Thread: 45/70 Subsonic

The .45/70 is no sissy gun.

What must also have been some gun would be a Lee Metford .303/71.5 firing a 225grain bullet. They actually managed to get 71.5grains of blackpowder into the case - which was of similar dimensions to a 30/40 Krag - by inserting a solid, oblong BP pellet, slightly rounded at its ends and with a hollow through its middle (first instance of a single solid BP pellet?), and only then bottlenecking the cartridge. Obviously not with reloaders in mind.

I think from memory it had some 1800 fps muzzle velocity, whereas the much later cordite Mk 7 .303 fired a 174grain spitzer at up to 2400fps. Can't help thinking what velocity that 174grain spitzer would have flown at if it had its ancestral BP pellet behind it.

Originally Posted by Cordite

The .45/70 is no sissy gun.

What must also have been some gun would be a Lee Metford .303/71.5 firing a 225grain bullet. They actually managed to get 71.5grains of blackpowder into the case - which was of similar dimensions to a 30/40 Krag - by inserting a solid, oblong BP pellet, slightly rounded at its ends and with a hollow through its middle (first instance of a single solid BP pellet?), and only then bottlenecking the cartridge. Obviously not with reloaders in mind.

I think from memory it had some 1800 fps muzzle velocity, whereas the much later cordite Mk 7 .303 fired a 174grain spitzer at up to 2400fps. Can't help thinking what velocity that 174grain spitzer would have flown at if it had its ancestral BP pellet behind it.

all i can say is you wouldnt find me around the potato gun . . . i would be admiring the .45

well done on the LR shooting . . . i can imagine the scene . . . BANG . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . Bong !

R.

Up the bunghole, no bones till the brisket, better get 2 or 3 in a line if thats your plan to test penetration. That sounds a bit rude actually.

The 577/450 they lined up 10 prisoners the first one new he was dead, but it stopped at 7.5 men down if my memory serves me correct.
I shoot 45/70 with 500 grain projectile on63 grains of FFG BP. Packs a punch both ways, but have never chrony it. I love the calibre, easy to reload!

managed to get permission, bless cellphones . ..

up the exhaust pipe for the Billy from 50yds, approximately 30 inches later came out the chest . . . didnt open him up, darn right unpleasant smelly old bugger

front shot for the nanny bullet came out the side . .



Fallow neck shot at 87yds . . . why the pic is on its side i dont know . . cant seem to right it



Attachment 71118

wound was similar on both sides . . . this maybe the entry



a good day off . .. i will look forward to next in 2 weeks

Ug!

ah well you know it kills....what more is there to know? lol

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

ah well you know it kills....what more is there to know? lol

the plan is to start moving the shots out further and see how we go . . . . i only stopped at 200yds with the .30cal subs on animals because i didnt think they had enough grunt to be effective past that, accuracy was good enough on targets to well past 300yds . . . all bullets inside a target size of 6 inches i consider good enough for field shooting . . . longest shots on one occasion was 400yds

The G/Gun can use jacketed f n bullets, 300/350grs and with a m/v of 2.100fps can bugger up a lot of meat, so just shooting 420gr lead bullets at 1.300 f p s does the same job as subsonic with no mess. I don't like a small bit of pistol powder in a large case with maybe a filler, a good load of black or nitro gets the job done, but it`s all about trying to see what the gun likes. With the light weight G/Gun it can bite at both ends with larger weight bullets.

your not the only reloader @homebrew.357 that doesnt like fast pistol type powders for reduced loads . . . but it is excepted by many using cast bullets . . its that well known its often called simply " The Load " 10grns. of Unique

.10 Grs. Unique. The Universal Cast Boolit Rifle Load?

with velocity its a personal decision . . . for myself i need subsonic speed so no choice there . . with higher velocity i want a flatter trajectory so 1300fps isnt a worth while gain, 1600fps is closer to my ideal with no accuracy problems or stressing my soft lead alloy bullets . . . there will be a similar later for the .45/70

with my .30 caliber Subsonic loads i have a 50yrd zero . . . without changing my scope settings by simply changing to my higher velocity ( 1600) ammo using the same bullet the point of impact is now bang on 100yds giving me more smack down power and range before i need to consider pulling out the rangefinder etc . .. its a good simple system that works in the field so no fckups

have read heaps about Guide Guns that bite with hot loads . . . had plenty of experience chasing power using hot loads in my Rossi with its steel buttplate to appreciate how nasty it can get . . . mild loads definetly are easier.

orderd some 350grn. jacketed bullets . . . not so much for animals but i will probably try a few out on Goats, mostly to run thru the barrel and smooth up the rifling.
one other benefit is it will give me a better idea of the Marlins accuracy potential, i then can aim for that if i choose with cast boolits . . .

R.

Cool thread guys, very informative and very interesting on big bore subs.

Sorry guys I thought that would show the pic, new to this forum stuff, that was ment for @rossi.45

Originally Posted by rossi.45

always got time for leveractions @homebrew.357, especially if theyre Marlins . . . good lookn rifle, especially with the straight grip

Attachment 70646

first thing i did with my 336 was get rid of the front barrel band, always disliked the idea & look of them, probably why i like the
look of the Guide gun with its short mag . . . priddy sure there was a small improvement ( 0.5MOA) in accuracy but cant prove it.


classic @Cordite . .. cheers

Had to use youtube but I have learnt how to do some thing new today, cheers.

My Marlin 3030 has a micro grooved barrel, is your g/gun the same, I`m trying cast in my 3030 but not much success with a 150gr gc bullet. I think a 170gr would better, may have to ream out the mould a bit. In the light loads with the 45-70 are you using a filler or wad to keep the small powder charge by the primer. I only like to have two powders, 3031 for my .308, 3030, 45-70 and black also for the 45-70 so there's no mistakes. And it`s so much fun when I`m at the range with my Sharps and there`s all the semi autos in .223 with a big muffler on the end and I let rip with a black powder load,

Originally Posted by homebrew.357

My Marlin 3030 has a micro grooved barrel, is your g/gun the same, I`m trying cast in my 3030 but not much success with a 150gr gc bullet. I think a 170gr would better, may have to ream out the mould a bit. In the light loads with the 45-70 are you using a filler or wad to keep the small powder charge by the primer. I only like to have two powders, 3031 for my .308, 3030, 45-70 and black also for the 45-70 so there's no mistakes. And it`s so much fun when I`m at the range with my Sharps and there`s all the semi autos in .223 with a big muffler on the end and I let rip with a black powder load,

Yes a micro groove Barrel @homebrew.357

i will run thru what i do with a new rifle to use cast in and maybe something will be of use to you .. . you probably know it already.

with a micro groove barrel especially bullets should be 1 or 2 thou at least over groove diameter, some molds your fcked before you start if theyre under sized.
your choice of alloy plays a part in bullet diameter.
mine go thru a .311 sizer when lubing, using gas checks.
choose the correct mold design for the 30/30 in lever actions.
personally i like a bullet that slightly engraves the rifling on closing the bolt or lever.
a light crimp for hunting bullets in tube mags . . .

i have used the 150grn. LEE .308 mold in the past but that was in my preMarlin days . . . the mold was good to use, cast good bullets and it went as well as any others in my Brno, same 1-10 twist.

longer heavier bullets are my first choice . . they dont work any better than shorter bullets but they just look right to me.


Yes to the filler with light loads . . which is something else to keep in mind, the amount of filler can be a factor in group size.
good news is using 7.0grns in my 30cal subsonic loads i get 1000 loads per pound of powder . . . with good accuracy . . but not for the sloppy reloader, a double charge things could get real ugly.

that black powder ( known as Holy Black to some ) will get peoples attention when it goes off . . . my first 45/70 was a Martini rebarreled with a Hawkins barrel that came with a swag of Black Powder ammo, liked firing the ammo but didnt like the mess/cleanup later . . . one of the worst guns i have owned with a terrable stock that smacked me in chops every time i fired it, a valueable lesson learned, stock design does matter.