Several years ago, I received my first Winchester Model 1876 in .45-60 caliber. I developed a good load for it, using a cast 300 grain bullet, but eventually traded the old rifle for an original Winchester 1886 in .45-70. This was my second original 1886, the previous being in .45-90, which I also developed a variety of loads for and then sold. The problem with smokeless loads in the .45-90 was that it had such a large case capacity, that a fellow either needed to use a real slow powder to fill the case as best as he could, or if he uses a faster powders like IMR 4198 or IMR 3031, toilet paper filler really helps to get consistent burning. The .45-70 is a lot easier to load with smokeless powders, due to its smaller case capacity, which brings me to the big advantage of the .45-60. All three cartridge cases are virtually identical in dimensions, except for length. With the .45-60, a fellow can use powders like 5744 (my favourite for this cartridge) and IMR 4198 without any filler at all. As is so often the case when you don't know what you got until it's gone, I began to sorely miss that '76 in 45-60. This spring, I had the good fortune to acquire another original Winchester 1876 in .45-60 that is a real tack driver. I don't see myself ever being without a .45-60 from now on.
The original black powder cartridges for the .45-60 put a 300 grain bullet out the barrel at 1,271 fps, according to a copy of an 1896 Winchester catalogue. In my own experience, using 60 grains of Goex FFg under a 318 cast bullet, I got 1,307 fps. I figure that a 300 grain bullet moving at 1,300 fps is going to be good for any North American game except for the Grizzly and Polar Bear and maybe the Bison. Of course, with proper shot placement, and given that you are far enough away when you place the shot so that the bear will die before it gets to you, the .45-60 could even be used for the big bears. Given some recent results I've received for the use of 44-40 on Moose, I would expect complete side-to-side penetration with the .45-60 on Moose and Elk and anything smaller, including Black Bear. Actual field results for the .45-60 are a little scanty at this point, but over the next several years, I plan to get some. Thus far, the only thing I've killed with a .45-60 is a Woodchuck at 55 yards. It is definitely 'enough gun' for Woodchucks, not to mention the shattered rock behind it.
For those of you who just can't control yourself and are addicted to seeing how much you can beef up the ballistics, I believe the .45-60 actually has some room to work with in the modern 1876's with their advertised stronger steels. There are two forces to reckon with when developing a load that is more powerful than original BP ballistics, axial thrust against the bolt, and hoop stresses in the chamber due to pressure. The .45-60 can handle more pressure than its bigger brothers, the .45-75 and the .50-90 due to its thicker chamber walls. The same catalogue lists the .45-75 as firing a 350 grain bullet at 1,343 and the .50-95 fired a 300 grain bullet at 1,493 fps. Mike Venturino found that 70 grains of FFg in the .45-75 resulted in 1,442 fps with a 324 grain cast bullet. When you consider that the same linkage was used for these cartridges as for the .45-60, and the .45-60 has significantly thicker chamber walls, it begins to become clear that the .45-60 was not limited in power by pressure or bolt thrust, but by how much black power could be crammed into the case. That limitation disappears with the right kind of smokeless powder. What this means is that the .45-60 can be safely loaded up to equal the bolt thrust and chamber pressure of the .45-75, which of the three cartridges, probably has the highest pressure due to its bottleneck shape (the US military at the time, in their tests, found that the bottle neck shape substantially increased chamber pressure with only a small gain in velocity). So if we developed a smokeless load that delivered the same recoil as the .45-75 or the .50-95, we would still be on safe ground with the .45-60. We would also have to keep chamber pressures below those of the .45-75, which was likely to have developed even higher chamber pressures than the .50-95 for obvious reasons. If I get my calculator out and start using formulas which I won't take the time to bore you with here, my calculations suggest the following:
1. Keeping pressures less than the .45-75, one should be able to send a 300 grain bullet out of a .45-60 at 1,550 fps.
2. Keeping axial thrust equal to the .45-75, one should be able to send a 300 grain bullet out of the .45-60 at 1,567 fps
Modern Uberti-made '76's with their advertised stronger steels, should be able to handle the above loads without any problem. As a matter of interest, while developing a load for my original .45-60, using IMR 4227, I found a huge difference in velocity between powder forward (which is what I was using when developing the load) and powder back (which I used when I got to the range). The powder back position gave velocities over 200 fps higher. I fired a total of three of these over my chronograph during testing and got 1,565 fps, 1,517 fps, and 1,566 fps. There was no detectable change in headspace due to these rounds. In the powder forward position I averaged 1,291 fps. Needless to say, I will no longer use IMR 4227 in my .45-60 without filler (which solves the powder position problem). Nevertheless, any reloader who wants to 'see what the .45-60 will do', had jolly well be aware of the effect of powder position if he doesn't want to blow his fool head off.
So, before anyone runs out to load some of these steamy loads up, there are a few things you need to know. First, axial thrust is a tricky thing. At pressures that seal the case against the chamber walls, axial thrust is actually very low. If the case does not seal (evidence for which is sooty cases), axial thrust can become very high, much higher than for proper loads. What this means, is that you should not use too slow of powder. When I develop a load, I like to find a load that a) gives original BP velocities and no sooty cases, and with powders slower than Blue Dot. Why slower than Blue Dot you ask? Because powders with a burn rate in the neighbourhood of Blue Dot-2400 give pressure spikes and curves almost identical to BP. Smokeless powders faster than that will give higher pressure spikes for the same ballistics and slower powders will give lower pressures than BP, but may not give enough pressure to bump up the bullet or seal the case. So there is actually a narrow band of burn rates that I use for original BP guns. A real slow powder may give significantly lower pressures than original BP loads, but they may also provide drastically higher thrust against the bolt if the case does not seal against the chamber walls. All this to say that you had durn-tootin' better understand powder burn rates and their relationship to ballistics before you stray off of published loads and start 'loading up' the .45-60, not to mention the effect of powder position.
Am I going to try this? Short answer ..... no. If you want to put a 300 grain bullet out the barrel at 1,550 fps, then get a .45-70. I think it can be done, and done safely, but I don't trust theoretical calculations without testing to verify them, and I'm perfectly happy with original BP velocities. As I stated at the outset, a 300 grain cast bullet at 1,300 fps is good for most North American game and good enough to give complete, side-to-side penetration. Part of the reason to shoot vintage style leverguns, even if they are a modern repro, is also to shoot vintage style ballistics. I don't see the need for loads that are steamier than original Winchester loads (although for the nickel steel barrels, I'm fine with approaching original Winchester H.V. loads).
So what I'm saying is that unless a fellow is hunting some of the largest North American game, or unless he requires shots exceeding 200 yards, the .45-60 is plenty adequate for most of us on this forum. It has the added enjoyment of being a vintage, obsolete cartridge of the Old West. Perhaps its largest disadvantage is that it is usually chambered in a 10 pound Model 1876. My original 1876 rifle is 48 & 3/4" long, which some might find awkward in heavy brush. However, since I've stumbled upon the beautiful Uberti-made, 9-pound 1876 SRC with the 22" barrel, sold by Cimarron ( h ttp://www.cimarron-firearms.com/RepeatingRifles/1876Carbine.htm ), I think we have a very nice platform for the serious resurrection of the .45-60 cartridge. Now some of you may think that even a 9-pound rifle is too heavy to carry hunting. All I can say is, 'come-on guys, if you can't haul a 9 or 10 pound rifle around all day, you are getting soft!' (I'll make allowances for you fellows who hunt the mountains with a lot of climbing involved). I've happily hunted with my 10-pound 1876 rifle all day long, switching it from arm to arm, and loved every minute of it. Hunting is not just about how light your gun is. For me, it includes the greatly added pleasure of hunting with vintage leverguns, even if they are heavy. We are not going into a firefight boys, we're hunting! Besides, think of it as good exercise that tones the biceps.
My dies are made by Lyman, are very reasonable in price, and work just fine. New, properly headstamped Chaparral brass can be ordered from http://www.marstar.ca/ammo-etc/new-brass.shtm for $Cdn 48.95 (ship anywhere in the world), and 300 grain bullet moulds are plentiful. I know that the Cimarron 1876 SRC is going to set you back a bit, but I also know that a lot of you have several guns laying around that you hardly ever shoot. Sell a few and get yourself a .45-60 SRC. If you are like me, it is a cartridge that might grow on you and soon become one of your top favourites.
Here's a photo of my Winchester 1876 .45-60 (shipped in 1886), along with a bunch of ammo I loaded up ...
The original black powder cartridges for the .45-60 put a 300 grain bullet out the barrel at 1,271 fps, according to a copy of an 1896 Winchester catalogue. In my own experience, using 60 grains of Goex FFg under a 318 cast bullet, I got 1,307 fps. I figure that a 300 grain bullet moving at 1,300 fps is going to be good for any North American game except for the Grizzly and Polar Bear and maybe the Bison. Of course, with proper shot placement, and given that you are far enough away when you place the shot so that the bear will die before it gets to you, the .45-60 could even be used for the big bears. Given some recent results I've received for the use of 44-40 on Moose, I would expect complete side-to-side penetration with the .45-60 on Moose and Elk and anything smaller, including Black Bear. Actual field results for the .45-60 are a little scanty at this point, but over the next several years, I plan to get some. Thus far, the only thing I've killed with a .45-60 is a Woodchuck at 55 yards. It is definitely 'enough gun' for Woodchucks, not to mention the shattered rock behind it.
For those of you who just can't control yourself and are addicted to seeing how much you can beef up the ballistics, I believe the .45-60 actually has some room to work with in the modern 1876's with their advertised stronger steels. There are two forces to reckon with when developing a load that is more powerful than original BP ballistics, axial thrust against the bolt, and hoop stresses in the chamber due to pressure. The .45-60 can handle more pressure than its bigger brothers, the .45-75 and the .50-90 due to its thicker chamber walls. The same catalogue lists the .45-75 as firing a 350 grain bullet at 1,343 and the .50-95 fired a 300 grain bullet at 1,493 fps. Mike Venturino found that 70 grains of FFg in the .45-75 resulted in 1,442 fps with a 324 grain cast bullet. When you consider that the same linkage was used for these cartridges as for the .45-60, and the .45-60 has significantly thicker chamber walls, it begins to become clear that the .45-60 was not limited in power by pressure or bolt thrust, but by how much black power could be crammed into the case. That limitation disappears with the right kind of smokeless powder. What this means is that the .45-60 can be safely loaded up to equal the bolt thrust and chamber pressure of the .45-75, which of the three cartridges, probably has the highest pressure due to its bottleneck shape (the US military at the time, in their tests, found that the bottle neck shape substantially increased chamber pressure with only a small gain in velocity). So if we developed a smokeless load that delivered the same recoil as the .45-75 or the .50-95, we would still be on safe ground with the .45-60. We would also have to keep chamber pressures below those of the .45-75, which was likely to have developed even higher chamber pressures than the .50-95 for obvious reasons. If I get my calculator out and start using formulas which I won't take the time to bore you with here, my calculations suggest the following:
1. Keeping pressures less than the .45-75, one should be able to send a 300 grain bullet out of a .45-60 at 1,550 fps.
2. Keeping axial thrust equal to the .45-75, one should be able to send a 300 grain bullet out of the .45-60 at 1,567 fps
Modern Uberti-made '76's with their advertised stronger steels, should be able to handle the above loads without any problem. As a matter of interest, while developing a load for my original .45-60, using IMR 4227, I found a huge difference in velocity between powder forward (which is what I was using when developing the load) and powder back (which I used when I got to the range). The powder back position gave velocities over 200 fps higher. I fired a total of three of these over my chronograph during testing and got 1,565 fps, 1,517 fps, and 1,566 fps. There was no detectable change in headspace due to these rounds. In the powder forward position I averaged 1,291 fps. Needless to say, I will no longer use IMR 4227 in my .45-60 without filler (which solves the powder position problem). Nevertheless, any reloader who wants to 'see what the .45-60 will do', had jolly well be aware of the effect of powder position if he doesn't want to blow his fool head off.
So, before anyone runs out to load some of these steamy loads up, there are a few things you need to know. First, axial thrust is a tricky thing. At pressures that seal the case against the chamber walls, axial thrust is actually very low. If the case does not seal (evidence for which is sooty cases), axial thrust can become very high, much higher than for proper loads. What this means, is that you should not use too slow of powder. When I develop a load, I like to find a load that a) gives original BP velocities and no sooty cases, and with powders slower than Blue Dot. Why slower than Blue Dot you ask? Because powders with a burn rate in the neighbourhood of Blue Dot-2400 give pressure spikes and curves almost identical to BP. Smokeless powders faster than that will give higher pressure spikes for the same ballistics and slower powders will give lower pressures than BP, but may not give enough pressure to bump up the bullet or seal the case. So there is actually a narrow band of burn rates that I use for original BP guns. A real slow powder may give significantly lower pressures than original BP loads, but they may also provide drastically higher thrust against the bolt if the case does not seal against the chamber walls. All this to say that you had durn-tootin' better understand powder burn rates and their relationship to ballistics before you stray off of published loads and start 'loading up' the .45-60, not to mention the effect of powder position.
Am I going to try this? Short answer ..... no. If you want to put a 300 grain bullet out the barrel at 1,550 fps, then get a .45-70. I think it can be done, and done safely, but I don't trust theoretical calculations without testing to verify them, and I'm perfectly happy with original BP velocities. As I stated at the outset, a 300 grain cast bullet at 1,300 fps is good for most North American game and good enough to give complete, side-to-side penetration. Part of the reason to shoot vintage style leverguns, even if they are a modern repro, is also to shoot vintage style ballistics. I don't see the need for loads that are steamier than original Winchester loads (although for the nickel steel barrels, I'm fine with approaching original Winchester H.V. loads).
So what I'm saying is that unless a fellow is hunting some of the largest North American game, or unless he requires shots exceeding 200 yards, the .45-60 is plenty adequate for most of us on this forum. It has the added enjoyment of being a vintage, obsolete cartridge of the Old West. Perhaps its largest disadvantage is that it is usually chambered in a 10 pound Model 1876. My original 1876 rifle is 48 & 3/4" long, which some might find awkward in heavy brush. However, since I've stumbled upon the beautiful Uberti-made, 9-pound 1876 SRC with the 22" barrel, sold by Cimarron ( h ttp://www.cimarron-firearms.com/RepeatingRifles/1876Carbine.htm ), I think we have a very nice platform for the serious resurrection of the .45-60 cartridge. Now some of you may think that even a 9-pound rifle is too heavy to carry hunting. All I can say is, 'come-on guys, if you can't haul a 9 or 10 pound rifle around all day, you are getting soft!' (I'll make allowances for you fellows who hunt the mountains with a lot of climbing involved). I've happily hunted with my 10-pound 1876 rifle all day long, switching it from arm to arm, and loved every minute of it. Hunting is not just about how light your gun is. For me, it includes the greatly added pleasure of hunting with vintage leverguns, even if they are heavy. We are not going into a firefight boys, we're hunting! Besides, think of it as good exercise that tones the biceps.
My dies are made by Lyman, are very reasonable in price, and work just fine. New, properly headstamped Chaparral brass can be ordered from http://www.marstar.ca/ammo-etc/new-brass.shtm for $Cdn 48.95 (ship anywhere in the world), and 300 grain bullet moulds are plentiful. I know that the Cimarron 1876 SRC is going to set you back a bit, but I also know that a lot of you have several guns laying around that you hardly ever shoot. Sell a few and get yourself a .45-60 SRC. If you are like me, it is a cartridge that might grow on you and soon become one of your top favourites.
Here's a photo of my Winchester 1876 .45-60 (shipped in 1886), along with a bunch of ammo I loaded up ...
