45 90 hunting loads

[jjh501]

Looking for some good hunting loads for an original 86 in 45 90. Currently using 38 grain ACC 5744 with 300 grain cast gas check bullet. Thanks.

[kimwcook]

jjh501, try a search. This has been covered a number of times. Good luck.

[KirkD]

Looking for some good hunting loads for an original 86 in 45 90. Currently using 38 grain ACC 5744 with 300 grain cast gas check bullet. Thanks.

That is a very hot load. It is also what sixgun blew up his original '86 45-90 using. I would not touch that load with a 10 foot pole. To see what 38 grains of 5744 can do to an '86, check out http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=22835 . That thread also has some loads that I posted that are much safer. I like 32.2 grains of 5744 for 1,556 fps, which is roughly what the original velocity was for a 300 grain bullet and is plenty for deer or black bear.

[Pistol Mike]

Looking for some good hunting loads for an original 86 in 45 90

Well your not alone... i'm also looking for a good hunting load for my '86 .45-90 WCF!
How old is your rifle? mine is a pretty new Miruko/Winchester, guess your's is a little older.

try a search. This has been covered a number of times. Good luck.

I haven't found much when i've searched the web for loads in the .45-90 WCF.
Almost wish my rifle would have been a 45-70, then things would have been a lot easier since the web is "flooded" with loads for that caliber.
And if your looking for hotter loads suited for stronger rifles in modern steel (like Browning's, Miruko's) there's almost none too be found!


Regards Mike

[kimwcook]

Pistol Mike, I meant to search this forum for the loads.

[Pistol Mike]

Well i've searched for "loads 45-90" and all i come up with is a bunch of results with "33 WCF", "44-40 WCF" and some "smalltalk" about the 45-90. And not much about actual loads for that caliber.
There isn't a database with levergun loads that i don't know about? or should i search for something else?

Well now it's way past bed time here in Sweden, so good night too you all.


Regards Mike

[crs]

Mike,
What Kim said +2

There are many .45-90 loads to be found on the web, both here and other places. There are loads for game from deer size up to elephant.
For some express loads, try Wolfe Handloader web site load pages. There are some for several bullet weights that exceed 4,000 ft pounds.
It is easy to get a 300 grain Nosler Protected Point up above 2,600 fps in a Miroku .45-90 if you want a heavy varmint load. For hunting, keep it at or below 2200 fps to avoid explosive expansion.

And, remember that you can shoot .45-70 ammo in the 90 if you desire. That issue is also covered on this site .

[O.S.O.K.]

I would suggest 63 grains of Varget or 55 grains of IMR3031 for around 1800 fps with that bullet - you can go with more but that's all that's more than required for deer/hog.

[KirkD]

Fellows, remember that jjh501 has an original '86. He doesn't want to blow himself to Kingdom Come, which he just might do if he keeps on using 38 grains of 5744. The modern Miroku '86's are a whole lot stronger than the Old Ones. As I mentioned above, the most recent thread on the .45-90 is here http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=22835

His choice of powders is one of the best for the .45-90, as it is not as position sensitive as IMR 4227 which has almost the same burn rate but is heinously position sensitive. My only recommendation is to keep it down a bit from what he is already using, given Sixgun's blow-up with the same load. I've tried IMR 3031 which fills the case a bit better, but it still gave a few hundred fps extreme spread unless I used toilet paper filler. If he's got a good bore, he could try a real slow powder that almost fills the case. The 45-90 is a cartridge that can give a smokeless loader a challenge due to its cavernous capacity.

A 300 grain bullet at 1,500 fps will go right through any deer or hog or black bear. If 1,500 fps is not good enough, then I would use a powder with a slower burn rate such as IMR 3031, but then I'd use some toilet paper filler to smooth out the E.S.

35.1 grains of IMR 4198 with toilet paper filler under a 330 grain cast Gould bullet gave me 1,541 fps with an E.S. of 153 fps.
27 grains of IMR 4227 with no filler under the same bullet gave 1,466 fps, (but I'd not recommend this powder without filler)
50 grains of IMR 3031 with no filler under the same bullet gave me 1,590 fps BUT WITH 541 fps EXTREME SPREAD! For pete's sake use toilet paper if you get extreme spread like this, it smooths it right out.
48 grains of IMR 3031 with toilet paper filler under the same bullet gave me 1,599 fps and an extreme spread of only 70 fps.

[O.S.O.K.]

The loads that I posted are around 25000 psi.

[Mike D.]

25K PSI is OK for a good condition original ordnance steel 1886. If your gun has a nickel steel barrel it will handle 38K+PSI. The original NS barrels were rated by Winchester to 100K PSI, but not the action. Like Kirk stated, keep the pressure level reasonable, out of deference to the vintage rifle. The gun that he referred to blowing up had many hundreds of the same load run through it until...

[jjh501]

Thanks for the info. I was having trouble finding load data for 45 90 on the older guns. Accurate Arms provides some data with 39 grains of 5744 generating 27,000 psi, keeping it below 28,000.
However, I believe I will back down to 35-36 grains for safety sake. Thanks.