Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 45-70, cast or jacketed?

"I have pushed the 500grnrs at 1600fps..... out of a Marlin Cowboy gun.... recoil was...um...er.... stout!"

You wouldn't be kidding me now would you? My first 45-70 was one of the first ones marlin based on the 336 with that nasty curved butt plate. I got it as almost new as the previous owner fired one round of factory 400 gr. bullets and the kick was too much. I tried it and was careful on how I placed it against my shoulder and it wasn't all that bad.
He sold it to me for $50. I got a 400 gr. Lee mold and shot it to various levels of power. I never did agree with Ken Waters that it could take Ruger #1 level loads. Sorry Ken. I got that Lyman mold #457122 for that 330 gr. hollow point bullet the "Gould" bullet and it was a bear to get good casts, the problem being irregularity in the hollow points. The good one shot quite well with the Marlin doing 2" on average and a Ruger #1 doing right at 1.5" average. I have A.C. Gould's book, "Modern American Rifles" circa 1892 where he describes having IIRC, Ideal designing three molds for .45 caliber rifles and Gould decided the 330 HP mold the best of the litter. I'm inclined to agree although I think I would pick the 400 gr. RCBS bullet for larger game.
The Marlin is long gone and the Ruger #1 now sits at the back of the safe as I have gone on to other thing rifle wise.
I have a Lee 500 gr. mold that has a very long nose and shot quite well in the Ruger which has a long throat. Recoil to put it lightly was noticable. I might crank out a few if I ever get a chance to hunt bison.
Paul B.

IMHO the 45-70 velocity is such that either cast or jacketed are a good choice. If you tend towards the lighter faster with some expansion camp, there are several 350's that will perform excellently in the 45-70. If you like cast bullets with big meplats, 400-440 gr seems like the right weight for the cast bullet sweet spot of 1800-2000 fps.

I'd suggest the Swift 350 A-Frame bullet at max velocity. It will flatten trajectory a bit and provide excellent penetration with moderate expansion. It is actually the most accurate bullet in my Marlin1895SBL with RE7.

This is the only bullet that provided everything: accuracy, expansion and deep penetration.