reloading question for 45-70 shooters

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I am shooting a Marlin 1895 45-70 , my bullets are 325 grain GC cast bullets, I have a pound of IMR 4227. :) My first choice was IMR 4198 but nobody close had any.:eek: Anyone got any good recipes ?:D
Thanks ,John
 
Not a fan of 4227 in large staight walls pushin heavy projectiles to narrow a window to acheive consistency when your using relatively small ratios of powder to case capacity..Not for this pup
 
Agreed with Blind.....I found, and other locals found that IMR4227/4198 can push em, out BUT at the expense of great shoulder pain. Had better luck personally with IMR3031. This was a favorite powder of the
late great Elmer Kieth as well, pushing 350 and 405 jacketed grain bullets........
 
.45-70 loads

Have to agree with Blindside & Brutus. There are loads for the .45-70 using IMR 4227 but you may be better off using IMR 3031 or IMR 4198. I like IMR3031, especially for jacketed loads but I'd probably lean towards IMR 4198 for most of the cast loads. Having said that, in my Pedersoli rolling block, I used a load from the first edition Lyman cast bullet book using IMR 4227, a filler & 405grBB bullet that worked well. I'll e-mail you some 325gr cast bullet info for your Marlin.:)
 
Agree with everyone above. I mostly use IMR3031 or H4895 in my loads, but I only use 405g jacketed in my marlin.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to use.
 
I've shot 45 - 70 with cast bullets for 25 yrs or so, and my best load has been 24 - 25 gr of 2400 behind a 425gr pointed mould made by saeco. Using 20 : 1 lead and tin, I frequently get groups under 1" for 5 shots @ 100yds. That's shooting a rolling block with good aperature sights and a 34" Bauska barrel. I've tried a number of other powders, but none have been as good in my rifle. 4895 consistently hung fire and shot very poorly, although some of my friends do well with it. There seems to be a lot of difference from 1 rifle to another. Good luck with yours.
 
Hey River Rat, that is some fine shooting bye the way.
I have actually a 458 american=450 marlin...and these are basically 45-70s with a rim. Question did you fine that Reloader 7 was high temperature sensitive. Like WW 748 is?
During the fall I personally found some groups with the same bullet weight of 350-405 jacketed bullets, that 3031 and R7 gave near identical groups at 100 yards and with my peep sight.
 
45-70 loads

I picked up a pound of IMR 4198 and loaded up some 420 grain GC cast bullets.:) I managed to get a good load first try, it was 41 grains IMR 4198 and it grouped an acceptable 1.5 inches at 185 yards.:eek:
Maybe the Ballard rifling helps and I think keeping the velocity under 1800 fps keeps the bullet together and stablizes better too.:)
 
H4198 has been serving me well using Hornady 300 and 350 gr bullets in my 1895. I have other bullets (405 and 500 gr) sitting on the shielf for years that I have not used.

45/70 is a tough caliber to reload for accuracy. Maybe it is my technique and/or 1895. With all these year and powders/bullets, the best I get is 1.5".

Danny
 
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Danny Boy, sometimes rate of twist has a subststail effect. My converted mauser has a barrel with a 1 in 16 rate of twist. However my limiting factor is no scope. I do use a williams guide pee sight. I also found that moderately strong loads of 3031 and 405 grain jacketed remington bulk bullets, were the best formula for success. Really to get the best out of my rifle I should mount a scope. Its just that I have no desire to because this is really a 100 to 150 yard gun maximum.
 
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