I have a Marlin 1895 45-70 that I love, Im sure alot of yall have heard me talk about it before, but I dont know what grain bullet to use. I plan on putting a ghost ring system on it soon, and I want to pick one grain size, so that when I sight it in I will be able to hit my target just as accurately from 50yards as from 100 yards. I wont be shooting it much farther than that.

I have a Marlin 1895 45-70 that I love, Im sure alot of yall have heard me talk about it before, but I dont know what grain bullet to use. I plan on putting a ghost ring system on it soon, and I want to pick one grain size, so that when I sight it in I will be able to hit my target just as accurately from 50yards as from 100 yards. I wont be shooting it much farther than that.


Are lots of molds and bullet choices...in lead, would pick one beteen 450 and 370gr.

OF the two, lead seems the better way to go...and this site's offerings are about the best cast bullets made so ordering a box of a couple of weights might be a good way to see which your rifle likes.

My favorite load it the 525gr piledriver. I am going to order the 425gr jr. version for a long range target load.

405gr was the original 45/70 load, with a 500gr load to follow. I prefer heavy for caliber bullets at moderate to low velocities.

Grizz

If you are hunting deer any 300 grain jacketed bullet will work well. I am growing found of the 300 grain Speer UniCor. If bigger game is in order then a well constructed 350 grain jacketed bullet should be used. The 350 grain Hornady FN is a good all around bullet for the 45-70. If you are inclined to shoot cast, a 405+ grain bullet at around 1600 fps is hard to beat for the ranges you specify.

I have the standard 1895, 22" barrel with "micro groove" rifling. There are several posters here with each of the variants. They all behave a bit differently, although not usually by much.

I shoot the Beartooth 405 and 425gr bullets. Both work very well, so much so that I am having a hard time deciding which is better. I also shoot Rainier 350gr FPs at much lower velocity, and mostly to smooth out the "flinchies" :) since they really don't shoot very well in my gun.

When the Rainiers are gone I won't buy any more. I will definately buy more of the Beartooth 425s, the only question is the ratio to the 405s.

IMHO, good stout loads with the 425s will stop anything, and that is why I will have them on hand. My 1895 serves primarily as protection from bears, and I am confident I can use them to 200yds if I have to. 50 to 100yds is a given with either the scout scope or the Williams peep sight I have on my gun.

The 405s with light charges make a more pleasant day at the range :)

I sure like the 350 gr Hornady FN. Cheap for plinking and deadly on game.

I have a Marlin 1895 45-70 that I love, Im sure alot of yall have heard me talk about it before, but I dont know what grain bullet to use. I plan on putting a ghost ring system on it soon, and I want to pick one grain size, so that when I sight it in I will be able to hit my target just as accurately from 50yards as from 100 yards. I wont be shooting it much farther than that.

I settled on the Remington 405gr JSP. (1) It is one of the most accurate (2) It is the cheapest jacketed bullet you can buy (3) it gives good expansion and penetration at 45-70 velocities (4) it has been in use for 60 years (5) and it has enough mass to handle any Moose, Elk, Deer, Bear I will ever hunt.

I'm a one bullet, one load guy too.

have to agree with ya, 405 gr rem,53 gr, 3031 imr,have shot a lot of deer with that gun,handloads only, factory round anemic,waiting for 2 buddies of mine to pick me up ,spring bear hunt, ther using marlin 450,s, good gun, but my 45-70 perform just as well with 405 loads, dam, pushing 8 am an ther still not here,see ya

I’ve found the 405-grain cast hard lead bullet from Oregon Trail works well. It’s accurate inexpensive and the company is great to deal with.

http://www.castperformance.com or http://www.garrettcartridges.com

Right now, I am using the 350 gr. from Oregon Trail. I have used the 405, but for what I am doing, the 350 will get the job done. If you really want a sensation, try the 500 gr from Oregon Trail, I guarantee that it will get your attention.

The 500gr from Oregon Trail will keehole from my 1895, the 350gr is very inaccurate! But give me a 400gr speer and I'll give you near moa accuracy. I also have 500- 405 Remington bullets on the way, and I hope they shoot well! I can't stand those 300 gr bullets which are about as wide as they are long! Those are an attempt to make the trapdoor a long range sporting rifle

As a handloader I've really enjoyed the 300gr JHP. They are accurate and hit hard.

The only drawback is that my tracking abilities are getting a bit rusty.

My Guide Gun liked beartooth 405s and 300gr partitions. I would look at something like the 300gr partitions for deer to elk sized critters (probably throw in black bears also) and go large and hardcast for anything that might hunt you back. There are a lot of great big hitters out there like the pile drivers, but honestly after hunting with the 405 beartooths I can't see anything in NA standing up to a well loaded, well placed 405gr hardcast beartooth.

I have a Marlin 1895 45-70 that I love, Im sure alot of yall have heard me talk about it before, but I dont know what grain bullet to use. I plan on putting a ghost ring system on it soon, and I want to pick one grain size, so that when I sight it in I will be able to hit my target just as accurately from 50yards as from 100 yards. I wont be shooting it much farther than that.


Reply:

I quess my question would be, what are you going to be hunting? If it will be used for moose, bear, elk and similar size game - use the 405 grain and up. Cast or jacket will perform with expected results as long as the velocity is between 1800-2050 f.p.s.. When you shoot a bullet with a large meplat, velocity will drop off fast. And, thus energy as well. A 405 FNGC, loaded to about 2030 f.p.s. is a versatile round to 200 yards for anything.

Agree w/sahibdla.

I use the 405gr Rem slug. Cheap, accurate, lots of punch. If it has one failing it is that it doesn't expand much unless it hits something hard - but, then, I've never had any trouble with the half inch hole it produces dropping deer. And if it hits bone, well, the results are...impressive.

What ghost ring are you putting on? I bought a WWG version - most of their stuff is great, but this particular item has a tiny little Allen key headed screw for elevation - and the head strips out very easily.