Trapdoor loads in your 45-70

[Brutus]

Yes. There's at the baseline most of us well aware there are three handload power levels for our beloved 45-70s.

I am specifically referring to the most basic power level equal to the often quoted Trapdoor lowest level power range for the purposes of big game hunting. Probably with cast lead, but I suspect we have uses of Campro plated bullets too.

It could be blackpowder or blackpowder substitute handload or an equivalent powered handload with smokeless, IE: 5477 or Trail Boss, Unique, whatever you use from a book reference.

Please tell us your hunting/shooting results most likely with cast lead north of 300 grains please? Trapdoor original, replica, modern lever, RRB, H&R hinged???
Deer, black bear, anything else u can put on a spit??
Spare no details friends......

 

[yodave]

21.5 grains of AA5744 behind a Lyman 525 grain cast bullet, powder coated and sized to .460 loaded to touch the lands in my Pedersoli rolling block, this load shoots well under MOA and has been confirmed to do so many times over at 300 yards, one a wet but otherwise calm late spring morning I sat waiting for the fog and mist to lift so I could see to the end of the clearing, and as luck would have it, as the fog lifted I saw my prey emerging from the tall grass. I steadied my front globe sight to centering my trophy as best I could as I squeezed off the shot, my buddy, also a member here, laughed uncontrollably as I missed the 300 yard shot fired from a perfectly steady rest, I rushed to reload, find my target again and let more lead fly, this time it connected and we watched in disbelief when prey spun violently as the bullet dropped in from the rainbow arc connecting at 302 yards, first a back flip, then rolling uncontrollably down a 15 yard bank and finally coming to a rest piled up at the base of the hill in even taller grass that did not give me a good visual if a second shot was required........we set out on foot, armed with an axe, shaking with excitement and anticipation........as we closed it it was clear looking at the lifeless outline that a perfect kill shot was delivered, we rolled it over and could clearly see the 1/2 inch entrance hole, so we flipped it up on it's end and split it right down the center of the bullet hole with the axe.......16 inches into that 18 inch block of fir firewood there was the bullet, looking just as ###y as the day I seated it into the freshly cleaned case, stopping just 2 inches short of a perfect pass through, we posed for a lot of pictures prior to splitting the rest of it for the woodstove, then shot a few 405 grain at the same trunk, penetration was down to just over 10 inches, but yet again, confirming that this load would kill almost anything in north america at that distance if one couldn't close the gap

both loads were under 1100 FPS, shot from a 30 inch barrel, front globe and rear vanier tang site, I would hunt that distance with that load anyday, but only in the open because if you were in a treed area there is a good chance that bullet would hit the tree branches before reaching the apex of the arc of that big rainbow trajectory

 

[Brutus]

Yodave. Thank you for that. You are a very good storyteller friend. Is this handload of yours safe in other 45-70 rifles of less strength?
Curious.
Duh! I just re-read and seen it was in a RRB. Not a Sharp's.
Take care.

 

[yodave]

Yodave. Thank you for that. You are a very good storyteller friend. Is this handload of yours safe in other 45-70 rifles of less strength?
Curious.
Duh! I just re-read and seen it was in a RRB. Not a Sharp's.
Take care.

that load is safe in your Sharps, Accurate arms has load data for max 19K PSI for trap door, I've got multiple manuals with trap door data but once I loaded AA5744 and played with the seating depth, partial sizing, and then not crimping, but rather ironing out the flare in a gutted sizing die by feel on the press handle.......things really started to shine accuracy wise.....

 

[Brutus]

Sorry didn't mean to allude to anyone I have a Sharps Yodave. My antique 45-70 is a Prussian drilling 45-70x10 gauge circa 1890ish.
The rifle barrel is seven groove Alexander Henry rifling.

 

[Andy]

In the 45-70, you don't need anything above "Trapdoor" level to produce accurate, high energy loads. There is a lot of bullet drop, so you need to be very aware of how much drop there is at various distances, as unlike faster loads (308, etc.), you can't just hold on the vitals (and a bit higher) and make a clean shot at 100-300 yds.

I rechambered my 45-70 H&R "Buffalo" to 45-90, but the same thing holds for 45-90.

I like the 530 gr NOE "Postell". In the 45-70 with IMR4198 it gave:

1. 1350 fps with 30.0 grs (a bit over Max "Trapdoor");
2. 1600 fps with 38.0 grs (Max Lever); and
3. 1800 fps with 46.0 grs (mid-high range "Modern").

The 38.0 gr load had enough recoil that I have no intention of going higher than that.

 

[madtrapper143]

I load a 405 grain hard cast flat base bullet from Jet bullets. It is the wide flat nose version. Re 7 moves it along at about 1350 fps from my 1895 Marlin lever gun. Accurate and a very good killer for anything like moose, deer and black bear. I have used this load out to 125 yards with no issues.

Darryl

 

[fingers284]

I have shot a # of deer with 45-70 rounds in various rifles but all were loaded to BP equivalent velocities (11-1300 fps) so good to go in a Trapdoor. Most shots were 100 yrds or less but one was stepped off at 245 paces...and I have yet to recover a cast slug from an animal, all were complete pass through.

 

[dan belisle]

1100-1300 fps in a Trapdoor is about as fast as I would push it. I have found even some factory ammo is too hot for mine. I prefer cast bullets and slow loads, usually with 5744. I save my faster stuff for my 1886. - dan

 

[obsessed1b]

I have a 16" barrel marlin dark.
My two favorite loads are
13gr red dot, cci mag primer and bullet barn hard cast 405gr bullet at 1080fps
And 48.5gr of IMR 3031, cci mag primer and the same 405 gr bullet at 1648fps.
Both loads are deadly on game.

 

[cooey43]

In my original Trapdoor to target shoot I use the following load;
Cast Lyman 457124 , 385 grain , usuing wheel weights & sized @ .458
12 gr. of Unique , WLR Primmers. Going 1100 f/s. Nice light target load.

 

[Brutus]

Cooey43, do you require dacron filler or not?

Curious.......

 

[saskgunowner101]

One of my all time favorite mild plinking loads for the 45-70 when I owned one, was 14 grains Unique wth a 405 cast bullet. It clocked in the 1175 fps range IIRC and not much for recoil. I never used a filler as Unique has never seemed position sensitive in any cartridge, at least to me. I imagine dacron "may" cut down on extreme spread, but there's no concerns over hangfires or the like. I'd take this load to hunt deer or bear out to 100-125 meters without blinking.

 

[4fifty8]

S900 Trapdoor Carbine (Pedersoli re-creation): 53.0gr Pyrodex RS & CamPro 405gr.