Anyone here reload 45/70 for Marlin lever rifles?

[Cary]

I've had my Marlin 1895 in 45-70 for at least five years now and bought it just because others reported how fun it was to shoot and reload for. As I have read through these posts I'm impressed at the number of people that own and shoot this old BP round. It is a true survivor of the many cartridges that have come and gone over the years.
Cary

 

[canoeguy]

Well, I am halfway there to shooting a Marlin 45/70. I put a 22" barrel, standard (blued) 1895 on layaway ($590), and ordered 200 of 405 grain cast lead bullets from Missouri Bullet Company. If I sell the last of my project canoes, I'll get the rifle out of layaway within the next week or so, if not, I'll pick it up on 1 October.

I looked at a 24" barrel, stainless steel 1895 that I almost got instead, but it was close to $800.

So, within the next month I'll get a set of 45/70 dies, a thousand large rifle primers, some Lee case trimming tools, a shell holder for my handheld primer, maybe a box or two of factory ammo to compare against my handloads.

I have recorded all of the loads listed in this post, and will start off with something moderate, like 1200 FPS with the 405 grain cast lead bullets....

 

[MTKTM]

I load for an 1895 Guide Gun. I like 405gr bullets, initially was using various jacketed varieties but have since "graduated" to the previously mentioned Cast Performance hard-cast GC 405, and like it a great deal. I use WW748. I cannot think of the grain charge at the moment, but it is the max load in the Speer manual for the Trapdoor Springfield guns. In other words, it is well below max for the Marlin. I agree that the 405gr bullet doesn't need to be pushed all that fast to be effective for deer or even elk within a reasonable range for the gun and iron sights. Recoil is mild, accuracy is great, and it's just a lot of fun to shoot.