Marlin 45-70 with the RD 350 grain bullet

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Fellers, there are three rifles that have graced my bench that have just been head and shoulders above everything else.
The 98 Mauser
The M1A Scout
and the Marlin 45-70
I have found the marlin to be the hardest hitting in the smallest package of any rifle I have used. It’s easier to carry all day hunting, and when the critical moment arrives, it will deliver a death pill to the game animal of your choice the likes of which would make Thor envious. LOL!

I just wanted to share the load that my 1895 SS (not stainless, just the standard 22″ ballard rifled model. Serial # starts with 000) likes the best.
This load will deliver the 350 RD bullet to the target at 1500FPS.
It will shoot clean through a round hay bale from any direction even when it’s wet.
It will shoot right through 12″ of treated pine (telephone poles) and blow splinters out the other side.  (actually, I have yet to recover a bullet from this rifle or my Guide Gun.
I can hit a 6″ steel plate at 100 yards nearly every time off hand with iron sights (4X scope will be mounted soon) and it hits with such authority that the plate wraps itself around the frame it’s hanging from (by two 12″ sections of logging chain).
Just awesome, fun, exciting, and kewl.

OK, without further ado:
Cast the boolits from 95/2.5/2.5 (in other words, spike your COWW alloy with 2% tin)
Use a Hornady GC
Lube once with Lars 45/45/10 mix and allow to dry for a week.
Use Starline brass
Use a CCI LR primer
Use a square of dacron app. 3/4″ X 3/4″ seated over the powder gently with the back of an X-acto knife handle, or a smooth 1/4″ rod whichever nukes your chili dog.

The load is 24 grains of 2400 powder, and gave 1500FPS +- 20 FPS over a shooting chrony chronograph.
At 50 yards the ten shot group had two fliers that opened it to about 2″, but the other 8 shots wore out a ragged hole in the target paper and were about 1/2″ CtoC.  I would like to point out again that this work was done with iron sights.

Another powder that provided very similar results was IMR4227. Phenomenal accuracy. I made a mistake and lost the charge weight, but I had designed it to give me about 1500 FPS

Two powders that did not do as well at all were IMR4198 (2″ spread at 50 yards) and AA5744 (4″ spread at 50 yards)

It bears mentioning that Bjornb’s 18″ guide gun did not appreciate the 2400 load like my 22″ barrel did, but preferred a stiff load (1800 FPS IIRC) of 44gr RL7.  All other load characteristics being equal, and he was using my bullets.

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[stevemyers]

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Thanx for the 2400 info.  Was surfing the forum for load data with the RD 350.  Mike has been exceptionally helpful, but runs his $h!t hot!  I like Trapdoor/Trapdoor+ loads for my old rebuilt shoulders.  Was def looking at 24 grns 2400.  Good to know you are having good luck with it.

I loaded some tonight.  35 grns RL-7 and 38 grns IMR 3031.  Looking for the 1400-1500 fps range.  if I don’t get good accuracy with this, will bump to 40 grns RL7 and 40 grns 3031.

[Author]

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