Beginning to reload 45-70 with H4198

hatman1793

hatman1793

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Bought a Marlin 1895 lever in 45-70. I wanted to achieve better than 2000 FPS with a lighter bullet, so I bought the LEE 45-70 mold, # 90373 mold that casts a 340 grain RNFP bullet. Powder coated the bullets & sized them to .459. Supposed to be the ideal size.

Hodgson 4198 was the recommended powder to use, and the throw weights begin at 35 grains to over 50.

I'm loking for a suitable load with the 340 grain bullet that achieves good velocity approaching 2000 FPS or over, but not near max loads. Suggestions & experiences are encouraged.
 
look at the trapdoor data and then work up from there, compare the data for the trapdoor to the data for the lever gun sections and pick a number in the middle that works near the velocity your trying to achieve, if you need help with the data PM me and we can set up getting scans or pictures of the lyman cast bullet manual to your email box
 
H4198: 50gr is 2000fps from a 26" barrel with 350gr bullets. Max 55gr for the 350gr bullet in my hodgdon book.
 
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Work your way up slowly.
I have used this powder in my marlin Guide gun for years, 18.5" tube,

I have reached over 2000 fps no problem. But what was a problem is recoil.
Recoil was my limiting factor.
 
One thing an old time shooter and reloader told me about the .45-70:
"It really doesn't matter how fast it's going. They're like getting hit by a bowling ball. No matter how fast it's going, it's gonna hurt!"
 
I'm thinking that 2000 fps may be a bit too high of a goal. Your bullet is a plain base design, and depending on how hard you cast them, 1600 fps to 1800 fps is the normal "zone". Accuracy is usually decent and leading minimal or not at all. Powder coating does gain you a bit of velocity, but a gas check is the best velocity with accuracy cast bullet combo. A gas checked bullet can be powder coated as well, and I assume that will get you a few more fps before accuracy goes south.

My experience has been with 44 magnum, 38-55 and 38 Spl/357 in rifles. I fooled with some Hi-Tech coated bullets in the 357, and if I lubed them as well, I could gain a bit of velocity.

Rifles can tolerate a slightly softer alloy, but straight lino or heat treated Clip On Wheel Weights will get you the most velocity before accuracy goes south.

Also, with high(ish) velocity as your goal, H4198 may be too fast a burner. I'd be tempted to try Reloader 7 or IMP3031. For 25,000 psi the bullet needs to be about a BHN of 20 or it will be too weak. H4198 will give you more pressure at 2000 fps than Rx7 will.

Shooting cast is or can be a real character builder, it hovers closer to witchcraft and Zen than it does to science.

Keep us posted, real experience beats guesswork and conjecture.

Nitro
 
dthunter said:
Work your way up slowly.
I have used this powder in my marlin Guide gun for years, 18.5" tube,

I have reached over 2000 fps no problem. But what was a problem is recoil.
Recoil was my limiting factor.
Click to expand...

...that's the limiting factor, if you exceed 35grs your rifle will kick like a mule, even with "light" bullets".

It all depends what you want to do, kill elephants and dinosurs, then the recoil doesn't really matter.
 
OTOH don't be shy to try some heavier loads, it won't kill you and the only way to become more recoil tolerant is to do it. If you're bench shooting the guide gun it can bite you, and a big part of the reason is because the bench shooting position sucks. We tend to lean forward bending down from the waist and that puts the butt against the top/front area on the shoulder where it hurts the most. Shooting from a standing position is more comfortable and actually helps prepare you for hunting. If you need to shoot from the bench, lift you shooting bags higher so your sitting position is more upright.

One of those slip on recoil pads works for bench shooting, and I find I need an extra inch LOP when I'm bench shooting compared to standing.
 
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