If you could shoot only one bullet for 45-70.

elj1973 said:

Which is better the Flat nose or the round nose in the Hornady 350 gr. interlock? Going to be shooting out of a new Marlin SBL. The 45-70 is a new beast for me

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Sergeant Stadanko said:

I have a box of 500 of the flat nose Hornady bullets that I use in my .450 Marlin and 45/70. I really like them and have had really good luck with them in both calibers.

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captainjoe said:

I tend to try to find one bullet that works and shoot it a lot, and I am on the hunt for one for my Marlin 45-70 XLR. It is scary accurate with Hornady's 325 gr. flex tips with no mods to the factory configuration. I am comfortable shooting out to 200 yards, which covers 98% of the scenarios of where I hunt. Now I want to see if I can find an all rounder bullet beyond the FTX.

Besides punching paper, I hunt deer and elk. I was thinking something around the 350 gr., around 1500-1600 fps. The age old issue of compromise - managing recoil, keeping it reasonably flat and getting the most benefit for the kill. I am happy to buy factory bullets, but am considering casting my own. As much as possible, I am trying to manage costs so that I can shoot as much as possible.

I have considered Hornady 350 gr. round points, but then wondered if this is the time I should really force myself to cast and build my shooting capabilities around a bullet that I can make. Ideally if I go the cast route, it would be nice to buy some to try first to see how my rifle likes them. And of course, if for some reason I can't do any casting, I can revert to buying them.

So for my shooting situation and hand loading, if you could only shoot one bullet what would it be? Any thoughts or suggestions?

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elj1973 said:

What kind of velocity are you running them and do you feel they expand to much?

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Sergeant Stadanko said:

I'm running right around 2000fps and haven't experienced any over expansion issues to date. I've taken two large cow elk with the .450 at around 150-180 yards, and they both dropped where they were. Haven't recovered any bullets, as they were pass throughs with silver dollar sized exit wounds.

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P7M13 said:

If you don't already cast, the cost to get you started far outstrips the expense of buying jacketed bullets for reloading, unless you plan on shooting thousands of rounds out of your 45/70.
I cast 405gr FP, and also load with Hornady 350gr HP bullets.

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memtb said:

I think that a lot of the cost depends upon the equipment you choose to use!

You can go high tech and spend a bunch. Or, can cast similar to the way that our forefathers did. Casting good accurate, quality bullets won't bankrupt you…..and you may find it a very pleasurable addition to your shooting game.

A simple, small cast iron ……probably can be bought used for near nothing at a second hand store or pawn shop. A casting dipper > under $40.00.

And then the bullet molds……. Lee offers many different aluminum molds at pretty darn reasonable prices. I presently use molds from Accurate Molds. He offers iron, brass, or aluminum. He will custom size the mold according to the casting alloy that you use. "AND"……you can get a mold of two different calibers or two different weights or designs in the same caliber. Considering the quality and options that he offers….they are very reasonably priced. Several years ago I bought a 4 cavity aluminum mold from Accurate, 2 of the cavities are for my 45-70 and 2 of the cavities are for my 460 S&W.

For many years I did my casting in our kitchen. I simply covers the entire stove top other than the burner/element that I was using to keep any and all molten lead splatters off of the stove top. And…..most everyone's stove already has a vent fan to draw away unwanted fumes.

Sizing …..often no sizing is required. If you need or desire, you don't need the sizer/lubricator specifically made for that….. for under $20, you can buy a sizing die from Lee that simply screws into your present reloading press.

There are several methods to lube your bullets without additional or expensive equipment. Or, you can get into powder coating…..no messy lubes to deal with, and you color code your bullets to specific calibers/weights, ect. Powder coating virtually eliminates the fouling/leading usually associated with cast bullets……making them comparable to shooting jacketed bullets. Also, powder coating bullets is not an expensive endeavor. The power is inexpensive, there are recommended brands - don't buy from Harbor Frieght, and many people use a simple electric toaster over with can also be bought quite cheap in 2nd hand stores or pawn shops.

There is tons of information both in books and via the internet providing you with more information than you can absorb. memtb

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