Reloading the low-recoil .45-70
Stop the brain scrambling thump
You won’t find too many shooters urging their friends to go plinking with their .45-70 rifles. In reality, most shooting becomes a test of testosterone levels! No, thanks!
Match It Up
I shoot the .45-70 Government competitively in three different styles of matches. Each match is timed. The faster I run the gun while keeping the bullets on the steel target, the higher I am in the standings. The notorious, punishing .45-70 recoil is not my friend.
The first match is long distance using a single-shot rifle. My favorite rifle is a Shiloh Sharps with a diet of Lyman 535 bullets on top of a compressed case of Goex black powder. Luckily, the rifle weighs about 12 lbs. and is supported so recoil is not painful. The biggest issue is finding the steel target among the creosote and mesquite brush clutter!
The second match is the Quigley Bucket, which requires a single-shot rifle shot from the shoulder unsupported. As before, the target is steel. Scoring is not complicated. The spotters must see the bullet splash or the LED target indicator flash. Waiting to hear the ring of the steel only slows a shooter down. I chose a reproduction H&R Trapdoor carbine, much like Custer’s Troops used at the Little Big Horn.
The third match requires a lever-action rifle to hit a steel target, as before, the spotters watch for the bullet splatter or LED target indicator flash. A competitor runs the lever gun as fast as they can, often reloading on the clock. My choice for this match style is the Cimarron Firearms 1886, a faithful copy of the original Winchester rifle with the same designation. (See GUNS Sept 2023.)
When I first started in the Quigley Bucket and lever-action matches, I used full-power loads with 405-grain lead bullets. Shooting to practice and during the match was brutal on my neck and shoulder. The bruise would last for weeks. I decided to find a less painful way to make the steel ring.
I wanted a low-recoil load to use in the Trapdoor and the lever-action rifle. The Trapdoor has a comparatively weak action but I only needed to make the steel target ring. My first stop was to check the Lyman Cast Bullet manual, which had a specific Springfield listing. While a 405-grain bullet was the standard, Lyman also had data for a 330-grain bullet and a 292-grain bullet.
The pandemic was in full swing and mold options were limited. I finally found a 330-grain Lyman mold (457122) within my budget. After casting a few, I followed the powder charges in the Lyman manual. The recoil was still brutal and practice was not fun.
It took some time but I found a Lyman 292-grain mold (457191). Recoil was less, but I still didn’t enjoy a day of range practice!
Seek & Find
Searching the forums for an answer, I found fellow shooters loading the cartridge using pistol powder, predominately Unique. Could this be my answer? They claimed 12 grains of Unique powder produced a velocity of 1,200 feet per second, and recoil was non-existent. They had my attention.
The idea had some detractors. Some I spoke with were concerned I would get erratic ignition because there was no guarantee where the powder would be in relation to the primer. Those using the load said they had no issues with inconsistent ignition. Some shooters pointed me to a website that thoroughly investigated the use of pistol powders for rifle loads to great results.
I pored over the website and decided to try the loadings using Unique. I loaded up 50 rounds with 12 grains of Unique and went to the range. I was quickly on target at 150 yards and truly enjoyed shooting the rifles. I was hooked! I used the new loads in the next match and placed! The low-recoil loads had proven themselves, but I wanted more data.
I decided to test the loads as best I could using a chronograph.
I used Unique, Titewad and Bullseye in my testing. I also decided to position the powder against the primer and away from the primer by tilting the up or down rifle just before the shot. I assumed if I had erratic ignition, it would show a high standard deviation value. The standard deviation value measures how much the velocity changes from shot to shot and a low number is better. Erratic velocities cause vertical stringing of shots dropping below or raising above the target.
The results amazed me. I was already pleased with Unique’s performance, but TiteWad and Bullseye beat it handily.
Unique — 12 grains — 292-grain bullet — Average velocity 1,240 fps — SD 9.11. On average, loads shot pointing downwards were 17 fps slower but the SD increased to 25.
TiteWad — 10 grains — 292-grain bullet — Average velocity 1,174 fps — SD 7.12. The loads shot downhill decreased by an average of 59 fps but the SD went down to 4.32!
Bullseye — 10 grains — 292-grain bullet — Average velocity 1206 fps — SD 7.02. The loads shot downhill decreased by an average of 65 fps, but the SD went down to 4.39!
The testing proved ignition is exceptionally consistent and not impacted to any extent by powder position, which agrees with what others have found over the decades.
Some claim using magnum primers makes the SD worse and some claim it makes it better. In my testing with Unique, magnum primers pushed the average velocity higher by 21 fps, and the SD increased to 15.72, so magnum primers do not help.
With results like this, I decided to try again with the standard 405-grain bullets. The results were equally low recoil and accurate. The only real change was a 100–150 fps drop in velocity. The TiteWad loads dropped the SD down to 4.03!
So, what does this mean for me? I’m switching to Bullseye! During the testing for this article, one range setting included shooting 100 rounds of .45-70 in less than 90 minutes with no bruises or pain. No matter how I look at this, it’s winning material!
Do I think these are excellent bison hunting rounds? Absolutely not! But these are perfect for target shooting, plinking, or getting to know a rifle!