reloading Marlin 1895 in 45-70 for deer and bear - powders and bullets suggestions

Mudduck

Mudduck

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Im reloading for a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 and wondering if anyone has some good suggestions for what powder and bullet type & weight combinations that might be good to try.

It will mostly be used for bush deer gun so 150 yards max and maybe for a fall bear hunt in a tree stand - 30-40 yards?

thank you in advance for any suggestions
 
That is such an open question 'cause with the 45/70 you can dress that girl up and you can dress her down. Many, many combinations will work. Even black powder.

I use cast bullets 300-450 with IMR 4198
 
My Cowboy gets used in a sort of unorthodox way compared to most, while it will shoot 350-450 gr cast slugs into acceptable "hunting accuracy" groups ( around 2" at 100), The best accuracy I get is with 250 gr- .452 pistol bullets powder coated up to .459 dia and shot at BP velocity (12-1300 fps). These slugs will group all day into a clover leaf. One of the things most shooters dont try and I do with these rounds, is that I use the exact same powder charge with the 250 gr as I do with any heavier slug ( their all down-pressure loads from Sammi spec so not dangerous to do). The powder charge I use is 27 gr of 5744 (recoil of the 250 gr slugs is almost non-existent).
While I have never killed a bear, I have shot several mature mule deer with that rifle, all with cast slugs (one with the 250gr) at 100 yrd or so and have yet to recover a slug, all complete pass through's. At your intended bear range I wouldnt hesitate to use a load similar to mine.
 
A nice load is 40 grains of IMR4198 and a 400 or 405 bullet should be around 1550 fps and will kill anything without excessive recoil.
 
Rel7 and a 405gr HCGC as been my go to load for the past 15-20 years. It'll get you in the Lev 2 class for Marlin levers and you'll have a hard time recovering a bullet because passthroughs will be the norm. I've shot moose lengthwise from throat to butt and they whistle right through and break every bone in their way. Keep in mind that this isn't a load where you'll sit at the bench all day and enjoy it, it's designed to kill stuff with ease.
 
You can go higher on the bullet weight as well, but it's not needed. I used to run a 460gr LBT flat nose sledgehammers before switching to the 405's and while it would literally take deer and bear off their feet, the increase in recoil wasn't worth it. A good 405gr is about perfect for 99% of North America. If I were guiding for the big bears, I'd probably switch back to the 460gr LBT's.
 
Not much talk about external ballistics here. Since you can load such a wide range of muzzle velocities with the 45-70, I think it deserves mention. 150yds can mean a lot of drop, depending on your load. And all expanding bullets have an optimum impact velocity that you need to work with.
 
Thanks everyone for the input and wisdom. It’s much appreciated!

I’ve ordered some reloaded 7 and some IMR 3031 plus some 400 for bullets as well. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a new gun to play with so I will keep you posted
 
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