Shoulder Therapy and 45-70 ammo

[Engineer1911]

I HAD on the shelf 45-70 cases sized & primed, the last of the AA 5744 8# powder jug, Lee 395 grain hollow base lead bullets , and 400 grain Lee powder coated lead bullets.

EDIT: Webley bullets are 260 grain and I'm loading 10 to try out. I have a concern about losing the skirt in the barrel.

Now I HAVE an empty powder jug, 120 rounds of Lee bullet loaded ammo, and 125 rounds of 395 grain HB bullet ammo for my Quigley clone Sharps replica. At 31 grains per charge, I loaded 1,800 rounds of ammo and used 105# of lead for a single shot rifle.

The shelf under my bench holds another 300+ cast bullets with more primed brass in the garage. When I bought the Accurate Arms 5744 powder in 2006, it was $185 for the jug. I have seen it advertised (and Out of Stock) for over $60 a pound. Enough ammo and no powder.

My left shoulder joint replacement surgery on March 3 is doing fine. I completed my therapy exercises using an empty case or 1 bullet while loading the ammo. No heavy lifting, just arm / wrist movement to improve range of motion. I am right handed, replaced both knees, and torn rotator cup on right shoulder. I am being careful.

 

[ColbyBruce]

You will not be doing that shoulder any favors by shooting that particular gun soon. A friend has a C. Sharps .45/70 and it can become unpleasant to shoot. My brother’s Marlin 1985 can be wicked with the heavy loads as well.

Congratulations on your successful surgery and recovery.

 

[Nevada Ed]

1,800 rounds of ammo, you say.

I have to ask, did you find some stray Buffalo out on your property ?

Good luck on the mending for that shoulder.

 

[USBP SW]

Was the surgery the result of some earlier 45/70 loadings? Best of luck on a full recovery!

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

1,800 rounds of ammo, you say.

I have to ask, did you find some stray Buffalo out on your property ?

Good luck on the mending for that shoulder.

Probably no Buffalo. But never can tell what might swim up that Savannah River from the ocean or come out of those clay hills in North Ga..

 

[glowe]

Quigley shot a .45-110, not 45-70 which kicked a whole lot more than 45-70. I have a 34" set trigger Sharps that shoots 45-90 and that is plenty of recoil, so I put a padded leather butt pad on years ago and it works very well. I shoot 5744 under a 300 grain jacketed bullet with 25 to 28 grains of 5744. The combination of a light bullet, low powder charge with filler, plus recoil pad makes shooting a breeze. Benched, I never (and I mean never) miss a 18" steel gong at 300 yards. Want to go further, but that is the limit for my range. You might start out with a lead sled until your shoulder completely heals.

One of my favorite deadly loads is: 45-90, ,458" 300g Jacketed, 5744 - 25 grains, Tissue filler, 1291 fps. This load also works great in my 45-70 1886 Uberti Winchester lever-gun as well.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

I recently traded off a Pendersoli Sharps in 45-120. The black powder loading were a real shoulder pounder even with a light 385 gr lead bullet. Accurate smokeless loads were not far behind.
I favor light loads of 10-14 grains unique in my trapdoor and Remington roller. Accurate and fun to shoot.
Recently bought a pound of Western Powders 5744. First I've ever seen. Is this the same as AA5744?

John

 

[tndrfttom]

Engineer 1911, good luck with you recovery. Reloading certainly gives you a lot of flexibility in making suitable ammo.

In 2013 I was in a traffic accident that resulted in a “type 3 acromial-clavicular shoulder separation”. The doctor knew I was a shooter but said whether he tied it back together or not I would likely have some issues with the shoulder. I’d been shooting 45-70 for years and had a Browning 1886 and a Farmingdale Shiloh Sharps which were shot with a 385 grain Lyman 457483 GC bullet since there was only a 100 yard range available at the time. (Never liked the crescent butt plate on the 1886 so when I got a great offer on it I sold it. And within a few months I bought a Browning BPCR in 45-70 – something I had been looking for for quite a while).

Then a few years ago I got a Marlin 1895 “Cowboy Classic” with the 26” barrel and at about the same time a 300 yard range was supposed to become available so I cast and loaded up some 520 grain plain base bullets to start developing loads.

There were no surprises with the 385 grain bullets or the 520 grain bullets in the Browning BPCR but shooting the 520s in the Marlin was a bruising experience. The rifle weighs a little under 8 pounds and has a plain flat buttplate, certainly nothing unusual. But a magazine of 9 rounds was about all the fun I could stand! So it looks like I need to do some more load development if I want to enjoy shooting the Marlin!

Here's a pic of the two loads.

 

[flintsghost]

Having had both shoulder and hip replacements, I would not recommend trying to dislocate your shoulder by shooting that 45-70. If you thought your shoulder hurt before the replacement, you will be surprised at the intensity of the pain if you dislocate it with a prosthesis in it. One reason I haven't allowed my orthopedic surgeon to do my right shoulder is because I shoot several rifles that are brutal including a 45-70 #1 and a 375 H&H light bolt gun. My surgeon said that either might dislocate my shoulder and so I declined that surgery on my right shoulder. I've dislocated my hip prosthesis twice and the pain was unreal. I would not want to go through that on my shoulder.

 

[Lowa]

I have a big horn 89 in 500 magnum, equal to a 50-90 BP or Smokeless levels of power. Recoil just rolls up.

I gotta say, load light bullets at BP powers and a thick rubber pad. Shouldn't have any problems. Hand loading magnum cartridges solves a lot of problems

 

[glowe]

. . . Recently bought a pound of Western Powders 5744. First I've ever seen. Is this the same as AA5744?

John

Good question. I know that Hodgdons bought Accurate, Ramshot, and Western, along with IMR and Winchester. I have not shopped for that powder lately, but see that Accurate is advertised as "Western Powders Accurate 5744" in some online stores. My existing powder is labeled as Accurate 5744, but could assume that Western 5744 is the same thing. Wish companies would quit switching names around.

I did find that there is a Western Reloading website and it lists 5744 as Accurate, so go figure??

 

[Green Frog]

1500 rounds of 45-70 and an iffy shoulder? You sound like a great candidate for a Gatling Gun!

 

[LostintheOzone]

I once read someplace that the mildest load of a 45-70 is like shooting a 12 ga. shotgun. I don't own a 45-70 but I've put lots of shot down range using 1 1/4 oz. loads. As a comparison 1 1/4 oz of shot is equal about 550 grains of lead. We were building our loads to 1350 fps.

I gave that up years ago after a friend of mine had a detached retina from shooting the same loads for years. His doc told him to stop shooting the Annie Oakley games and he did.

I question the wisdom in shooting a 45-70 after any shoulder surgery. But it's your body and nobody can tell you how to use.

As you were.

 

[Skeet 028]

I recently sold my Marlin Cowboy 45-70. I like recoil about as much as a dose of Cl**. I was given over 100 lbs of cast bullets and a couple hundred 300 gr Hornady JHPs After a few of the larger bullets I stuck with the cast Lyman 290s and the 300 Hornady. And they were still more than I needed...and the 26 in gun was ported. But it was a shooter. Now for some odd reason I have bought an unfired Safe Queen Lyman Great Plains ML...I'm going to shoot round balls. And if it's more'n I need...I'll sell it too and jusr shoot my 22s. Take care of that shoulder...and other 6 million dollar man enhancements

 

[Model19man]

I am the previous owner of a Marlin Model 1895 in 45-70 caliber. Mine was a 20" carbine with flat shotgun style butt pad. I was only able to shoot one box of 20 shells (factory loaded Winchester 400 grain) in about 2 years of ownership. That rifle kicked like a mule and caused lots of shoulder pain. I have no replaced parts and no surgeries. That rifle kicked like a mule.

The only thing worse was a Winchester 348 I used to own with a crescent shaped steel butt plate. That one left a mark.

 

[WR Moore]

A couple of years ago I saw a very slightly used Henry single shot in .45-70 in the LGS. Gorgeous wood, nice fitting and finish. When I picked it up I realized why it was so slightly used. No weight to speak of.

 

[bluetopper]

Recently I've been bonding with my new CVA Scout in 444 Marlin caliber. Awesome round in a super accurate rifle.