Going to give the 45/70 a try

S

straight-shooter

New member
I just picked up a nice Marlin 45/70 last week. I received a 457-405 mold today and headed out to the garage. I cast 110 bullets this evening and tomorrow I'll get a chance to powder coat them.

Here they are as of now naked as a jaybird.

ykaSu39.jpg


I00MNu8.jpg
 
N

NoSecondBest

New member
Without slugging your barrel, casting bullets may be a big waste of time. You absolutely need bullets that are .001-.002 over bore diameter. You also need to measure the bullets you cast and see what they are. Mismatched diameters can leave you with bullets and barrel that nothing in the world can make accurate. Accuracy starts with a properly fitting bullet and then you proceed to load development. Good luck though on your new gun. If casting doesn't work you can always go to a jacketed bullet which should work fine.
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
I should have mentioned I've been casting for about 12 years and have learned extensively the ins and outs of the hobby. I'm quite aware of the diameters and the effects it has on accuracy. Thanks for the looking out....
 
Last edited:
N

NoSecondBest

New member
Marlin's are noted for requiring bullets of .459-.460". Your mold won't do that. Just saying. Without slugging the barrel and having a mold of a known size isn't going to do the trick. Hope it works out in the end.
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
After some close inspection this LEE mould is out of round by a .002 and the two cavities don't match. I delayed the PC on them and have been thinking of what to do. I've decided to put this mould off to the side for some later TLC. Until then I went ahead and ordered a NOE 460-396-RF-AE2 5 cavity PB (should have in the first place). Will be here Monday so I should have some ammo loaded up to test on the upcoming holiday weekend. Once i get some cast i'll have pics to follow.

Update: tracking updated and the mould will be here today... love it when usps does something nice.
 
Last edited:
S

straight-shooter

New member
I received the NOE 460-396 PB mould yesterday and got some bullets cast last night. Using 70/30 wheel weight, soft lead & 2% tin they came out .461 diameter and 395.5 grain. Applied some powder coat and sized to .459

I loaded these over .40gr to 41gr of H4895 and 1gr of Dacron filler. Starline Brass, Roll crimped and Winchester LR primers. Oal came out to 2.500 crimped at the crimp groove.

Looks like it will be a nice enough of a day to go try these at the range. I plan on using my Labradar Chrono to get an idea of their velocity and SD to see their consistency and go from there.

pfynFTx.jpg


1Blkm32.jpg


bG9KSwq.jpg


H0NjH1w.jpg
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
Those look great both before and after loading. Looking forward to the results on paper...
Click to expand...

Mike, I found the needed results I was hoping for with one of the strings I made. At 40.4gr of H4895 the holes were touching. Now i'm making up some larger strings consisting of 8 rounds each at 40.3, 40.4 and 40.5 to test. Recoil is very manageable and velocity is at 1,530 fps. Ideal for a powder coated bullet imo.

160OQ66.jpg
 
M

Mike / Tx

New member
That looks great. Makes me really want to get started on mine. Like I said though, got too many irons right now and not enough fire....;)
 
S

straight-shooter

New member
'Looks like that's working great for you!
Click to expand...

Yes indeedy Beagle. Besides the pinched finger and blood on the shooting bench after loading the rifle I had a blast! LOL

May have to do a disassembly and round off a few sharp edges in the loading gate area. I've got a crossbolt safety delete kit coming tomorrow and will have that installed too.

We have a storm coming in tomorrow evening so it looks like i'll have some time to do another range visit early and chrono a few more strings. Well, that way I can reload some more! Win, win if you ask me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top