What's your favorite 45-70 ammo for medium to big game ?

[WIN1886]

I just used up a couple of boxes of factory 405 gr Remington and man, they are fun to shoot and real easy on the shoulder ! I try to duplicate the load as far as velocity and bullet weight but with hard cast and IMR 4198 powder going about 1300 to 1350 fps ! I also hunt with 300 gr factory ammo made by Fusion or Remington thinking the loads are a bit flatter shooting and have harvested a few whitetail deer out to 150 yards or so with it ! I know you can buy way hotter loaded ammo (E.G. Buffalo Bore ) and of course my lever action and Ruger #1 can handle hot handloads that make most of the factory stuff look feeble....I am just wondering if there is any reason to do this ? I did load some 350 grain Hornady RN fairly hot just to experiment and could definitely feel the added recoil compared to my favorite 405 gr hardcast loads ! I suppose the hotter loads would be better for game larger than deer and average sized black bear ! I'm just a big fan of the 45-70....so please share any experience with the loads you use , thanks !

 

[mete]

I only use 300 gr factory loads for deer mostly withing 50 yds .I found they were to fragile for me so I went to the Winchester 300 Nosler Partition .That works very well , good expansion and penetration .Easy on recoil also. I'm sure similar loading of the 300 Barnes all copper would be similar.
For elk sized animals I'd want a 350 gr at least ,and again a premium bullet. I shoot a Browning 1885 which can be loaded as hot as the Ruger #1 .But remember hot loads are hot on both ends .The 45-70 doesn't work by high velocity but a heavy bullet cutting a large hole !!

 

[PetahW]

Nosler 300gr Partition - +1

.

 

[PawPaw]

I use the Lee 457-405-F, which is a 405 grain flat point bullet. I load it over a middling charge of IMR 4895 and push it to about 1300 fps. Easy on the shoulder and very deadly on our smallish whitetail deer. It's one of my son's favorite rifles and if I don't keep my eyes on him, it might go home in his car.

He can have it when I'm gone. That one's mine for the time being.

 

[Edward429451]

I use Lymans 400gr FP with RX7 loaded to just above 1600 fps. That's my Elk load.

 

[Cool Breeze]

I'm going with the winchester noslers also......(ballistic silvertips) in a 300 grain factory load for close range elk......or the 405 grain remington core lokts....


I've not hunted with them yet...but it is my intent to do so. I've got both but am leaning toward that nosler bullet

 

[grubbylabs]

I have not shot an animal with it but when I do it will be a cast 400 grain WFP over some 4198.

 

[CCCLVII]

I use cast 480 grain bullet with a gas check over IMR 4198.

I find my rifle loves these loads. They are more heavy than most people like but I love to shoot them and they are pretty cheep when you poor your own.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I use Winchester 300gr basic hunting ammo. Have taken a couple of deer with clean entry and exit wounds with the deer running no more than 75 yards.

For whitetail, the bullets hold together well and I am very happy with their performance.

 

[bfoosh006]

The factory Rem. 405gr's expansion at 1300fps is a little bit more than a "rivet" heads worth ,with good penetration.... at 1850fps it turns that same bullet into a "ball" of lead and jacket, with more limited penetration.( No surprise though as it was designed to be fired at the lower velocities...)

With tougher bullets you would get the best of both worlds. Barnes TSX/FN 300gr bullets offer a good mix of "speed" and penetration.
http://www.barnesbullets.com/images/45-70Marlin1895Web.pdf

Now, Is all this power needed? ... I like it !

 

[ducksoup]

405 grain hard cast with gas check over a good dose of IMR3031 getting close to 1900 fps out of my Marlin lever gun. Out to 150 yards it will stop anything we have in North America

 

[WIN1886]

I see Federal is offering a new factory load for the 45-70...using the 300 grain trophy bonded bear claw bullet pushed to about 1850 fps or so ! Maybe a nice option for game bigger than the whitetail deer I normally harvest !

 

[Deja vu]

I like two. I like the Hornady 325 grain flex tips and I like the interlock 500 grain bullets.

The 500 grain bullets have to be seated really deep so you can not put as much powder in them. I use these for my subsonic rounds for my suppressed 45/70 marlin.

the 325 grain Hornady rounds work great on deer.

 

[dodge]

I use the Hornady 350 FN with enough of IMR 4198 to give me a muzzle velocity of 1800 from my guide gun.

 

[mehavey]

405 grain hard cast with gas check over a good dose of IMR3031 getting close to 1900 fps out of my Marlin lever gun.

I find that the classic 38.5gr of 3031 is the most I can get under an RCBS 510gr LFNGC (Lyman #2 mix) w/o compression at the design 2.530" OAL for my own Marlin Guide Gun.

Can you get significantly more than that under the 405 ?

 

[Old Time Hunter]

Lee HB cast using 20-1 mix, drops at 435 gr and sized .4605" over 70 grains of FFg and a .030 veggie wad.

1375 fps out of my 1886 and smells like a good fart in the wind.