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I always wanted to get 'into' the 45-70 with some sort of traditional rifle. I waffled over several Euro replica Sharps, a couple used From Montana & Shilo and actually last year made a cash offer on a very nice Browning B78 High Wall but the owner would not budge (and we were only $75 apart).
Oh well I guess I really didn't want it and decided to concentrate on shooting my lever action guns I already have and reload for.
Another round I also considered was the .38-55 as some of the rifles I was interested in were also chambered in it so at one point I was looking for a 'like' rifle in either caliber but there are far fewer of those styles in .38-55.
Also the caliber sounds 'cool' to me when said - Thirty Eight Fifty Five - it has a certain 'ring' to it!
 
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I always wanted to get 'into' the 45-70 with some sort of traditional rifle. I waffled over several Euro replica Sharps, a couple used From Montana & Shilo and actually last year made a cash offer on a very nice Browning B78 High Wall but the owner would not budge (and we were only $75 apart).

45-70. I guess you could say I waited because the cartridge was over 100 when I started, but I didn't wait too long before I started playing.
My first was an H&R Trapdoor Carbine and this was my second one. Had a lot of fun with this one. Had Kurt at H&K cut the throat deeper so's I could push those bullets out of the case a bit. 2025fps with a 405gr Speer softpoint and about 1600fps with a 500gr Hornady round nose! If you didn't have that crescent buttplate sitting in your shoulder correctly that sucker would leave bruises the size of a football, but you get wrapped around it the right way and it wasn't bad. None of my friends liked to shoot this one. Traded it away years ago. Emotionally I would like it back, but it would probably just sit there...
B78.jpg
 
Don't forget it's big enough for snake effective bird shot. I used to carry my Redhawk with snake shot in the first two chambers and the next four with bear loads. I loaded everything from gentle wad cutters to self defense and bear. Very, very versatile round.
A man after me own habits... the "snake problem" where I live isnt as prevalent as the NW (so I hear) but I do hate a rattler and the .44 birdshot does the trick as needed. I don't go wasting serpents just out of hand,on account of certain spiritual scruples;) but... they need to give me space... I gave up carrying birdshot for rabbits and birds tho, never seemed to connect in any meaningful way.
 
I've loaded for old cartridges and guns for a very long time. But about 18 months ago I picked up an old Remington Rolling Block Sporting Rifle chambered in .40-50 Sharps Straight. Never seen the cartridge before, and didn't think much about it. I was more interested in the gun, and set it aside.
Then months later I got around to doing some research to determine how to make the brass I needed for it, and get it shooting. I slugged the bore and found it was a .410" groove, so a mold I already cast with would work. Then measured the chamber and started looking for donor brass to form from. I found the case could be made from .303 British by cutting it off at the shoulder, and then opening up the case to the .410" diameter. I made up 50 cases, and loaded them with the 330 gr. cast bullet.
Took it to the range and was pleasantly surprised at how well it shot with good accuracy. My loads were smokeless powder, and the little 1.6" long case works very nicely with smokeless powders. Over the last year it's gradually becoming one of my favorite old rifles to shoot. So much so that I'm building up a 2nd Rolling Block with a longer 34" new Green Mountain barrel in the same caliber. I hope to see it shooting well out to 1,000 yds. once i develop loads for the new Rolling Block too. Wish I'd discovered this old cartridge sooner!
 
I've loaded for old cartridges and guns for a very long time. But about 18 months ago I picked up an old Remington Rolling Block Sporting Rifle chambered in .40-50 Sharps Straight. Never seen the cartridge before, and didn't think much about it. I was more interested in the gun, and set it aside.
Then months later I got around to doing some research to determine how to make the brass I needed for it, and get it shooting. I slugged the bore and found it was a .410" groove, so a mold I already cast with would work. Then measured the chamber and started looking for donor brass to form from. I found the case could be made from .303 British by cutting it off at the shoulder, and then opening up the case to the .410" diameter. I made up 50 cases, and loaded them with the 330 gr. cast bullet.
Took it to the range and was pleasantly surprised at how well it shot with good accuracy. My loads were smokeless powder, and the little 1.6" long case works very nicely with smokeless powders. Over the last year it's gradually becoming one of my favorite old rifles to shoot. So much so that I'm building up a 2nd Rolling Block with a longer 34" new Green Mountain barrel in the same caliber. I hope to see it shooting well out to 1,000 yds. once i develop loads for the new Rolling Block too. Wish I'd discovered this old cartridge sooner!

A gunwriter from the 60's, Dean Grennell, wrote of doing a very similar thing for the 41 Magnum when it was new. He had a gun, but no ammo and started with 30-30 cases. I must be nuts, but stuff like this sounds like fun.
 
A gunwriter from the 60's, Dean Grennell, wrote of doing a very similar thing for the 41 Magnum when it was new. He had a gun, but no ammo and started with 30-30 cases. I must be nuts, but stuff like this sounds like fun.

I have to form brass to load for about 2 dozen calibers. It can be fun to get the end result, and some are easier than others. But the in between steps on some can be frustrating if it's tough to get to the end and not lose some expensive brass getting there.
Some cartridges like my .44-77 Sharps Bottleneck have very expensive brass to buy and then need reforming to this caliber. Same for my .40-90 Ballard Everlasting. I use 9.3x74R cases to form them, and they're one of the easier ones to make. But cases run around $45 per 20 for empties. That's a bargain compared to the .44-77SBN that requires rare .43 Mauser cases to reform from at over $3 per case.
But shooting these old "hyphenated" calibers is fun, and worth the effort and cost.
 

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