Got to shoot my 45-70 yesterday.

[PhilB]

I bought a Handi-Rifle in 45-70 about a month ago. I want it strictly for cast bullets and it took me this long to get my bullet mold and brass. Loaded up some plinking loads with a 9.5gr charge of Red Dot and a 405gr lead slug. My son and I tried it out and it seemed to shoot pretty well. I want to develop a subsonic load for my nephews to shoot. Today I will tinker with the powder charge to see what shoots best and also mount a reflex sight on it. My old eyes just don't see iron sights like they used to. Eventually I want to work up some trapdoor level loads but nothing hotter. I've shot my friend's Handi in 500 S&W and I don't enjoy shooting a gun that recoils like that just to poke holes in paper. Now if I hunted large or dangerout game it might be a different story.

 

[snapping turtle]

Look at trail boss powder. Kind of new cowboy power.

With the 405 lead cast cci 200 and 12 grains of powder you will get 1000 FPS give or take a few.

Trail boss meters real well and you can not double charge a case with it. I think with red dot (Mainly a pistol powder also) you could double charge a case, My main reloading book lists no 45-70 with red dot. I does list 12 guage which should make it a possible choice. I think trail boss will give you a better chance of lighting off the powder charge in that large case. 12 grains verses 9.6 or less.

On the old eyes I hear you. A peep is easier that the factory irons if you want to keep it scope/red dot less.

H&R Handy Rifle

Now on the red dot/ refles sight i would look to the small size regular scope like a 1-4 20mm or a 2-7 32mm they look correct to me on a single shoot rifle and most like just a little more cash outlay that a quality reflex. Much better for paper punching.

I love the single shot rifles and the handi or buffalo classic and top chioces in the available guns. Have a smith touch up the trigger a bit or follow the old stoning the grit off do not change the angles or the shape.. New handi's have a very heavy trigger pull at about 9 pounds.

 

[PhilB]

Look at trail boss powder. Kind of new cowboy power.

With the 405 lead cast cci 200 and 12 grains of powder you will get 1000 FPS give or take a few.

Trail boss meters real well and you can not double charge a case with it. I think with red dot (Mainly a pistol powder also) you could double charge a case, My main reloading book lists no 45-70 with red dot. I does list 12 guage which should make it a possible choice. I think trail boss will give you a better chance of lighting off the powder charge in that large case. 12 grains verses 9.6 or less.

On the old eyes I hear you. A peep is easier that the factory irons if you want to keep it scope/red dot less.

H&R Handy Rifle

Now on the red dot/ refles sight i would look to the small size regular scope like a 1-4 20mm or a 2-7 32mm they look correct to me on a single shoot rifle and most like just a little more cash outlay that a quality reflex. Much better for paper punching.

I love the single shot rifles and the handi or buffalo classic and top chioces in the available guns. Have a smith touch up the trigger a bit or follow the old stoning the grit off do not change the angles or the shape.. New handi's have a very heavy trigger pull at about 9 pounds.

I used Red Dot because that is what I have on hand. I've wanted to try Trail Boss but so far have not found any locally. There isn't really much of a powder selection anyplace I've been and the on-line suppliers don't have much either. I don't worry about double charges in my cases because I check the powder level in every case before I seat the bullet. Somebody gave me a link to a site that shows powder charges for most shotgun powders in the 45-70.
The reason I'm putting a reflex sight on the gun is because I have one just laying aroung. I may put a 4x scope on the rifle eventually like I have on my .357 Handi. So far, I've been lucky when it comes to triggers on my Handi Rifles. I have 3 and none of them are as heavy as what I've read about. I think I could smooth the trigger up a bit if it came down to it. There is a site that gives step by step instructions. Thankyou for the information on Trail Boss powder. Maybe when reloading supplies get back to a more normal lever I can try some.

 

[snapping turtle]

Make a call to PROFIRE an ingo advertiser. I bet he might be able to put some trail boss on order for you but INDY is a drive from randolph county.

I have had some trouble getting some powders like varget, h335, and H-110 but some of my other staples like w231, h322 and titegroup i have had no problems in tracking down.( i have been picking up extra supplies since the POTUS was first elected) I guess I have been lucky as most can not find w231 at least. Now finding some lil gun was a futile effort.

Trail boss looks like a 8 pound jug in 5 pound size. It has a weird smell to it. I would not call it clean burning but cleaner than unique. Excellent powder for subsonic or suppressed loads. I like it because it fills up those large cases eliminating the possibility of a primer flashing over some other powders. 38 special light loads, 44 special 30-30 45-70 45 LC any of the old original black powder stuff like 25-20 ect.

Have up measured the bore of your handi, Some are overbore by a large amount. My marlin outfitter in 444 was prefect on bore size and getts treated to jacketed bullets, My 45-70 guide gun was overbore and I use cast to fit the bore. I take it that you did before you ordered your mold. Just checking.