The Best Reloading Data for .45-70 Govt. Leverguns

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The end of the American Civil War in 1865 found the U.S. government holding a few Henry and Spencer repeating rifles along with many thousands of Springfield .58-caliber muzzleloading muskets. With the age of rifles commonly firing self-contained metallic cartridges just around the corner, Erskine S. Allin, who was the chief engineer at Springfield Armory, came up with an economical way of converting those muskets for firing the .58 Berdan cartridge. He did so by machining away the top of the barrel at the receiver and installing a forward-hinging breechbolt that contained a firing pin, an extractor, an ejector, and its own locking mechanism.

Officially known as the Model 1865 Springfield rifle, that breech-locking concept originated with Hiram Berdan and would eventually be commonly referred to by those who used it as the Trapdoor. When the Berdan cartridge proved to be less than satisfactory, Allin reamed out the .58-caliber musket barrels to accept a .50-caliber rifled sleeve held in place by brazing. The .50-70 Government cartridge, for which the Model 1870 Springfield was chambered, proved to be an improvement. When the designation of the rifle was eventually changed to 1873 Springfield, the .50-70 was replaced by the .45-70 Government during that year.

The standard loading for the .45-70 rifle was 70 grains of blackpowder behind a 405-grain bullet for a velocity of 1,350 fps. Recoil proved to be a bit much in the lighter carbine carried by mounted troops, so the powder charge for it was reduced to 55 grains. Machine rest tests of several rifles resulted in four-inch group averages at 100 yards, 11 inches at 200 yards, and 27 inches at 300 yards. Before you laugh, keep in mind the fact that this was done with open sights over 150 years ago.

The .45-70 was also loaded with a 500-grain bullet at a velocity of 1,150 fps for a maximum chamber pressure of 25,000 psi. A paper filed by the Secretary of War in 1880 reported that during tests at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, marksman R. T. Hare fired 70 rounds from an 1873 Springfield rifle, and seven bullets struck a wooden target measuring 12 feet square at 2,500 yards. Time of flight of the 500-grain bullet was said to be around 11 seconds. After zipping through three inches of wood, the bullets penetrated eight inches of sandy soil before coming to rest.

The .45-70 became quite popular among hunters, and a number of sporting rifles of single shot and repeating designs were eventually chambered for it. The first repeaters—the Winchester Hotchkiss and the Remington Keene, both bolt actions—became available in 1878. Another turnbolt rifle, the Remington Lee, came two years later. While Oliver F. Winchester napped, John M. Marlin introduced the first lever-action repeater in .45-70 in 1881; it was called the Model 1881. After tossing and turning for five years, Winchester finally returned fire with the Model 1886. Nine years later, the Marlin Model 1881 was replaced by an improved rifle called the 1895. Long term, the Winchester guy won the race. Whereas production of the Marlin 1895 ceased in 1906, the Winchester 1886 lasted until it was replaced by the Model 71 in .348 Winchester in 1935. While the grand old .45-70 cartridge was down, it was not entirely out.

Bill Ruger introduced his No. 1 single-shot rifle in 1967, and the .458 Winchester Magnum was among its first chamberings. Pertinent to this report, the .45-70 was offered on a special-order basis in 1969 and on a permanent basis during the following year. The barreled action also was available, and after buying one, I had it stocked in nicely figured American walnut by Bob Cassidy. (My rifle is shown in an accompanying photograph.) When Ruger introduced his No. 3 single shot rifle in 1973, the .45-70 was one of its six initial caliber options.

During that same year Marlin added the .45-70 to a slightly modified Model 336 rifle, and to differentiate it from the original Model 1895, it was introduced as the New Model 1895. My rifle, restocked by Cassidy during the 1970s, is easily identified as first-year production by its straight grip, front sight dovetailed to the barrel, and eight-groove rifling. It will always be my favorite rifle of this caliber.

Moving to the present, the Ruger-made Marlin 1895 has become a huge hit, as it should, and is presently available in Classic, Trapper, Guide Gun, SBL, and Dark configurations. During a conversation with Anthony Imperato of Henry Repeating Arms, he mentioned that the relatively new Sidegate lever-action rifle in .45-70 was among his top sellers. And Rossi has a .45-70 lever gun called the R95.

Factory Ammo & Handloads

There is no scarcity of ammunition for those and other rifles. Companies that spring to mind are Barnes, Black Hills, Federal, Garrett, Hornady, HSM, Nosler, Remington, and Winchester. Cartridges of various calibers are commonly loaded to subsonic velocities these days, and I consider Hornady ammunition with the quick-expanding 410-grain Sub-X bullet at 1,075 fps to be the best of the lot for use on deer-size game. But due to a rainbow trajectory, 125 yards is a long shot. Texas-based Garrett Cartridges offers seven different .45-70 loadings, three with 420-grain super-hard-cast flatnose Hammerhead bullets at different velocities. While the 1,350-fps load is intended for the 1873 Springfield in good condition, mild recoil also makes it an excellent choice for modern rifles light in weight, with the Marlin 1895 Dark featured in this report a good example. The other two loads with the same bullet at 1,650 fps and 1,850 fps are for strong rifles like the Marlin 1895, the Henry, the Winchester 1886 reproductions, and Ruger No. 1 and Browning B78 single shots.

The .45-70 is an excellent candidate for handloading, and Starline cases are a good place to start. When loading for the Remington Rolling Block and 1873 Springfield through the years, I have used IMR 3031 more than any other powder, although more modern propellants, such as Benchmark, Varget, and Reloder 7, work equally well. For a low-cost, paper-punching load, try 37.0 grains of Reloder 7 or 42.0 grains of Varget behind the Rim Rock 405-grain cast bullet or a bullet of about the same weight cast with a Lyman No. 457643 or No. 457193 mold. Recoil is light, and accuracy is good. For higher velocities with jacketed bullets in stronger rifles, my money has long been on H322, but I would not complain if only LT-32, Accurate 2230, H335, or IMR 4198 was sitting on the shelf. The .45-70 began life with blackpowder, but due to less fouling yet still plenty of smoke-filled fun, my Henry enjoys Blackhorn 209 behind the 405-grain and 500-grain Rim Rock bullets.

The woods are filled with excellent deer bullets waiting patiently to be used in handloads. Oldies like the Hornady 300-grain HP and Speer 400-grain SP are as deadly today as they were when I first tried them many hunting seasons ago. That said, the Hornady 325-grain FTX is the most accurate bullet I have shot in my custom Marlin 1895, and it also proved to be quite deadly on deer. Moving up to moose, elk, and the coastal grizzly, bonded-core bullets like the Swift 350-grain A-Frame and the 400-grain Guide Bullet made by Northern Precision would be my choices today. William Noody, who owns Northern Precision, introduced his 400-grain bullet in response to guides who carry Marlin 1895 rifles for backing up hunters while pursuing brown bears in the thickets of coastal Alaska.

Due to the large diameter of the .45-70 bullet, so-called Trapdoor Springfield loadings can be quite effective on game. During my youth I used a carbine version of that rifle belonging to a neighboring farmer to take a few deer and more than a few feral pigs, most well inside 100 of my paces. That was the old fellow’s rabbit gun, and he fed it a steady diet of .410 shotshells. For harvesting venison and bacon, I used Remington Kleanbore Hi-Speed ammo loaded with a 405-grain Core-Lokt bullet purchased from a local farm supply store.

Moving the calendar forward to the 1990s, I carried a Rolling Block rifle in .45-70 built by craftsmen in the Remington Custom Shop while hunting woodland caribou in Newfoundland. The rifle had a Soule micrometer-adjustable aperture sight on its tang and a globe-style front sight with interchangeable inserts. I used Remington ammunition loaded with the 405-grain Core-Lokt bullet on that hunt as well. Elevation graduations on the rear sight of the rifle were clearly marked, and after noting which mark to use for a 100-yard zero, I shot groups on paper at 150, 175, 200, and 225 yards and noted the sight settings required for dead-on holds at those distances. I must confess to using a laser rangefinder, and when the animal I wanted was at 177 yards, I rested the rifle on my daypack, quickly adjusted the sight for 175 yards, and squeezed the trigger. The bull took only three steps before piling up. We recovered the bullet against the offside hide, and while it had only barely expanded, there were no complaints from me.

I shot the Dark and SBL versions of the Ruger-made Marlin Model 1895 for this report, and when comparing the two, it quickly became obvious to me that they were designed to serve different roles. With its tactical rifle styling, its half-pound lighter weight, and its magazine filled with subsonic loads, the Dark rifle would be a better choice for repelling life-threatening castle invaders. And with the gun wearing a suppressor, its shorter overall length makes it a bit easier to maneuver in tight places. The Dark version could also be an effective hunting rifle, although due to its lighter weight along with a thinner and rather narrow recoil pad, it is quite a bit more uncomfortable to shoot than the Model 1895 SBL. Also on the negative side, all that bare metal would be quite uncomfortable to carry on an extremely cold day in the field.

Boiling it on down between the two, I consider the Dark rifle better suited for personal defense, but it can be used for hunting, whereas the SBL is not quite as suitable for personal defense but is a much better choice for hunting. With that said, I can see an Alaskan bear guide who only shoots a rifle when backing up a client carrying the lighter and more compact Dark rifle with its magazine filled with Garrett ammunition loaded with a 420-grain super-hard-cast bullet at a velocity of 1,800 fps. In moments like that, recoil at its highest level goes unnoticed.

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