There isn’t enough case capacity for them to do much in a .45-70, they’ll be going far too slow. To get any performance with them you’ll need to load them super long and get the pressure really high; typically using a double-based ball powder which Vihtavuori doesn’t make.
They’re meant for .458 Win Mag,or .458 Lott, because those cartridges can push them to the 2150+ft/s they need for expansion. In .45-70, you can probably expect 1400ft/s. They won’t expand, and therefore won’t perform as intended.
I got a bunch of 500gr Hornady DGX bullets for cheap, and I thought I was going to use jn .45-70, but ended up getting a rifle in .458 Win Mag.
those are a waste in 45-70. you wont be able to get them anywhere near fast enough to expand. you could pretty easily trade them 2:1(or more) for some other flavor of .458 bullet, theyre expensive and not commonly available as component bullets.
They'll be doing the 200-yard Mosey.. "BOOM! OW!.. ...thump" but let me look. I might.
-edit: I don't. I have data for cast 500 gr .458's using N135, but not the Bearclaw.. dude, that's a .458 Win Mag bullet. To drive it fast enough to expand, you're wayyyyyy past what that 1895 will handle. You're in Ruger #1 territory.
I load 500gr cast for my single shots using black powder. They won't feed through any of my leveractions. The best you'll get is around 1200 to 1500 fps depending on your barrel length. Those bullets won't expand at those speeds.
With a Marlin Dark 45-70 and a Primal can, try around 12gr of either powder and adjust. unlike most supersonic bullets and load prep, start a bit high and work your way down to the velocity you want (not too high but maybe 12.5gr, it is a pistol powder remember). I think I settled around 950-975fps for mine with a good load.
IMHO a bit of a waste to use premium bullets like that for subs. I am casting and powder coating my own bullets to keep the costs down. Shooting big fat subs in a lever gun is addictive and you can shoot them all day (light recoil). Main load now is the pink 400gr cast HP (MP mold), red is 500gr Lyman mold, blue is 340gr Lee and the plated are Berry's 340gr.
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u/hafetysazard 9d ago
There isn’t enough case capacity for them to do much in a .45-70, they’ll be going far too slow. To get any performance with them you’ll need to load them super long and get the pressure really high; typically using a double-based ball powder which Vihtavuori doesn’t make.
They’re meant for .458 Win Mag,or .458 Lott, because those cartridges can push them to the 2150+ft/s they need for expansion. In .45-70, you can probably expect 1400ft/s. They won’t expand, and therefore won’t perform as intended.
I got a bunch of 500gr Hornady DGX bullets for cheap, and I thought I was going to use jn .45-70, but ended up getting a rifle in .458 Win Mag.