Henry 45-70

[wisconsinteacher]

I'm very close to getting a call from the local sports shop that a Henry case hardened 45-70 is in. I've wanted one for years and I'm really close to making the investment. My goal is to deer hunt here in WI with it and maybe use it for bears when I draw a tag.

I will load my own ammo and I'm looking at lead cast bullets. I've talked to Oregon Trail Bullets and he said the 350 or 405 will do the job. My hope is to load them to a little slower speed to make them enjoyable to shoot.

I'm wondering what to expect from a hard cast lead bullet on shots from 15-75 yards on deer? I've heard this is over kill but I don't care.

 

[nhenry]

Certainly is overkill, but fun overkill. You'll most likely never retrieve a bullet because it'll go right through. Aim for the shoulder if you want to avoid tracking.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

If you are behind the shoulder, what can a guy expect? A blood trail like a broadhead? 30-100 yard track job?

 

[MThuntr]

If you are behind the shoulder, what can a guy expect? A blood trail like a broadhead? 30-100 yard track job?

You probably won't get a lot of expansion from a flat nose, lead cast bullet that Oregon Bullets makes. Those will need to be loaded slower anyway since they look pretty soft and don't have a gas check however that's what it sounds like what you want.

Will it be like broadhead? I have no idea because I don't know what you mean. A lung/heart shot should be easy to track and an animal shouldn't go far.

 

[nhenry]

You probably won't get a lot of expansion from a flat nose, lead cast bullet that Oregon Bullets makes. Those will need to be loaded slower anyway since they look pretty soft and don't have a gas check however that's what it sounds like what you want.

Will it be like broadhead? I have no idea because I don't know what you mean. A lung/heart shot should be easy to track and an animal shouldn't go far.

yeah this^

I just mean it'll run a bit before going down, most likely.

 

[noharleyyet]

Quartering away right...red dot left of the Marlin's fore end. 325 Hornady Flex Tip @130 yards... pass thru w/good sized exit & vivid 30 yard blood trail...exsanguinated rapidly. Your casts should do the job.

https://flic.kr/p/2o1s9dk

Steep angle quartering left...no exit, ran about 30 yards, no trail...same bullet.

https://flic.kr/p/2jZf9iX

 

[p_ham]

The large meplat on hard cast bullets is what transfers the energy. I've pushed Oregon trail 405s up to 1700fps with fantastic accuracy. Expect large holes and good blood.

 

[MThuntr]

Quartering away right...red dot left of the Marlin's fore end. 325 Hornady Flex Tip @130 yards... pass thru w/good sized exit & vivid 30 yard blood trail...exsanguinated rapidly. Your casts should do the job.

https://flic.kr/p/2o1s9dk

Steep angle quartering left...no exit, ran about 30 yards, no trail...same bullet.

https://flic.kr/p/2jZf9iX

This the rifle P_ham worked on right? I still need to get mine cleaned up.

 

[noharleyyet]

This the rifle P_ham worked on right? I still need to get mine cleaned up.

The buck pic is after Paul worked the magic...

 

[wisconsinteacher]

The large meplat on hard cast bullets is what transfers the energy. I've pushed Oregon trail 405s up to 1700fps with fantastic accuracy. Expect large holes and good blood.

Thanks. Sounds like a good bullet for what I want to do. I'll be hunting from tree stands where shots will be close. I have enough rifles that all shoot jacketed bullets. I want to try something new with the 45-70.

 

[BackofBeyond]

You’ll be fine. Hit them behind the shoulder and be ready for a very large exit.

.45-70 are just plain fun to shoot.

 

[peterk1234]

I use alliant 2400 with a 405 bullet for my light fun load. I can't recall how much powder. I would have to look at my notes. Dead nuts accurate at 100 yards. Such a fun gun.

 

[BrentD]

There are lots of ways you could go with that. Why not take a path less traveled and use a proper powder like Swiss 1.5fg and a paper-patched bullet? Or even a grease groove if you have to.

This is what I use in my square bolt Marlin.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

You’ll be fine. Hit them behind the shoulder and be ready for a very large exit.

.45-70 are just plain fun to shoot.

I like big exit holes and easy blood trails. Thanks

 

[EastTNHunter]

I liked casting my own when I had a 45/70. As has been mentioned already, wide meplat on a hard cast is very effective. I used 2400 powder, but also loved using 10gr unique and a 420gr cast for plinking. That last load is still similar to a 44mag if I recall correctly, but with hardly any recoil

 

[JDaugh33]

I have a 45/70 I am going to try on deer this year, but I don't see myself loading my own stuff. Any suggestions on a good factory round?

 

[noharleyyet]

I have a 45/70 I am going to try on deer this year, but I don't see myself loading my own stuff. Any suggestions on a good factory round?

Hornady 325g FTX LeveRevolution is what I have zero'd

I also laid in some 300g JHP Steinel when ammo was hard to fine...a couple of clicks and it's zeroed. Steinel also offers a 300g Solid Copper hollow point.

45-70 Govt Ammo - Steinel Ammunition Co.

At Steinel Ammo, we pride ourselves on delivering top-of-the-line 45-70 Govt ammunition to our customers. Shop Steinel Ammo for all your firearms needs!

www.steinelammo.com

 

[YoungGun]

Hornady 325g FTX LeveRevolution is what I have zero'd

I also laid in some 300g JHP Steinel when ammo was hard to fine...a couple of clicks and it's zeroed. Steinel also offers a 300g Solid Copper hollow point.

45-70 Govt Ammo - Steinel Ammunition Co.

At Steinel Ammo, we pride ourselves on delivering top-of-the-line 45-70 Govt ammunition to our customers. Shop Steinel Ammo for all your firearms needs!

www.steinelammo.com

Not sure if I had a bad box, but shooting Hornady 325g FTX Leverevolution out of my brass Henry 45-70 on monday, I had 3 rounds fail to fire out of 16 attempts. I got one of the three to go after firing on it three times. Not sure what the issue was- had great accuracy otherwise, but it gives me pause to hunt with them. I had no mis-fires the same day with the Hornady Leverevolution in 250gr Monoflex and the Remington Corelokts 405gr, and have never had a misfire with the rifle previously in loads ranging from Grizzly +P loads to light cowboy action loads.

 

[JDaugh33]

@YoungGun Wow...3 failed rounds out of the same box. Definitely have never had that issue. And those are the ones I was going to try. How was the accuracy with the Leverevolution?

 

[YoungGun]

@YoungGun Wow...3 failed rounds out of the same box. Definitely have never had that issue. And those are the ones I was going to try. How was the accuracy with the Leverevolution?

They all looked like light primer strikes- but the other types of ammo didn't have the same issue, and the 13 that went on the first shot of the FTXs were solid strikes, so I'm thinking maybe the primers on these three were inset just a little much?

Accuracy was great. I'm disappointed, as I had planned to hunt with these loads, since they shot great otherwise and strike a happy medium between the 250gr Leverevolutions and the 405gr Soft Points. But I'll probably go with the 405gr with my confidence in these fairly well shot at this point.