Summertime 45-70 Gov't Handload Tuneup

I like machines. They have no attitudes, they have no agendas and how they perform and react is always logical. When it doesn’t appear that way, it is only because there is something we’ve overlooked or don’t understand. Persistence in problem solving will always prove the previous to be true. So my chipper won’t start after sitting idle for two years, stored in a shed with temps below -30°F. With a 250 cc engine, tugging until my right arm is two inches longer than my left, it went clang, clang, clang, but no putt, putt, putt. And so it begins…

Spark plug was clean. A spark tester indicates the coil is good. Pulling the fuel tank, cleaning it out and changing lines showed fuel to the carburetor. The air filter was changed, the choke was cleaned, small accessible passages in the carburetor were flushed and blown out. I wanted to tank the carb, but it would not come off. It’s as though it was assembled with thread locker on every nut and screw. One more tug on the recoil starter and it came to life… putt… putt… putt, putt, putt, putt, vroom for a full five seconds, before croaking as soon as the cylinder emptied out the carb cleaner. The carb needs to be rebuilt, if it can be removed. So the conclusion is again logical. It hates me for leaving it out in an unheated shed over two winters and it will not start until I buy it something nice, like a new carburetor, or two new tow tires.

Socking away handloads for next fall…

I really like the 45-70 Government cartridge. Rarely finding myself in a place where topography or game dictates 200+ yard shots, the 45-70 makes a lot of sense. Yes, I do realize that the 45-70 Gov’t was tested at Sandy Hook, NJ at 1,500 yards through 3,500 yards in 1879, but the targets were 44 feet x 22 feet and the test were primarily to measure penetration at a distance, not accuracy. It was more light mortar fire with an 80° inbound angle and I don’t believe deer would break out a lawn chair and chill by a stream, while waiting for a bullet to arrive. But close in, 100 yards or so, my Model 1895 Marlin will produce sub MOA groups with frequency and even the worst are less and one and one-half MOA.

If you keep in mind that the following is primarily for my own consumption, my choices and approaches will seem a lot more reasonable. None of the load data that follows is for use in Trapdoor design firearms or original, late 1800 design lever guns. Standard pressure for the 45-70 Government is 28,000 PSI. All of the loads appearing here hover around the 40,000 PSI level, so they are well above spec pressure.

Seven bullets for the Model 1895 and other stout lever guns…

The Hornady FTX has a long ogive that exceeds SAAMI 45-70 COL specification if the case is not reworked to a case length of 2.040″… which is also out of spec. However, shortening the case as suggested by Hornady reduces the assembled cartridge length to 2.540″ if the bullet is seated to the forward cannelure and it will cycle through a Model 1895 and similar. Hornady rates this bullet for deer and elk.

The Hornady Interlock is appreciated. A conventional flat nose, lead core jacketed bullet, it is an excellent all around big game selection with reliable feed in the Model 1895, reliable expansion and penetration. Not as streamlined as the 325 FTX 0.189 BC to 0.230 BC respectively, but in our part of the country, way down range isn’t much of a consideration.

The Hawk Precision bullets 350 and 400 grain are something special. Hawk makes bullets for just about any caliber and cartridge with choice of jacket thickness and cannelure location or no cannelure. In addition to general use, Hawk makes bullets for many of those cartridges that would otherwise be rendered unavailable from old lever action rounds to some of the biggest African big and dangerous game cartridges. In the case of these two bullets for the 45-70 Gov’t, no cannelure was present, but a Lee Factory crimp dies was used to secure bullets.

Hawk Precision uses dead soft copper jackets that yield rather than fracture when expanding, so recovered bullets always show high weight retention and controlled expansion is major while penetration isn’t compromised. In the handloads listed, I went with an 0.035″ jacket for the 350 grain bullets and 0.025″ for the 400 grain bullets. Optional jacket thickness ranges from 0.025″ to 0.065″

The Cast Performance 460 grain WFNGC bullet is the heaviest bullet I’ve gotten to cycle reliably in the Marlin Model 1895, with enough net powder capacity to put it to good use. They are accurate, they do not expand, but they are good for shooting through a redwood tree should the need arise.

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These are maximum loads in my firearms and may be excessive in others. All loads should be reduced by 5% as a starting point for development where cartridges have greater than 40 grains in capacity and 10% for cartridges with less than 40 grain capacity following safe handloading practices as represented in established mainstream reloading manuals. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.