I just got a Marlin 1895 22" 45-70 for deer hunting in Ohio. I ordered a lee 457-340 2 cavity 45-70 mold(340gr .457). I have cast about a hundred of these so far and they are coming out around .455 to .456, i haven't had a chance to slug my bore but the diameter im getting on these boolits seem way to small. Has anyone tried these in a marlin and did you get bad leading?
Not gonna work, leading inevitable. What alloy? Confident you're getting full fill out? Every one of my 45-70's has always liked .459-.460.Originally Posted by bigjake
My Straight shooter thread
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...traightshooter
Need a fatter boolit for sure.
I shoot boolits sized .460 out of my guide gun.
I was a dog on a short chain.
Now there's no chain.
Jim Harrison
My 1895 cowboy slugged at .456, so that bullet may work. Before ordering any moulds slug the bore. Good luck!
Same mold I got off ebay drops at .4595 +/- .0005 with straight coww. Accurate and no leading in my 1895.
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph. 2:8,9
In my Guide gun, I am using the rcbs 45-300 sized to .459, lubed with 50/50 moly/beeswax. No leading at 1700. They are a GC design though.
size them to .454 then paper patch them back to .460 drive them fast
Like others said, I use .460 in mine. Never tried a different size, never saw a need to.
only one way to know how they shoot, isn't there
You will learn far more at the casting, loading, and shooting bench than you ever will at a computer bench.
You don't really need barn burner loads with the punkin roller. I had a 95, and it kicked like a demented mule. Keep the loads moderate, and you'll enjoy it more.
"Experience is a series of non-fatal mistakes"
Disarming is a mistake free people only get to make once...
I am getting good results from my marlin, I cast a 405gr boolit it drops .460 with Lyman #2 alloy I size to .459 it gives me a 3 inch group at 100yards with out leading.
I've used the 405 grain hollow base sized to .460 in my marlin with great success. I also have the .457-340 and have Lapped the mold to .460 to eliminate leading and it now shoots well.
I've found that using polyester fiberfill helps a lot with the undersized bullet leading problem. There's always the option of beagling the mould to make them a little fatter, and I'll likely eventually get around to trying paper patching in the 45-70. I have a still unused .45 rifle mould intended for paper patching that I got in a group buy in the last decade, and I can patch a .457" to .460-.4615" with paper on hand. Paper patching is labor intensive but enjoyable, like casting. I was up till 2 this morning rolling bullets.
Last edited by Ricochet; 10-04-2014 at 11:01 AM. Reason: I was Autocorrected.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I have that mold also and if I remember correctly it dropped bullets at .457 when I bought it. I lapped it out to .460. A friends Marlin purchased recently (within the last year) has a throat of .4595". He called this morning reporting the rifle shoots very well with that bullet sized to .459" with 40 grains of IMR 3031. I think you probably need a little fatter bullet.
Rick
I think the boolit is too small. I use the Lee 405 grainer. They are .4585
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