now I know I'm not the only guy that feels this way, but Ive always felt just a bit more comfortable hunting with a rifle that throws a fairly serious size chunk of lead, and from the results Ive seen in the field there at least some justification for that, intuitive feeling that slamming a large game animal with a fairly heavy-45 caliber bullet seems to get their attention instantly.
Ive hunted rather frequently with a 45/70 and recently a 450 marlin, lever action, both throw a 350-400 grain bullet in the 1800-2000fps range with decent hand loads.
Ive also used a 458 win and 458 LOTT just for grins at times with good results.
now Id be first in line to say that where you hit game is more important than the caliber used (within reasonable limits of course.)but punching a 45 caliber hole in one side and out the other gets results.
on one of my first hunts with a 45/70 i remember watching a trail for hours and almost falling asleep, but after several un-eventful hours a group of deer slowly walked down the trail, at about 120 yards out it was not an ideal shot when the lone buck appeared but he dropped like a busted water balloon when I hit him in the throat as he faced me, looking down the trail and the bullet exited low between his legs making a real mess of his internals but that shot impressed me with the effect a 45/70 had on game
just a tip or two,
(1) use gas check bullet designs, they consistently provide less bore fouling
(2) use 215 fed primers as they seem to be the most consistent in my testing
(3) size the bullets you cast at .459, any smaller and accuracy seems to suffer
(4) if you graph out bullet weight vs velocity , and retained energy at 100 and 200 yards,
you get a curve indicating the 350 grain -420 grain weight is about ideal, in the 45/70 and 450 marlin rifles
all cartridges should be loaded to near max length the magazine can handle for best functional durability/consistency
as the loaded cartridge length must be rather consistent, heavier projectiles take up more of the available powder capacity, on reason projectiles over about 420 grains are not ideal.
http://gaschecks.castpics.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=17
heres a few molds I find work well.
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
the 355 seems to shoot well with most powders
the pointed 405 can be used in the browning BLR box magazine but its marginally less accurate than the 355 grain in my experience, your rifle might be different
BTW I cast my bullets from 95% WW alloy and 5% pure tin, sized and lubed to .459 diam
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/632708/rcbs-1-cavity-bullet-mold-45-405-fn-45-caliber-458-diameter-405-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
heres jacketed bullets well documented to work well,in a 450 marlin
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/45-cal-458-350-gr-interlock-rn#!/
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...-government-458-diameter-405-grain-soft-point
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/rifle-bullets/hot-cor-rifle-bullets/458/458-350-fn-bullet
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/...flat-nose-rifle-bullets/458/458-400-fn-bullet
IMR 3031 and WW748 , and RL7 powders all work rather well.
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/45-cal-458-350-gr-interlock-rn#!/
on a recent hog hunt a buddy carried a marlin 45/70 loaded with Remington 405 grain bullets over a stiff load of H4198 powder.
for many years hes used a 30/30 marlin for deer and hogs but hes never gotten a decent hog over 150lbs and even some of those ran a bit before dropping before.
he was expecting to get a shot in heavy brush at a range of under 45-55 yards which his hunting guide had assured him was about average range, he was sitting on a fallen tree, trunk/log, when he heard squealing and heard a few shouts and saw the hunt guide run past him at about 20 yards
the guide had walked up on a large hog, while looking at some tracks, that hog was not at all happy with him being so close, that it rushed him, my friend shot the hog at less than 30 feet , it spun and squealed, on bullet impact, but made it less than 5 feet further.It was my friends first fairly large hog, as its dressed weight was almost 300lbs and hogs loose a good deal of weight being processed. hes thrilled with his 45/70, now obviously several other calibers could have done the same job, but the 45 calibers always seem to do a no-non-sense job and can be depended on from all angles to deliver a very noticeable blow to the game, theres almost never a situation where your guessing about (IF YOU HIT) like there is with calibers like the 30/30 where its not all that rare that fatally hit hogs run a bit before dropping.
obviously, a single incidence proves nothing , but it sure built confidence in my friend about his new 45/70
viewtopic.php?f=92&t=2952
Ive hunted rather frequently with a 45/70 and recently a 450 marlin, lever action, both throw a 350-400 grain bullet in the 1800-2000fps range with decent hand loads.
Ive also used a 458 win and 458 LOTT just for grins at times with good results.
now Id be first in line to say that where you hit game is more important than the caliber used (within reasonable limits of course.)but punching a 45 caliber hole in one side and out the other gets results.
on one of my first hunts with a 45/70 i remember watching a trail for hours and almost falling asleep, but after several un-eventful hours a group of deer slowly walked down the trail, at about 120 yards out it was not an ideal shot when the lone buck appeared but he dropped like a busted water balloon when I hit him in the throat as he faced me, looking down the trail and the bullet exited low between his legs making a real mess of his internals but that shot impressed me with the effect a 45/70 had on game
just a tip or two,
(1) use gas check bullet designs, they consistently provide less bore fouling
(2) use 215 fed primers as they seem to be the most consistent in my testing
(3) size the bullets you cast at .459, any smaller and accuracy seems to suffer
(4) if you graph out bullet weight vs velocity , and retained energy at 100 and 200 yards,
you get a curve indicating the 350 grain -420 grain weight is about ideal, in the 45/70 and 450 marlin rifles
all cartridges should be loaded to near max length the magazine can handle for best functional durability/consistency
as the loaded cartridge length must be rather consistent, heavier projectiles take up more of the available powder capacity, on reason projectiles over about 420 grains are not ideal.
http://gaschecks.castpics.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=17
heres a few molds I find work well.
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
the 355 seems to shoot well with most powders
the pointed 405 can be used in the browning BLR box magazine but its marginally less accurate than the 355 grain in my experience, your rifle might be different
BTW I cast my bullets from 95% WW alloy and 5% pure tin, sized and lubed to .459 diam
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/632708/rcbs-1-cavity-bullet-mold-45-405-fn-45-caliber-458-diameter-405-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
heres jacketed bullets well documented to work well,in a 450 marlin
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/45-cal-458-350-gr-interlock-rn#!/
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...-government-458-diameter-405-grain-soft-point
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/rifle-bullets/hot-cor-rifle-bullets/458/458-350-fn-bullet
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/...flat-nose-rifle-bullets/458/458-400-fn-bullet
IMR 3031 and WW748 , and RL7 powders all work rather well.
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/45-cal-458-350-gr-interlock-rn#!/
on a recent hog hunt a buddy carried a marlin 45/70 loaded with Remington 405 grain bullets over a stiff load of H4198 powder.
for many years hes used a 30/30 marlin for deer and hogs but hes never gotten a decent hog over 150lbs and even some of those ran a bit before dropping before.
he was expecting to get a shot in heavy brush at a range of under 45-55 yards which his hunting guide had assured him was about average range, he was sitting on a fallen tree, trunk/log, when he heard squealing and heard a few shouts and saw the hunt guide run past him at about 20 yards
the guide had walked up on a large hog, while looking at some tracks, that hog was not at all happy with him being so close, that it rushed him, my friend shot the hog at less than 30 feet , it spun and squealed, on bullet impact, but made it less than 5 feet further.It was my friends first fairly large hog, as its dressed weight was almost 300lbs and hogs loose a good deal of weight being processed. hes thrilled with his 45/70, now obviously several other calibers could have done the same job, but the 45 calibers always seem to do a no-non-sense job and can be depended on from all angles to deliver a very noticeable blow to the game, theres almost never a situation where your guessing about (IF YOU HIT) like there is with calibers like the 30/30 where its not all that rare that fatally hit hogs run a bit before dropping.
obviously, a single incidence proves nothing , but it sure built confidence in my friend about his new 45/70
viewtopic.php?f=92&t=2952
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