Hi guys,
Looking at reloading casts in my 1895 Marlin 45-70 and was just wondering what everyone is using and what's available in New Zealand. Hoping to load around the 500 grain mark are there any issues and which moulds are best?
Cheers, Logan
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Hi guys,
Looking at reloading casts in my 1895 Marlin 45-70 and was just wondering what everyone is using and what's available in New Zealand. Hoping to load around the 500 grain mark are there any issues and which moulds are best?
Cheers, Logan
Try Hays and associates Carterton.
LYMAN Steel molds, I have a 500 grain and a 450 grain
There are these ones
https://www.trademe.co.nz/sports/hun...1418159431.htm
I have both lyman steel and lee aluminum ones. The lees are much easier to use and forgiving. Steel takes time to get to temperature and consistently cast with.
Yep but a alloy ones fall to bits!!! I pre heat my molds with gas torch, once up to temp and you have covered them with soot from a candle, they produce quality, I normally cast about 100 at a time
Expensive!! for 10Quote:
Originally Posted by stug
from the research i did 500grn is getting a bit to long, taking up powder space in a leveraction, a better balance is around 350grn for useable velocity/recoil for hunting, 500s are better in a singleshot where OAL is not a problem . . . but if ya gotta do it ya gotta do it.
i like the 405grn. RCBS design
try Accurate molds or NOE molds
a little more information on your setup and intended use, your experience would helpful . . . R
there $15 for 25 which still adds up to $60 for 100 . . . still not cheap by any meansQuote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
Projectile on the left of the cartridge is what is loaded into it.bottom left is a .457 dia projectile and slightly longer that what I use, bottom right is a swagged projectile, these are my Lyman moulds and handles, nicely made!Attachment 75813. Second photo is a closer shot of the projectiles and roundAttachment 75814
shootersnz where is ya Robert????
oops thats where your link leads......now if that good man is charging $15 for 25 of them....well thats what they be worth.
he sells a plurry great projectile and awesome to deal with.
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
Thanks for all your replies guys, I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I commit
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?
thinkin @Maca49 the bullet with the spitzer type nose in your earlier post would be a good place to start for LRQuote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
@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!
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?
i have always considered lobbing shots to be almost area saturation fire, at massed troops etc using something like lobbing sights on .303sQuote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
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
Some people need glasses it's 25Quote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
Still expensive, leads cheap!!Quote:
Originally Posted by shooternz
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by rossi.45
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.
It's not just lead have you seen the price of tin, also there is gas and electric, the real good moulds I buy I don't use the Lee rubbishQuote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
Not to forget my time, The cheapest .458" bullets I can find are Hornady 350 grain at $46.50 for a box of 50 and that is wholesale plus gst
@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?
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/bootsQuote:
Originally Posted by Marty Henry
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,
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.
Ive actually bought some projectiles from you, 8mm from memory, rifle long gone. I cast my own because of the volume I shoot, and I have a good system with a modified lees "furnace". and moulding table.Quote:
Originally Posted by shooternz
I have a Lyman sizer and luber. quite enjoy reloading BP :cool:
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganRobertson
the Marlins have a reputation for good accuracy so you'll do good . . . and have a heap of fun
I think that smokeless stuff is just a passing fad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
Yeah , I reckon so too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty Henry
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!! :yuush:
I do wonder how well that would work????? would the good stuff effect the suppressor????
Ahh Some BP and scoop and in she goes, a couple of wads and a cookie, wack in a projectile and away you go!! No stuffing around with scales and dribbles and precision this and that, I even listen to the wireless while I do it! Can even light up a small amount a sniff it, if im in the mood:ORLY:
@shooternz despite your advice I have ordered some lee moulds, I have no doubt that you are right but it's a cheaper way for me to get started and I am going to try my damnedest to get the 500 to work in my Marlin before I give up. @rossi.45 I reckon something like that ladder sight will be my goal. If I manage to get the 1000 yards chances are I'll pull all the gear off the marlin and put it on something like a snider or sharps and turn the marlin back in to a bush gun. But until then I'm already excited to get started on my somewhat counter productive project
Good luck at 1000 with a snider, I could watch that all day. This is the creedmore position mentioned before which was popular for long range. With a short barrel you may want to ensure your knee is still there after each shot.
if you look after the LEE molds they will work just fine and give years of good service . . no doubt if the habbit of casting holds you will have a box of many molds in your future.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganRobertson
check these guys out . . . months of reading here
Cast Boolits
counter productive project . . No way . . . you have limitations in the rifle you have chosen but thats all, stick to your guns and you will have successes . . . hopefully you will continue this thread and tell us how you get on
R.
The Snider is not known for it accuracy, much is to do with the projectile, the original was sorta hollow with a clay fill in it. I have a few, but my interest in the .577 was short lived!!
Also the fact that the twist rate was 1:72 and the projectile was only 1.5 times bore diameter, basically a oblong round ball with a hollow nose and base. But if you did hit something woomph!!!
