500 gr. 45-70 mould

[Ian]

Chris, couple things that helped me was to grow at short beard so my face slides on the stock better, and to stop shooting rifles/shotguns with extremely sloped combs. That whack under the eye socket against the static inertia of the vitreous jelly makes the jelly try to jerk the retina off the back of the eyeball. We humans were not engineered to be pinballs.

 

[Chris]

Chris, couple things that helped me was to grow at short beard so my face slides on the stock better, and to stop shooting rifles/shotguns with extremely sloped combs. That whack under the eye socket against the static inertia of the vitreous jelly makes the jelly try to jerk the retina off the back of the eyeball. We humans were not engineered to be pinballs.

Got the beard here, I agree it helps. Got to shoot what I've got... I can take it ok but it just ain't the fun it used to be. The benches where I shoot are too low and the heavy rifles just hit my shoulder wrong from a semi-prone position.

I think someone here suggested using a pipe clamp with carpet rolled around it, clamp it onto an upright. Might be worth a try for some of these anti-tank rounds.

 

[Brad]

Pipe clamp with carpet was the smartest standing rest I ever saw.

 

[9.3X62AL]

Ben--when the Lee bullets get boring and stale for ya, I have just the casting to re-awaken your interests with--a Lyman #462560. It even has an OEM Lyman HP pin, if you were so inclined.

I ran most of these at 1100 FPS through a Ruger #1 (7-1/4# rifle......) and the recoil was noticeable but still civilized. Having a Ruger #1 is just plain darn dangerous, though--sooner or later, you'll want to gallop that horse and give it free rein.

Mistake.

I ran these to about 1500-1525 FPS through the #1, and I do believe that my shoulder blades collided due to the recoil impulse. I had 20 cartridges loaded, and after sampling 3 I elected to break the loads down to components--return same to stock--and melt those 17 monsters into something useful--several dozen 9mm bullets, IIRC. Run to their full potential, the user could likely harvest an M1 Abrams or C-19 cargo plane humanely with these bullets.

 

[David Reiss]

I have that same mold (which does drop at .461 with WWs) and the Lyman 457125. Al is right, in my #1 and even in my heavier Shiloh Sharps Long Range Express, they wallop the **** out of you with most any load. Both are accurate, but the Lee has the edge in my rifles. I thought about trying one in my TC Contender, but have resisted the urge, only to say, "Maybe next time".

 

[Ben]

The farther I go with this concept, the more leary I become.

 

[Maven]

I have a 2 cav. LBT PB-FP mold which drops a ~470gr. bullet that I use in my Marlin #336 .45-70. It is superbly accurate, but you definitely feel the increased recoil with every 50 fps increase in velocity.

 

[Rick]

The farther I go with this concept, the more leary I become.

A little of it will probably be fun. A little more probably not so much. I gave up some time ago on loads that are worse on the shooter than the shootee.
.

 

[Brad]

Ben, keep them around 1K Fps and they won't be bad. A few around 1400 fps and you won't ever need to try that again.
They will do a good job of turning the berm for easier lead picking. I often take my 44 cal shovel when I want to get more range scrap.

 

[Ben]

All this should be fun,......... the farther I walk in the 500 gr. direction reading all the comments, the less fun it is likely to be.

Of course, the new 500 grainers might be a good conversation piece to keep on my loading bench.

Ben

 

[Ben]

Brad,

This might be a bit more realistic ? ?

500 gr. Bullets RN Accurate AAC-5744 23.4 1070 fps

 

[Brad]

Much better. That will be a big push but not jarring recoil.

 

[David Reiss]

Brad & Ben are correct with that load. 1000 fps with a 500 grainer is deadly on deer & black bears. They do not what hit them. I have used a real soft alloy, 7-8 BHN and it is very accurate expands a little does not lead when properly fitted and lubed.

 

[gman]

1000 fps and suppressed would be interesting.

 

[freebullet]

700-1k is about all I'd be trying with those. A sims pad might be a good addition. If you could get the deer to line up just right you could probably shoot through a baker's dozen with that moving above 1k.

 

[S Mac]

I don't own a 45-70, but 1 good use for this mould is to cast little linotype ingots for adjusting a pot of alloy.

 

[Texas Hillbilly]

Sweet, I'm also working on a 45-70 project myself, I'm looking at the 405gr.as a base.we have to start somewhere.
Good luck with that 500 Ben keep us informed.

 

[9.3X62AL]

Ben--

There is definitely a place at the table for wide, long, heavy bullets at sub-sonic velocities. the late Fran Barnes in "Cartridges of the World" described a cut-down 458 Win Mag cartridge using a 500 grain bullet at +/- 1100 FPS as a sniping round in suppressed bolt rifles during the Viet Nam War. That text was part of the prompting for loading up the #462560 into 45/70 cases initially. They shot VERY WELL for me, on the order of 1.1"-1.3" at 100 yards with a NECG aperture sight/5 shots. Recoil wasn't bad from the bench, either--subjectively, about "20 gauge shotgun with field loads"-level.

 

[Ben]

Sounding like 1,000 - 1,100 fps may be what I'm looking for.

Ben

 

[Chris]

Sounding like 1,000 - 1,100 fps may be what I'm looking for.

Ben

I would give it a try at these velocities, I bet it will be fun.

Now since we have been discussing HP for hunting, Ben: if this bullet shoots for you and you enjoy the experience, maybe this is one to HP or FN for hunting? Nice malleable alloy at 1000 fps, probably just 1:40 or such and a big ol' hole in the mouth?