Range Report 45/70 Revolver

I dont think I have ever seen Contender load data. All the data I find is for rifles. But that is one the reasons I enjoy shooting 45/70, there is a lot of room for trying different loads, from soft to bone crushing and 300g bullets to 600g bullets, smokeless and black powder. Look at the load Michael has for loading 3 lead balls, lol.

It is a fun round.

The Contender is closer to a rifle with the 12-14" barrel, so rifle load data works better. It also doesn't have a cylinder gap.
Lyman 49th. Though the powder selections are fairly slim.
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Well, damn. Lol. I have the 50th edition. I didn't realize they had a section for the Contender, under pistols.

IMR4198 is what I will be trying, the data is both in the Contender and Rifle section. Perfect.
Awesome. I've never even heard of some of those powders before - I figured they were discontinued powders [laugh]

Edit: Just realized RX7 is short for Reloader 7 - nevermind.
 
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Found these while waiting for The Herd to roll out and back in-




I see a lot of reference to using a filler with 4227.
I'm sure there more out there
 
Found these while waiting for The Herd to roll out and back in-




I see a lot of reference to using a filler with 4227.
I'm sure there more out there
I saw all those threads while I was deciding to buy a 45/70.

Looks like 4759 was awesome, and then someone decided to stop making it.

After a lot of reading, I settled for 4198 and the one that will most likely be the best choice.

A lot lf the powders suggested in the Lyman book and marked black as the best choice, have poor reviews, very dirty and so on. And maybe they work well on rifles but not on revolvers.

If you go to my first post, before the BFR blew up, I was getting a nice group with 4198.

The plan:

1. I will bring some of my molds to the casting seminar. And learn how to coat the bullets with those.

2. I will cast 405, 500, 535 grain bullets at home.

3. I will try them all with 4198 and see how that goes. If 4198 is not good , I will move to the next powder and do it again.
 
I saw all those threads while I was deciding to buy a 45/70.

Looks like 4759 was awesome, and then someone decided to stop making it.

After a lot of reading, I settled for 4198 and the one that will most likely be the best choice.

A lot lf the powders suggested in the Lyman book and marked black as the best choice, have poor reviews, very dirty and so on. And maybe they work well on rifles but not on revolvers.

If you go to my first post, before the BFR blew up, I was getting a nice group with 4198.

The plan:

1. I will bring some of my molds to the casting seminar. And learn how to coat the bullets with those.

2. I will cast 405, 500, 535 grain bullets at home.

3. I will try them all with 4198 and see how that goes. If 4198 is not good , I will move to the next powder and do it again.

Yea.
Was bored.
Not even going to pretend to know anything about 45/70.
I have noticed over the years the cast boolits crew doesn't like to stray outside of anything made after 1970, and that includes powder.
 
Yea.
Was bored.
Not even going to pretend to know anything about 45/70.
I have noticed over the years the cast boolits crew doesn't like to stray outside of anything made after 1970, and that includes powder.
One big problem I find everywhere, and even on Cast Bullets. People post: I use powder ABC, velocity XXXX

And that, to me, means sh*t. Very few actually post pictures, or group sizes or any useful data.

All it is useful for is to know the gun could handle it.
 
They shoot for Minuets of Deer @ 100 yds, if that.
Or super reduced loads for 25 ft.
The BFR with the 10" barrel can do 2-4" groups at 100 yards. I have read several people getting 1" at 50. I will see if those claims are true.

The problem with a lot of people, at least what I have read, is that they focus on velocity too much and also want extreme accuracy. I was reading a guy that on his tests was getting close to under 1" at 50, but he wanted the bullet to move faster, so the load was no good, and moved on to like 3 other powders.
 
The BFR with the 10" barrel can do 2-4" groups at 100 yards. I have read several people getting 1" at 50. I will see if those claims are true.

The problem with a lot of people, at least what I have read, is that they focus on velocity too much and also want extreme accuracy. I was reading a guy that on his tests was getting close to under 1" at 50, but he wanted the bullet to move faster, so the load was no good, and moved on to like 3 other powders.
Stupid really. The whole point of 45/70 is so you don’t need extreme velocity. You’re throwing a damn VW Bug down range.
Also penetration suffers at higher velocity.

If my bullet penetrated 4.5 feet instead of 6 feet I consider it a loser

 
Stupid really. The whole point of 45/70 is so you don’t need extreme velocity. You’re throwing a damn VW Bug down range.
Also penetration suffers at higher velocity.

If my bullet penetrated 4.5 feet instead of 6 feet I consider it a loser

That was an interesting read.

I never cared about velocity too much because even at 1200-1300 fps it will kill anything in North America and probably anything in Africa.

People used to kill those animals with muskets, many using round balls.
 
That was an interesting read.

I never cared about velocity too much because even at 1200-1300 fps it will kill anything in North America and probably anything in Africa.

People used to kill those animals with muskets, many using round balls.
Exactly. When you have that much weight you don’t need the speed.
There is the whole energy dump/expansion/hydrostatic shock argument but we should all know the only way for a Surefire kill is. CNS hit. After that it’s blood loss. A large caliber flat nose that puts and entrance and exit would will bleed an animal out as fast as any 30 cal magnum
 
Something about the pictures, especially the one with the revolver in Lamp Mode standing on the barrel, just makes me giggle.

Somehow it feels like this...
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...plus this...
6144275520_e157afaaaf_b_grande.jpg

...must equal this...
tumblr_po2yh7faTD1xrigiqo3_640.gifv

But I'm having trouble with the math.
 
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At the range working some loads. Will post some target pics later.

With the rear sight all the way down, and 535g bullets, it is shooting about a foot high at 25 yards. This will be a good 100 yard revolver.

View attachment 410219
Scrolling through Facebook and noticed Brownells posted this today. That’s got to be yours? 😂
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I dont want to be associated with FB and this thread.

But someone should reply with the pic I sent earlier shooting and let them knownit is fixed and shooting again.
 
Shot 75 reloads. My hand hurts a little. I will probably feel it later today.

It shoots a little high at 150 yards. I guess I will have to move my targets out to 200.

With factory ammo, it was not shooting high. I am surprised that it is shooting high with heavier bullets and most likely less powder.

Any ideas?

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It shoots a little high at 150 yards. I guess I will have to move my targets out to 200.

With factory ammo, it was not shooting high. I am surprised that it is shooting high with heavier bullets and most likely less powder.

Any ideas?
Helium contamination of the boolits?
(They just float downrange?)
 
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Shot 75 reloads. My hand hurts a little. I will probably feel it later today.

It shoots a little high at 150 yards. I guess I will have to move my targets out to 200.

With factory ammo, it was not shooting high. I am surprised that it is shooting high with heavier bullets and most likely less powder.

Any ideas?

View attachment 410243


Did you chrono them?
Velocity difference between factory and reloads would tell a lot.
 
Shot 75 reloads. My hand hurts a little. I will probably feel it later today.

It shoots a little high at 150 yards. I guess I will have to move my targets out to 200.

With factory ammo, it was not shooting high. I am surprised that it is shooting high with heavier bullets and most likely less powder.

Any ideas?

It is very common that heavier slower bullets hit higher. They remain in the bore just a little bit longer during the recoil cycle, so the muzzle is a bit higher when the bullet leaves the barrel.

People often think that the lighter and faster bullet will hit higher, because it gets to the target quicker, and has less time to drop. This is a valid point, but this effect is much more noticeable with rifles at long range, and is often negligible at pistol distances.

When people ask whether a certain bullet weight will hit higher or lower than another, I always say that shooting them both on paper is the only way to know for sure. But with that said, my general expectation is that heavier pistol bullets will hit higher, and sometimes a lot higher.
 
It is very common that heavier slower bullets hit higher. They remain in the bore just a little bit longer during the recoil cycle, so the muzzle is a bit higher when the bullet leaves the barrel.

People often think that the lighter and faster bullet will hit higher, because it gets to the target quicker, and has less time to drop. This is a valid point, but this effect is much more noticeable with rifles at long range, and is often negligible at pistol distances.

When people ask whether a certain bullet weight will hit higher or lower than another, I always say that shooting them both on paper is the only way to know for sure. But with that said, my general expectation is that heavier pistol bullets will hit higher, and sometimes a lot higher.
Interesting. Good point.
 
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