Mild .45-70 load

Here's as close as I can come:

Oregon Trail 350gr FP cast, 14.0gr TrailBoss, CCI200, Rem cases, OAL=2.530”, crimped, RESULTS: chronographed velocity=1124fps; light cowboy load; 1.5”@50yds, excellent

That is copied from my handloading records. It's a very pleasant load to shoot, very mild. Good luck.

I think that bullet calls for about 16 grains of Trailboss? I use this and it is a great plinking load.

Never have used any swaged bullets – but IMR Trail Boss works real good with cast at ~1100fps.
A 300gr and 13-15grs would work for what you want.

The Lyman 457124 gave me real good results with 10 gr unique with very mild recoil.

For the ultimate plinker in the 45-70, youneed to get some collar button boolits. Lyman 457130 mold. 10 gr Unique gives pretty good results for me. This thread has some fairly complex load data that two different guys say will give 1/2" to 3/4" accuracy with the collar buttons at 50 yards. That's a heck of a plinkin' round in my book.

I plan to play around more with the Unique and maybe some felt or fiber wads.

I use 14gr of TrailBoss, and it's so mild that even my wife likes shooting that one. Good luck

According to everyone here it looks like my idea will work. Thanks for the input guys, I'll be sure to post the results.
GH1

GH1,

Like Rowdy and the rest, I am a true Trail Boss nut for the .45-70. In fact All I load now is with that powder for the smokless rounds I use for serious shooting. The Lee 340 gr RNFP and 15.7 gr of TB is my hog load and also is a real tack driver outta my little GG at 100 to 150 yds. I can only echo what the others have said, but TB is fantastic in this round!

Wade

Wade505 said:

GH1,

The Lee 340 gr RNFP and 15.7 gr of TB is my hog load and also is a real tack driver outta my little GG at 100 to 150 yds. I can only echo what the others have said, but TB is fantastic in this round!

Wade

Click to expand...

That's the load I use and it shows 1,220 fps. adv. thru my Chrony out of a 1895 rifle.

Yesterday I loaded 30 rounds, using 14 gr and 15gr of T.B. I had a devil of a time getting the T.B. to meter out of my RCBS Uni-Flow, however.
I ended up having to weigh a charge and then dump into a case. I then compared every case I filled to the one with the weighed charge that served as my standard.
Unfortunately, my range day was cancelled due to inclement weather. When I eventually make it to the range I'll be sure to post a full report.
GH1

My light load,

405gr lasercast
12.0 gr Unique

1050 fps in the GBL.

Forgot to tell you that TB will often bridge in some measures. In my really old Ideal #55 it will bridge a bunch! I simply built me a powder scoop that gives me the load I want and go at it! This stuff is so bulky that I found that if I just dip the same way every time, it'll give me the proper charge.

Wade

Also a big fan of TB. I chronographed it against 3031 when it first came out and now have 3lbs of 3031 getting old on my shelf. What convinced me was the extreme spread. I shot five 5-shot groups with each powder and had ES ranging from 85-120 with 3031 and 7-18 with TB. Not sure that makes much difference at a hundred yards or so but it can't hurt. I was using 16grs and a 300gr GC bullet from RCBS mold. Averaged 1240fps.

Haven't tried it in my 38-55 yet and almost hope it doesn't work so I'll have a use for the 3031 when I run out of 4227.

Dave Bulla said:

The Lyman 457124 gave me real good results with 10 gr unique with very mild recoil.

For the ultimate plinker in the 45-70, youneed to get some collar button boolits. Lyman 457130 mold. 10 gr Unique gives pretty good results for me. This thread has some fairly complex load data that two different guys say will give 1/2" to 3/4" accuracy with the collar buttons at 50 yards. That's a heck of a plinkin' round in my book.

I plan to play around more with the Unique and maybe some felt or fiber wads.

Click to expand...

I went to the Lyman site to search for the 457130 mold and found nothing. Is this an older mold?
GH1

I have be using 12.5 grains of Titegroup with a 300 grain cast bullet and a 350 grain Berry's Bullet. Velocity is around 1150 fps. I have used this in my 1895 shooting Cowboy Lever Action Long Range Silhouette. Works great. Mild pressure.

The 457130 has been out of print for years. The 457124 is still around and is my #1 bullet for the 405 gr. with a soft mix. A nice thumper when loaded heavy, but if you keep if above 950 FPS it will spin like a champ and can be quite acurate.

Wade

I made it to the range today and was quite impressed with the loads I made. I didn't notice any difference between 14 & 15 gr, thay both felt about the same to me. The loads were very accurate and FAR less punishing than the Federal 300 gr jacketd I shot out of it. T.B. is definately a keeper. I had no leading whatsoever, despite the soft swaged bullets.
Now I just need to make a 14 gr dipper so I can skip using the Uni-Flow altogether, it was just too tricky to get it to meter properly.
GH1

GH1,

Knew you'd like TB. Great stuff for this caliber. Glad you've got your weapon dialed in with good old TB!

Wade

I just remembered this from IMR. I havent tried it yet but seems like a good starting point.

http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf