Alliant 2400 in a 1876 Replica Rifle ?

[BornNWrngCent1]

In Have a Replica 1876 45-60 rifle......Anyone here reloaded it or experimented with Alliant 2400 Powder......300 Gr lead? 24 grains a variable starting point?

[Hobie]

There are a couple of people here who have loaded for this cartridge in the 1876. They will contribute shortly, I'm certain.

[Ysabel Kid]

I've loaded for it, but with AA574. Haven't tried it with 2400 yet though.

[Shasta]

The July-August 1973 issue of Handloader magazine has an article on the .45-60 written by James Barnard. His load data using a Lyman 457191 cast bullet weighing 300 grains gives 19.0 grains of 2400 as a maximum load. Velocity was given as 1,292 FPS.

The newest edition of the Lyman Reloading Manual has a section devoted to loading for the current 1876 replicas, but does not show a loading for 2400 powder in the .45-60.

I have a Taylors 1876 in .45-60 made by Uberti, and have done extensive testing with it, but never with 2400 powder. I use the Lyman 457191 plain base cast lead bullet weighing 294-295 grains from my mold. Best results were achieved using IMR 4198 powder or Reloader 7 powder.

SHASTA

[w30wcf]

BornNWrngCent1,
The 45-60 with a 300 gr cast bullet has the same case capacity as the 45-70 with a 405 gr bullet. The Lyman cast bullet handbook shows 21 grs of 2400 in the 45-70-405 giving 1,252 @ 17,700 CUP so 21 grs in the 45-60 under a 300 gr cast bullet is plenty safe for the '76.

Just be careful that you don't accidentally double charge the case.

Have fun,
w30wcf

[Larryo-1]

I do not have a 45-60 but rather a 45-75. My rifle is an early model and has the larger chamber. I went to Ken Waters book and in it he listed 22.0 grains of 2400 as an acceptable load for both the 45-60 and the 45-75 with their respective bullet weights of 300 and 350 grains. I tested loads in my rifle of 22.0, 23.0 and 24.0 grains with a Hoch custom mold that casts 350 grains using a 16:1 alloy which was what the original ammunition used. The 22.0 grain load shot good as did the 23.0 grain load but the 24.0 grain load scattered. I then used a tuft of kapok on the 22.0 grain load and at 25 yards I got a 0.75inch group in 5 shots. Then I loaded 10 rounds of this combination and got an average reading of 1398 feet per second which is very close to the original ballistics. I know that this information won't help you with your 45-60 but it will let you know that 2400 is a good powder IF you do not get carried away trying to achieve MAGNUM statistics. The load that I developed for my rifle is pleasant, accurate and according to Barnes Ballistics program gives about 11 foot pounds of recoil. Hope this helps a wee bit.