My gunsmithing tools are upstairs but I use Brownell Magnatips in the little red boxes that won't stay open. Someday.......

I'm slugging the 1886 45/90 barrel first. The 86 45-70 is going downstream so no need to bother. I'll do the Shiloh 45/70 after polishing my technique. 

Did you get that bore slugged?

Mike

I've been struggling to get my garage shop better organized and I should soon turn up a red Hornady box or a Speer yellow box. Under one of the remaining piles.

kevindpm61 said
I don't think Bill is talking about using those bullets to shoot.  I think he's talking about rolling them into a smaller size and using them to slug his barrel.
  

I agree. An easier method is to somewhat flatten a slightly smaller (.451 ball) lead ball for slugging, less drag as less lead is actually contacting the bore. Rolling a ball between two pieces of heavy iron works too. Let me know if your musket balls don't show up, Bill. I know where mine are. 

Mike

Zebulon said
Not yet but it's on my short list of things to do. Somewhere in my shop I have some 50 caliber round balls left over from a long-ago misadventure with a muzzle loader. I propose to.roll one to a smaller diameter, slightly cone-shaped cylinder. Finding the box is the first step.
  

I would get an appropriate mold and melt those down to create the proper bullet.

JP Lower of Denver in the Sellers Sharps book is shown firing 50 consecutive shots at 200 yards with his military Sharps Borchardt. Either these rifles or Spencers would have been better than trapdoor Springfields at the Little Bighorn in 1876. The Govt always goes to the lowest bidder on contracts...the 1878 was never adopted by the US.

Bill, I tried various sizings during load development. .460 was what my rifle liked best. In general, you should size your lead bullets .001 - .002 over the bore size. Have you slugged your barrel?

I think the powder is your issue, or more specifically, how you load it. Some folks prefer a drop tube instead of a compression die for optimal BP charging of the 45-70. I use both or either. You didn't say if you were using an overpowder wad so if not I'd recommend you do. I use a .030" vegetable wad but that is one area where almost every shooter will have a different opinion. BP needs to be compressed, the amount of compression it likes varies between powders and sometimes other factors. Also, BP is measured by volume, not weight. FFg is a good granulation to try in the 45-70. You'll need to determine how far into your case your bullet goes when seated to the desired depth. Once have that you will need to find out how much powder it takes to fill the case to that point-including the wad. Swiss powder, for example, seems to like very little compression so you need to determine how much powder it takes to fill the case to the point where the wad is .003" past the point where the base of the bullet will be. Then increase the amount of powder until you find a load that gives you a consistent result. Your single shot rounds will not require crimping with adequate neck tension but I suspect your Hotchkiss will require at least a light crimp to avoid pushing the bullet into the case when chambering the round. The Black Powder Cartridge Reloading Primer by Mike Venturino and Steve Garbe is a great resource for a more detailed description of the process. I see Steve has a revised edition but have no experience with it. Steve is a BPCR national champion and he taught MLV how to load for the BPCR so I can certainly recommend this book. 

In short, BP loading is very different from smokeless. My "load" will be useless to you unless we are using exactly the same components. Your load is what your rifle likes. Hopefully your Hotchkiss will like the same load your Single Shot likes. Good luck, have fun! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mike

I see you've sized to .002 over a nominal groove diameter of .458. Browning advised me .458 was the specification Miroku was to observe and manufacture. Did you experiment with sizing or did you arrive at .460 for some other reason? 

Load is 38.5 grains of Reloader 7 with the bullet seated to the crimp groove. I haven't chronographed this load yet.

I shot this target at 100 yards open sights with my 1885 Miroku. The shooting Gods were smiling that day.

Sorry for the sideways orientation

However, i have both a 45-70 Shiloh Sharps and a 45-90 Winchester (Miroku) 1886.  I just laid in a good supply of RELODER 7 and propose to work up some mild to moderate, high-accuracy loads with that powder.and 300 to 400 grain cast lead.

Would you mind sharing your experience with it? 

Thanks,

Bill

I've have briefly tried my hand a black powder cartridge reloading of this caliber but not enough to develop a consistently accurate load in my 1883. I have proper BP lube and a compression die. I think that I would like to try and dial in an accurate load for these rifles. I would love to take the WH 1883 deer hunting later this year if the work is completed on time.

I thought that I would reach out to the members here on WACA to see what loads and techniques have worked on their rifles. I understand that each rifle has its own unique preference, but I thought that I might see what recipes have been successful for others. Why try to reinvent the wheel?

Thanks in advance.