Thread: 45-70 reloading casts - what is there?

I use my 45-70 for hunting pretty much only under 200 yards. The reason I was thinking about 500 grains was because I wanted to try pull of some of those legendary 1000 yard shots (despite having the 18 1/2 inch barrel) and was thinking casts to keep costs down. I have only reloaded a couple of rounds using someone else's gear so this is mostly new to me and I have never cast bullets

cheers @LoganRobertson . . . 1000yds is a loooong way out there . . . have you thought what kind of sights you will need

an interesting challenge even if you dont actually do it . . . the how to, will be a good learning curve

R.

It will be an interesting trajectory curve?

Originally Posted by Maca49

It will be an interesting trajectory curve?

thinkin @Maca49 the bullet with the spitzer type nose in your earlier post would be a good place to start for LR

@rossi.45 it is quite the difficult goal I know and I also doubt I'll make it. I haven't really looked into sights yet but I do want to keep iron and really like the Skinner sights even though they're probably not ideal for 1000 yard shots. For now I'm just trying to learn how to make a load that will carry out that far and then I'll start the hard part...

every journey starts with the first step . . . if you really want it you will find a way

call me crazy but i am setting up a .30/30 to shoot 700yds . . . and just to make it interesting it'll be with subsonic ammo

It’s called a lobbing shot!

Originally Posted by Maca49

It’s called a lobbing shot!

i have always considered lobbing shots to be almost area saturation fire, at massed troops etc using something like lobbing sights on .303s

in my case it is a 30 inch steel plate using telescopic sights . . . not even sure if i can hit it at 700yds, 400yds wasnt a problem on a 10 inch square but that extra 300 will mean plenty of time for the wind to its business


@LoganRoberson LEE molds are good enough to make useable bullets

suggest you have a look at this guys ladder sights on his Marlin
Marlin 45-70 Cowboy

Originally Posted by rossi.45

i have always considered lobbing shots to be almost area saturation fire, at massed troops etc using something like lobbing sights on .303s

in my case it is a 30 inch steel plate using telescopic sights . . . not even sure if i can hit it at 700yds, 400yds wasnt a problem on a 10 inch square but that extra 300 will mean plenty of time for the wind to its business


@LoganRoberson LEE molds are good enough to make useable bullets

suggest you have a look at this guys ladder sights on his Marlin
Marlin 45-70 Cowboy

Shot my trapdoor on the trentham range back in the 80s at 800 yards the guys in the butts heard fall of shot but no idea where. Supposedly if you saw the smoke you had enough time to start running before the bullet arrived.
This is her with the sights set for 1000 yards you have absolutly no cheek weld.
Bugger photos upside down. I just cant figure out the auto rotate shit.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Shot my trapdoor on the trentham range back in the 80s at 800 yards the guys in the butts heard fall of shot but no idea where. Supposedly if you saw the smoke you had enough time to start running before the bullet arrived.
This is her with the sights set for 1000 yards you have absolutly no cheek weld.
Bugger photos upside down. I just cant figure out the auto rotate shit.

The old timer long range dudes shot from the Creedmore position lying on their back with the rear sight positioned on the butt and the barrel resting on their feet/boots
the Handgun Metallic Silhouette shooters use the Creedmore position if not careful they shred their trouser legs with the muzzle blast I have seen this happen a couple of times
loose trouser legs were know to catch fire from the muzzle blast if not tucked in to socks or boots,

I can get these moulds from reloader supplies https://leeprecision.com/mold-dc-c457-500-f.html thought it might be a good starting point and they're cheap. Has anyone tried them before?

@rossi.45 the ladder sight certainly looks a treat and I'm definitely keen on one down the line if I can get one that doesn't limit my short range reaction time (which is already slow enough). And how effective will ladder sights be with the 18 1/2 inch barrel?

Originally Posted by LoganRobertson

@rossi.45 the ladder sight certainly looks a treat and I'm definitely keen on one down the line if I can get one that doesn't limit my short range reaction time (which is already slow enough). And how effective will ladder sights be with the 18 1/2 inch barrel?

if you notice @LoganRobetson there is a cross bolt on the ladder sight securing the ladder part to the base, so it can be removed so you can use your hunting sights . . . as far as your barrel length goes it is what it is and will not be as effective as a longer barrels sight plane but it will work . . . . you do have to keep in mind that you are trying to make a close range bush smasher into a LR setup, barrel length is only one of many compramises you will have to except.

the Marlins have a reputation for good accuracy so you'll do good . . . and have a heap of fun

Hi, The bullets I sell on TM were designed for the Marlin if you go to 500 grain bullets you have to seat them quite deep so they will feed from the magazine or load them single shot,
to shoot long range the Marlin is the wrong gun you need some thing along the lines of Sharps 1874, Winchester 1885 Remington rolling block with 30" or longer barrel with a 535 gr
Postell bullet,
For moulds Lyman is about as low as I go in quality Lee are total rubbish if you want to cast more than 100 at a time RCBS and SAECO are the best of the commercial moulds
custom moulds are the way to go if you are serious about casting your own.

I think it`s already gone, the new guns are sporting a muffler on the end to hide the smoke so you don`t know that your new .223 wissogissmo is shooting black powder!!