Looking for some mouse fart .45-70 loads. Just looking for fun type loads, probably sub-Trapdoor level.
The 2 powders I have the most of are Unique and 231 but I’m willing to look at others as well. It appears Trail Boss is gone for the foreseeable future otherwise I’d pony up for a couple of bottles and drive on.
Thanks!
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Unique was the old choice.
https://www.nzha.co.nz/wp-content/up...08/Lyman44.pdf
Code Name: JET STREAM
What bullet weight?
What kind of gun? Just want low recoil or are you shooting in something potentially fragile?
For lighter bullets maybe just use 45LC or 454 Casull data?
Alliant lists 8.5gn of Unique for a 230gn bullet for 850fps (barrel length not listed?), as long as it makes it out of the barrel...
ETA: Maybe try pistol primers?
Seems like Trail Boss loads would be would be worth looking in to .
No idea on bullet weight yet, just looking for light recoil plinking loads. Current .45-70s are a Cimarron McNelly Carbine and Uberti 1885. I have plans to eventually acquire a Remington Rolling Block and a Trapdoor. Either modern carbine reproductions or originals not in collector shape I can convert without guilt.Originally Posted by mmc45414
Not Fragile…
Trail Boss is out of production and there are serious questions about if it will ever come back based on what I’ve read.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Seems like if you had a heavy rifle in 454 it would be light recoiling...
Unique performs well. 10-13 grains with cast bullets between 300-405 grains are low pressure, mild loads. Unique is NOT position sensitive in this big case. There is zero need for a filler like dacron. One reason the 10-13 grain load produces accuracy is that they keep velocity below speed of sound. When bullets transition across this threshold and then back down, air turbulence can accuracy.
I urge that lead and not jacketed bullets be used. The latter create more friction and less velocity. Friction can cause stuck bullets in loads that are too light. If you use jacketed, I suggest loading 15 grains of Unique.
I have a quantity of cast bullets that I made and still have. PM me and I will ship them for freight plus $10. The $10 goes to the kid that comes to my house, packs stuff, and ships. It's a fair deal.
Large pistol primers excel with these loads.
Ive used 6 1/2 grs Unique with a .457 round ball. It makes a nice grouse and small game load and works well on snakes.
My experience is Unique is very position sensitive in 45-70 and light loads. In the past Ive used a small tuft of dacron pillow stuffing as a positioning material. The term "filler" is often used, but what Im doing isnt filling anything, its a very small amount of highly compressible material, on ly enough to hold the tiny powder charge near the primer by friction in the case. I went without since the prevailing current wisdom seemed to be its fine without it. Well, its fine shooting uphill, but when went to shoot a rattlesnake my dogs had drug out from under a bush and were highly interested in. It bounced off his head and seemed to make him pretty irritated. The sound was weak and off. I shot a few more up and down, theres a huge difference in sound if pointed upwards vs downwards, so I went back to the positioning material. I use a drop of Lee liquid alox lube on round balls. The can be lubed in a plastic tub and rolled around, then set aside to dry.
The 140 gr collar button bullets are fun, its the same weight as a round ball, but has a grease groove and squared base. They were intended for indoor gallery loads and small game, they work great, I wish I had a mold for them in different calibers.
Shot loads can be made for 45-70, they dont have much range, but are pretty good within about 15 feet. I loaded some small charge of Unique, a felt Wonder Wad made for percussion pistols seated on the powder then, filled the case with No 9 shot. I either used a heavy piece of cardboard cut from a milk carton or a gas check seated upside down and crimped. The card overshot wad I stab crimped in 4 spots with a small screwdriver and sealed with shellac. You can sharpen a case with a deburring tool and use as a wad cutter with a plastic or wood mallet to cut the card wads or probably buy them somewhere.
Ideal/Lyman used to have a variety of lighter bullets available for many calibers. if you can lay hands on an old ideal loading manual they have a catalog of then current and older bullet molds. Many old obscure molds can be found on ebay and other places. The old manuals may be available online.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
I never used the light round ball loads. I see why dacron works there. It won't hurt to use it in the heavier loads.
I’ve used Unique with cast bullets and it’s position insensitive enough for field use with 400gr bullets. My wife killed her first deer with a commercial 400gr cast over 15gr of Unique out of a Guide Gun, little fellow didn’t have a chance.
Trying to develop loads with collar button bullets required pointing the gun upwards while chambering to get semi consistent groups. I’ve read online accounts of bulged barrels when using fast powders and fillers or over powder “tufts”. But people have been using fillers for years prior to the internet with satisfaction and the older manuals suggest their use. I need to get back to playing with the collar buttons when the weather clears up a bit.
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