SAAMI max.,pressure for the .45-70 is 28,000 cup intended for the 1886 Winchester. Trapdoor loads should not exceed 18,000 and loads for Ruger No.1 and No.3 40,000 cup. You shouldn't be running any .45-70 to 50,000.

 

What does the manufacturer rate the rifle at? That should be your max operating pressure for the 1895, 45-70. If you need more power than that, there is always the 458 Win Mag.

Play it safe... a few extra psi is not worth it!

 

Google images of blown up modern 1895's and the associated injuries. Safe, hot loads in a Marlin 1895 will stop any creature in this hemisphere if the shooter does his part. AC

example: https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=47&t=450166

 

Don't exceed the listed "Lever Action" loads.

Oz.

 

Gotta ask ... Why do you even want to there?

Just did a ladder test with my Classic and 300gn jacketed HPs ... Max load kicks big time ... And whilst the extra velocity might be appealing, it's not easy to work with day to day.

Fortunately for me, the accuracy node is at the lower end of the scale.

And, it's worth remembering that the 45-70 is one of those calibers that works extremely well at surprisingly low velocities.

To paraphrase Nathan Foster (terminal ballistics expert), the cut off for most calibers for disproportionate-to-caliber wounding is around 2,200fps. The 45-70 works down to 1,700fps.

 

To paraphrase Nathan Foster (terminal ballistics expert), the cut off for most calibers for disproportionate-to-caliber wounding is around 2,200fps. The 45-70 works down to 1,700fps.

And that's on impact not MV.

 

Hodgdon's reloading manual has "Modern Rifle" (Ruger no. 1) 45-70's running just under to 50,000 CUP. Its got "Lever Action" 45-70 running up to 39,400 CUP. This article describes hunters in Africa using 1895's with same loads as Ruger no. 1
What the Modern 45-70 Can Take Down in Africa [PICS] - Wide Open Spaces
What I am interested in finding out is if anybody on this forum as actually TRIED to test the limits of the 1895.

 

Hodgdon's reloading manual has "Modern Rifle" (Ruger no. 1) 45-70's running just under to 50,000 CUP. Its got "Lever Action" 45-70 running up to 39,400 CUP. This article describes hunters in Africa using 1895's with same loads as Ruger no. 1
What the Modern 45-70 Can Take Down in Africa [PICS] - Wide Open Spaces
What I am interested in finding out is if anybody on this forum as actually TRIED to test the limits of the 1895.

How old is that Hodgdon manual? They must not have been sued yet... The design limits of the 1895 are established by the .444 Marlin, for which the SAAMI maximum product average, defined as the sample average X-bar plus 3 standard deviations not exceeding 44,000 cup, which implies a loading limit under 40,000.

 

all of the large animals on this continent were driven to near extinction by big slow bullets - the modern loads for lever action are hotter than those.....

 

I'll be honest, most of my loads are upper end trap door loads. The Marlin loads can make my inner sissy man come out if I'm not careful.

I do shoot some 350's @ 1922fps but they are with H4895 which makes low pressures according to Hodgdon, but I don't shoot many of them.


Pass me the 405's @ 1500fps please

 

Pass me the 405's @ 1500fps please

That is all I can take when I load for the 45-70. 405's for 160 yards is all I load for, My arm can't take much over 5 shots.

 

You'll find many responses and threads relevant to your question by googling "45-70 max pressure". Many threads on this site alone. The consensus seems to be around 40,000 CUP for Marlin 1895 45-70. As others have stated there is no reason to exceed this for extra velocity purposes. There is diminishing returns above 30,000 cup anyhow and the extra pressure doesn't give much more velocity. Just compare the manuals for confirmation of this.

 

Really I hear you guys. I shoot 405's at 1500 using 47.0gr of IMR 4064( a relatively slow powder for 45-70). 46.0gr of H4198 pushing a 405 at 1700 is the most my shoulder has been able to take. My interest is more out of curiosity.

 

TommyGNR Have you ever heard the saying "Curiosity killed the cat". Those are your eyes lining up the sights along that receiver. Why would anyone push the limits beyond established safety standards? If I am standing beside you, please tell me what you are doing so that I can remove myself from the immediate vicinity.

 

I also shoot the 405`s with 46gr of H4198 and that is all the recoil I want. That is the starting load on Hodgdon`s website.

 

I load a lot of my 45-70 loads near max for lever action. I do not advise anyone to load higher than that.
50000 PSI, are you sure someone isn't talking about the 450 Marlin, it can be loaded slightly higher than the 45-70.
I am led to believe that the 1895s in 450 Marlin have a different thread pattern (barrel to receiver) to 1895 45-70s. There in lies its greater strength.

 

Not sure about pressures but 53 gr 3031 behind 400 gr projectile is a thumper. If you want a slobber knocker 300 gr buffalo Barnes will lather you up.

 

what guvna said....

 

Hodgdon's online data and the Lee 2nd edition list the same data for the 1895, which is higher than what is in the Lyman #49. Even the Lee/Hodgdson loadings don't exceed 40,000 CUP. I sometimes split the difference between the Lee/Hodgdon date and the Lyman data, and that's high enough for me and my shoulder. :vollkommenauf:

 

A Shiloh Sharps falling block lever gun will handle heavy smokeless loads also..i shoot AA 5744 smokeless in my #3 sporting rifle at blackpowder velocities.. Oregon Trail 405 gr. HC bullet , 25 gr. 5744 at about 1300 fps...

 

For several years a Good Friend and I would shoot His Winchester .458 Mag with 500gr solids @ 2000fps, just for kick's. I could only shoot three at a time. it didn't take long after We started reloading He downloaded some 300gr cast to about 1800fps. Wow how much fun is that..... The .458 knocked some sense into our thick skulls. If You need a big gun, get the big gun.

 

t-gnr - what do the manuals say?

there's a good outside chance the folks at speer, hornady, sierra, lyman, et al - have pressure equipment none of us can afford.

just thinking out loud to myself they may have some insight....

 

Guys I turned 73 this year and getting more recoil sensitive all the time. But I have had a love affair with 45-70 caliber rifles for a long as long as I can remember. And my Son and I have several Rifles in 45-70 caliber. And we Cowboy Shoot, Plink, Shoot Steel, and Pig and Deer Hunt with all of them. The Load we use in all of them for about 98% of everything we use our 45-70`s for is 35grs of IMR3031 with a 405gr Hardcast LRNFP Bullet. At somewhere between 1250fps & 1350fps we are told, because we do not have a coronagraph. This load if very comfortable to shoot and very accurate for us. I can shoot all day at a Cowboy Shoot with this load and still enjoy it. We have killed several Deer and a bunch of Pigs with this load, and got full penetration side to side or end to end on all of any animal we have shot. And We have never had any animal that we have shot, get away from us. I just can't take the recoil any more, but when I was young, I liked shooting a hard kicking rifle. Funny how time and age changes things.
ken

 

Buffalo Bore and Grizzly load some pretty potent rounds, if you need them, that are within the safety limits of the 1895. I am taking my 72' 1895 loaded with Grizzly's 405 gr Punch Bullet coming out at 2050 to on Safari this August to play with Cape Buffalo.

 

You don't have to get out of the 28K range with the Marlin Lever in 45-70. A 405gr bullet around 1700fps will do what you need. No one in there right mind would use Ruger#1 loads in a Marlin lever gun, Marlins weakness is because of the large rim on the 45-70 case, there's not a lot of meat left at the barrel/reciver junction. The 450 is rated higher because of different barrel threads and no large rim on the case. Any load above 35K is just brutal to shoot out of the light weight Marlin.

 

Is It a lever gun so that is the data I would use, it has always worked for me.

 

I have gotten all the performance I have ever needed out of a .45-70 at 35.5 Kpsi. Usually less.