45-70 550 grain wfngc

[RANGER RICK]

Well I finally loaded up some of my new big boys for my 45-70 to see how they worked .
I was quite pleased with the results .
I sighted them in at a starting point of 50 yards and that was it for the day .
Recoil is stout !!!!
They did well . The barrel had no leading .
The bullets are ww with Linotype then water dropped . The average BHN is 23 and hard!!
I used H322 Velocity 1526 .
Here is a picture of a couple loaded and two sized and lubed.

My son will be my back up on Kodiak in a couple days and he will be using these in his Guide Gun .

RR

[Marshall/Ak]

Impressive! I bet those thumpers will completely penetrate a bear...
Biggest I've used in my 45/70 is 420gr cast @ 1750fps, and they kicked like no tomorrow...


Marshall/Ak

[Alangaq]

In my humble opinion.... I would bet good money that you will be better served and happier with the results if you start casting those from Wheel Weight alloy and forgoing the quench. if you add 2% tin, you should end up around 12 bn that will provide complete broad side pennetration as well as substantial mushrooming. If your gonna cast them that hard, you might as well go with 350 grain bullets to gain some range. the added weight wont do much for you. a .45 cal hole is still a .45 cal hole no matter the weight of the bullet that made it, and if they are over 20 bn then they are pretty much "solids" and will pennetrate the same for all practial purposes whether they weigh 350 grains or 550 grains provided you keep the speed below 2200 fps.... which you will obviously do, or we will be reading about your face transplant on the ADN

[Alangaq]

dont get me wrong here.... I'm not trying to be "poo poo Sally" and slander your plan. But the whole "hard cast" craze was brought about by bullet manufactures that found them easier and more econamical to cast than a lead bullet that would reliably expand within a given velocity range. for the home caster who is willing to experiment with different alloys and test them in realistic mediums, you can indeed get the best of both worlds! Extreem pennitration and reliable expansion! remember..... all them big shaggy bufflo didnt die from starvation... they died from lead poisening!

[bfrshooter]

Impressive! I bet those thumpers will completely penetrate a bear...
Biggest I've used in my 45/70 is 420gr cast @ 1750fps, and they kicked like no tomorrow...


Marshall/Ak

You are a little OFF there, they will go through a LOCOMOTIVE!
I do agree with everyone about the hardness for hunting. I have been having a very hard time killing deer with too hard a boolit when shot too fast. I found you need to stay under about 1400 fps with hard boolits so they do damage inside an animal. Too fast and they just push tissue aside from the pressure wave caused by the nose. There must be some expansion to slow the boolit in the animal. Need more "dwell time."
Deer shot with hard cast from my .44, .45 and .475 don't go anywhere and the lungs will be mush. Shot with the same boolits from my 45-70 will have deer go over 200 yd's and the lungs are mostly intact. I am shooting these at 1632 fps for accuracy but they are just too fast to kill.
I am going to cast a softer nose, maybe with a hollow point too, yet keep the hard base to take the rifling for accuracy. I found just going to a softer alloy like 50-50 WW and pure will cause a lot of fliers even if water dropped or oven hardened.
The hard cast should work better in very large, tough animals that will slow the boolit more. I can't give an answer though because we do not have anything here larger then deer. They will also work better at very long range.
Either way, I would be looking for some expansion if velocity is high.
This 45-70 BFR is teaching me some harsh lessons with a few lost deer with perfect hits. Doing necropsies on recovered deer is very revealing.

[RANGER RICK]

In my humble opinion.... I would bet good money that you will be better served and happier with the results if you start casting those from Wheel Weight alloy and forgoing the quench. if you add 2% tin, you should end up around 12 bn that will provide complete broad side pennetration as well as substantial mushrooming. If your gonna cast them that hard, you might as well go with 350 grain bullets to gain some range. the added weight wont do much for you. a .45 cal hole is still a .45 cal hole no matter the weight of the bullet that made it, and if they are over 20 bn then they are pretty much "solids" and will pennetrate the same for all practial purposes whether they weigh 350 grains or 550 grains provided you keep the speed below 2200 fps.... which you will obviously do, or we will be reading about your face transplant on the ADN

Alangaq

Could not agree more.
This bullet was designed for close range for Brown bear and or dangerous game .
Most of my casting is straight ww air cooled .
This mix was for a friend with this bullet and I had couple hundred pounds left over and I put it to good use.
I would say there is no expansion at all but I think it is a good bullet to use on Brown Bear to bust up bones and leave big drain holes in and out if need be.
I dislike the water drop method or oven heating ,to trime consuming.
If Ineed a harder bullet I use Linotype or Monotype added to my WW mix.
Straight WW will do everything I need.

RR

[The Kid]

Just curious

I had to ask but do you make your own moulds for your bullets Rick? I have seen your 720gr 458 bullets on gunbroker or at least i thought they were yours. I dont know if you saw my post in the muzzleloader forum but I have been experimenting with making some moulds and might want to pick your brain a bit if you build your own and wouldnt mind answering some questions. Anyway looks like an awsome load for crushin big bones up close and personal like. My motto is they cant be too dead awesome bullet.