45-70 Loads
- Thread starter Rifter
- Start date
This thread seems to have quite a bit of popularity so instead of making a new thread I'll just post here
Does anyone have loads for
300gr jacketed HP
350gr jacketed HP
500gr Jacketed LRN
all using 3031 from a NEF handi rifle?
Those are the bullets at my disposal, I loaded a few 500gr bullets with a light load of BLC2 and it wasn't as much fun as I expected, Recoil was very light when I was actually hoping for a good thumping round, But I hear horror stories of people over pressuring their handi rifles, Not sure if they are true or people just out to scare one another
Does anyone have loads for
300gr jacketed HP
350gr jacketed HP
500gr Jacketed LRN
all using 3031 from a NEF handi rifle?
Those are the bullets at my disposal, I loaded a few 500gr bullets with a light load of BLC2 and it wasn't as much fun as I expected, Recoil was very light when I was actually hoping for a good thumping round, But I hear horror stories of people over pressuring their handi rifles, Not sure if they are true or people just out to scare one another
My go to load was 53 grains of 3031 behind a 300 grain bullet. It was very accurate in anything I put it in.
mudgunner49
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
"Jacketed" Lead Round Nose?? It will be either jacketed or lead.
I use 8.5gr of Trail Boss under a 500 gr plain base lead round nose out of my Handi-Rifle and it's pretty pleasant to shoot at somewhere around 850 or thereabouts. You can also get 650-700 very quietly with between 2.7-3gr of 700X. Be cautious with this one as if you go too low you can stick bullets in the bore (what I'm saying is to check your bore after every shot)...
The Handi Rifle can more than handle the level 2/lever loads. Many people told me they can handle the level 3/Ruger #1 loads and I tried some. The recoil popped the action open with each shot so I stopped after 2-3 and pulled the rest. No damage to the rifle, no "pressure signs" on the cases (you often wont see any until past 60k psi), just an open action after firing.
I've used 500gr spire point cast bullets with H4895 before. They chronied 1450fps if memory serves and that was a relatively mild load; only level 1/trap door load. There is very little data for 500gr at level 2 that I've managed to find because most lever rifles wont cycle 500gr bullets (too long to fit up the elevator even if they fit in the chamber). None of the level 3 loads in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook with 500gr bullets use 3031 or 4895.
For your 300gr and 350gr I would go with level 2 data if you want more power. Many powders will work because the 45-70 is so pleasant to reload. 3031, 4895, 4198, SR4759, Varget, etc. etc.
Level 1 loads will kill anything in North America if you're looking to hunt with them. That's up to grizzly, bison, elk, and bigfoot.
I sold my handi rifle (and replaced it with a guide gun and buffalo classic) but I still have my records.
With a 300gr JHP I'm showing 2350fps with 55gr of H4198 and 1960fps with 57gr of H4895 as accurate loads. I wasn't using 3031 back then (still rarely use it) so I can't say for that one.
For 500gr cast my records show 30gr of H4198 for 1250fps or 40gr of H4895 for 1450fps.
There is a note that I got terrible leading at 1700fps using water dropped, pure WW cast bullets but I don't see any recorded chrony results that high with cast. I must have forgotten to enter them in my spreadsheets; they're probably in one of my old range record books.
Thanks for for info, I'll give the 53gr of 3031 a go behind the 300gr jacketed hp, Iam just trying to use what I have on hand for powder as it isn't the easiest to come by these days, I don't see myself ever hunting with the rifle as I have other more suitable options for dangerous/large game, but I do see the HR being more of a truck/camp gun since it was cheap to buy and fun to shoot, and usually being a camp gun it gets shot for fun more than anything else, that's where the jacketed 500gr bullets would be a lot of fun. I'll have to do a little more research on the levels, both my reloading books only list for: rifles in good condition, 1895, modern rifles, and ruger rifles, but the loads are limited in the 500gr sections
