Lyman 457132

[SgtDog0311]

Kurt, A brass mold from Tom sounds like a good idea. I only have one brass mold but I like casting with it. It is a NASA for a 38 caliber from Bernie.

Speaking to the 121 (modified) specifically, I reckon I could extend the length but then I get heavier, which I'm trying to avoid. But I'll be at or close to 475 with either the 132 or that Sharps bullet.

Generally speaking, what length do you prefer for a 45-70 with an 18 twist?

I'm new to that caliber with BP, which you've no-doubt picked up on by now. But I load a 400gr bullet in my 40-65 pretty light (56gr of OE 2f) with only "insurance" compression. It does well by my evolving standards.

If it's any measure of that no-compression load I at least won a lightly attended BPCR match (first and only one so far) with that load - and I scored a 7 and an 8-pin on the two closer targets at the Q this year on the second day when the wind had died down. Score was still paltry but it shot well at the Buffalo judging from my strikes in the dirt. Mostly I think because I was completely out of windage on that first day when the winds were so strong and I was holding the bull about halfway along the horizontal wire outside my aperture - about mid-way between the aperture and the inside of the globe. I was holding pretty good windage that way but five strikes were just inches over and just under the rib cage, which would make one think "vertical problems" but the real problem was getting an equal sliver of white bull on top & bottom of that thin wire which nearly obscured the bull. All that said, that no-compression load was about 1265fps. Not sure what a no-compression load would amount to in a 45-70 with a 455gr bullet. Guess there is only one way to find out - but out there to 800 and beyond is an objective here. Would like to include that Lone Tree shoot near Kalispell on the calendar this year if all goes well. Perhaps not with this bullet hey?