your cost isn't too different, take my word and fill me in on the finer details when you return from the hunt, like how far the shot was an how far away you found him piled up :) an of course a pic of recovered projectile
 
My personal recommendation for a factory load or for bullets to load up would be the 300gr Barnes TSX. The factory Barnes load is around 1900fps. I've been able to push mine over 2200fps.
 
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