Thread: Improving 45-70 ammo with a mandrel

clean as all heck....MUCH cleaner than smelly black stuff LOL....

had me 2nd guessing myself so triple checked my notes....load data on sheets on wall above loading bench...yes definately 45grns of 2208 is my smokeless load,its middle of range and Im more than happy with it...trick for othe .45/70 reloaders....I got given some of the hornady leverlution brass thanks to a generous forum good bugga....so I use the 1/4" shorter brass that Hornady stuff is, for my smokeless loads,leaving the longer cases for black powder,duplex loads....a little thing ,but it means more room for black powder and a more full case for smokeless..win win in my book.

Righto! Finally got out today and only had a mild tail wind, 1000hpa, 19deg. Slight rain but meh. This was to see if using the mandrel made a difference. Also checking if my new sizing die affected things and yes. I wont be sizing pc projectiles down this far again i think
I started out with a squeeky clean barrel and shot
300gn hornady JHPs, cci200, starline brass, ADI2207
First shot really high.


Then i tried some resized .259" HRTB PC 350gn and the results were extremely bad. My barrel slugged at .2565 so i'm thinking .457" is too loose. I"ll retest these to see if it was me or the fact the barrel was settling in again


Then finally two groups of the HRTB using reseated regular .258-9 PC just dusted and seated after using the mandrel (as per everything today). This lot was actually pulled, had 3/4gn powder removed then reseated at .02" from the lands. I tried 2 groups of this fired at different cadence to see if 2mins vs 4mins between shots. Both shot well.

This was at 100y using my bergara singleshot
With my new 1.5-4x28 Lpld. Just off a bipod and rear bag prone on the grass. Overall its much better than my usual results, but tbf i now need to double check the traditional bell mouth method and this lessened load of powder. It could be solely that but i hope not lol. That mandrel wasn't freakin cheap

My Bergara and to be honest all my single shots shooting cast or Subs seem to like land contact and no crimp (Subs especially with any bullet).
No jump at all gives very even pressure no reliance of mechanical property's of materials.
I am seating all my subs this way now in all rifle styles. no tube mags tho, that would make this difficult.

I gave that a try but got varied results (nothing really really outstanding) but i ended up doing needing to unload an unfired shot and ended up doing the 'manuever of shame' (powder everywhere). sigh

the 300grn is a rather light for calibre projectile for the big case........ you cannot argue with the groups you are getting...under an inch is very good..... another bit that popped out at me....you dont have huge scope ,so group of inch with a 4x isnt shabby anyday....try a plain X target no more than half inch wide stripes it MIGHT help you to have finer aim,or not .

Its a bit artificial tbh as i was using a grip i stole from 'Ridge Runner'on youtube. I watched him slaying a target using a firm forehand on the scope turret to get rid of the muzzle flip. Ive got no chance of pulling this off freehand haha. But if i can get my own bullets to shoot as well as the bought pc ones from delta mikes then i'll be cheering.
Ive got a 350gn mould on its way but yeah i reckon a 450 or 500 would be unreal once i get hold of an SBL. These are stronger than a Bergie eh?

SBL???
you will stop your muzzle flip just as good with firm grip on forestock.....get good prone positionso you can relax and still be on target,hold firmly and squeaze off....

Found i link to a supplier some might find useful. Not sure on pricing but im keen to get some bulk lead in the next month or two
https://dlmwallace.co.nz/products/me.../bullet-metals

Has anyone used these guys? What was the price per kg?

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

SBL???
you will stop your muzzle flip just as good with firm grip on forestock.....get good prone positionso you can relax and still be on target,hold firmly and squeaze off....

Wise words no doubt. That would be more transferable to kneeling / prone too

Been playing about with cast bullets
lately. The one on the left is from an Australian CBE 460gn single cav brass mould, the right is an NOE 350gn 5cav alum mould.

Question, do you guys reckon its better to gas check before powder coating or after?

Originally Posted by akaroa1

I reloaded some 45-70 yesterday as well

Mine will kill like a laser and be much faster because they are go fast red
Attachment 197117

Looks like Revlon just branched out into multi-purpose lipstick ammo...

On the subject of .45-70, this is definitly overthinking it in my book. .45-70 isn't a target round, so the need for 1/4" groups just isn't there. Any of those groups would be sufficient for the usual ranges at which this round would be used for.

I dont believe theres any need for gas checks under around 15-1600 fps, gas check bullets shoot as well without the gas check as flat base do.

Once ive found a better method for coating i might drop the GCs. The powdercoat filled that rebate 100% on the ones i tested without.
Man this coating isnt as easy as i thought. Got some bb's coming to see if that helps. Just gonna see if i can match the performance of the std hndy jacket hollowpoints