Hi all,
I'll be picking up my new 1895SBL next week and in anticipation I have been thinking more about what ammunition I should acquire for target practice at the range. I'm new to the 45-70 format and am not quite ready to jump into reloading at this point, so I'll be buying factory ammo. Obviously, I'll be interested in finding the best "bang for the buck" and looking for something (relatively) inexpensive without breaking the bank... of course I don't want anything that is so crappy it's going to give my levergun or barrel any problems either.
Some of the brands I've noticed around the online retailers are as follows:
(roughly, cheapest to more expensive)
Black Butterfly Ammunition, Target, 350gr, Berry PRS "Sitting Bull" ...(looks like a "new" brand, never heard of it before)
Steinel Ammunition 300gr Hornady JHP High Power ...(Is this stuff any good?)
HSM Cowboy Ammo 405Gr. RNFP-Hard-TLG
Privi Partizan 405gr Semi Jacketed Flat Point
Winchester 300gr Polymer Tip Ballistic Silvertip
Armscor 300gr JHP
Sellier & Bellot 405gr Soft Point
Federal 300gr Bonded SP Hammer Down
Great Lakes 405gr RNFP
Hornady 325gr FTX LEVERevolution
Ventura Heritage 360gr RNFP
Federal Power-Shok 300gr FN
Fiocchi 405gr Lead Round Nose Flat Point
Remington 405gr Core-Lokt Soft Point ...(2 kinds? Marlin & Remington Express?)
Hornady 250gr LEVERevolution Monoflex
Winchester Super-X 300gr JHP
*These prices are roughly ranging from $1.17 to $1.65 per round (at today's prices online)
Also, trying to understand what the deal is with ammo listed as "Cowboy"... some are, some aren't. I assume that maybe this has something to do with the bullets being "lead" (Cowboy) verses "jacketed" (non-Cowboy), yes? Also there seems to be some difference in the amount of recoil in some of these "Cowboy" loads (reduced velocity? less recoil? safer for Trapdoor leverguns?) Anyone care to enlighten this 45-70 NOOB? :embarassed: Are "Cowboy" loads not recommended for the Marlin 1895SBL, safe (or worse) to use that the non-Cowboy loads, or does it even matter?
Any brands, types of ammo you recommend on the list above or otherwise for practice at the range? Thanks in advance for your advice, recommendations, or comments!
I'll be picking up my new 1895SBL next week and in anticipation I have been thinking more about what ammunition I should acquire for target practice at the range. I'm new to the 45-70 format and am not quite ready to jump into reloading at this point, so I'll be buying factory ammo. Obviously, I'll be interested in finding the best "bang for the buck" and looking for something (relatively) inexpensive without breaking the bank... of course I don't want anything that is so crappy it's going to give my levergun or barrel any problems either.
Some of the brands I've noticed around the online retailers are as follows:
(roughly, cheapest to more expensive)
Black Butterfly Ammunition, Target, 350gr, Berry PRS "Sitting Bull" ...(looks like a "new" brand, never heard of it before)
Steinel Ammunition 300gr Hornady JHP High Power ...(Is this stuff any good?)
HSM Cowboy Ammo 405Gr. RNFP-Hard-TLG
Privi Partizan 405gr Semi Jacketed Flat Point
Winchester 300gr Polymer Tip Ballistic Silvertip
Armscor 300gr JHP
Sellier & Bellot 405gr Soft Point
Federal 300gr Bonded SP Hammer Down
Great Lakes 405gr RNFP
Hornady 325gr FTX LEVERevolution
Ventura Heritage 360gr RNFP
Federal Power-Shok 300gr FN
Fiocchi 405gr Lead Round Nose Flat Point
Remington 405gr Core-Lokt Soft Point ...(2 kinds? Marlin & Remington Express?)
Hornady 250gr LEVERevolution Monoflex
Winchester Super-X 300gr JHP
*These prices are roughly ranging from $1.17 to $1.65 per round (at today's prices online)
Also, trying to understand what the deal is with ammo listed as "Cowboy"... some are, some aren't. I assume that maybe this has something to do with the bullets being "lead" (Cowboy) verses "jacketed" (non-Cowboy), yes? Also there seems to be some difference in the amount of recoil in some of these "Cowboy" loads (reduced velocity? less recoil? safer for Trapdoor leverguns?) Anyone care to enlighten this 45-70 NOOB? :embarassed: Are "Cowboy" loads not recommended for the Marlin 1895SBL, safe (or worse) to use that the non-Cowboy loads, or does it even matter?
Any brands, types of ammo you recommend on the list above or otherwise for practice at the range? Thanks in advance for your advice, recommendations, or comments!