How Many here currently own/shoot a .45-75 WCF?

[Hobie]

I was wondering, how many here might now own a reproduction or original rifle chambered for the .45-75 Winchester Center Fire and do any of you rely on factory/custom loaded ammunition? As always you need not post to be counted... We are NOT talking about the .45-60, .45-70 etc...

[Leverluver]

I guess I have to go set in the corner.........still haven't bought the test barrel yet And the Turnbull(ed) parts aren't assembled yet either. Oh well, got to leave something for retirement.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

Just a quick question / note: I have that same book and in it I've noticed that the section under the heading "solid:" mentions grains of water ... in this case 111 grains of water ... along with the weight of the brass in grains. The "gr. water" could not possibly be the case capacity. I've always wondered what that "gr. water" meant in that book because it is definitely NOT the amount of water that the case can contain. Does anyone know the true capacity of a 45-75 case?

[Martini450]

I have a Taylor/Uberti 1876 in 45/75 WCF, which had to have the barrel switched out because of incorrect chamber dimensions; this was an issue with the first run of 45/75s from Uberti. Taylor stood behind the product and made everything right. So far, I have put about 150 black powder hand loads through this rifle, along with 20 rounds of Ten-X smokeless ammo.

I think case capacity would vary between brands, and also between different parent cases when using reformed brass. For myself, I have a batch of a hundred Jamison cases, and they max out at 67 grains of Goex Express 2Fg, or 65 grains of Swiss 1.5Fg. Both loads were drop tubed, and compressed only slightly when seating the bullet.

One issue I've run into with my batch of Jamison brass is case length. MOL for the 45/75 case is 1.89", and Lyman's 49th Edition handbook lists a trim-to length of 1.88". Case lengths for my Jamison cases vary between 1.865 to 1.81, with the majority being under 1.875", and half of those under 1.87". Other than the case length being short, the brass is of very high quality, but I do feel that uniform case length is critical to achieving best accuracy out of any rifle. Unfortunately, over 90 of my cases are too short to be trimmed in my RCBS file/trim die. Has anyone else encountered this issue?

[Martini450]

Correction for my last post on this subject: Case lengths have varied between 1.865 and 1.881.

[rjohns94]

had one, used factory ammo, sold it. no category for that. shot a pig and a yak with mine.

[brno602]

I don't own one, but load one for a friend a RCMP 76 win the 405gr lee hollow base hase been by far the best bullet tried so far. with both black and some rather heavy smokeless loads.

[Mike D.]

You know that I have a Chaparral carbine, Hobie. Folks like to dog them, but mine is a dandy. I have 100 Jamison correctly headstamped cases that also function perfectly through the action. My favorite load is 40/4198/300 Barnes, but most folks won't want to go that hot. 1800FPS and easy ejection of very clean, soot free cases:D

[Hobie]

Mike,

I know you've got special considerations out there in California hence that choice of bullet (is it really a "choice" though? ) but I'm a bit surprised at the charge weight (as you noted). The 40% rule indicates about 30 gr. as correct with the 350 gr. lead bullet. I find your experience interesting and would like to hear more as you shoot the gun more. I bet you don't plink with that bullet though!

I have the Chaparral SRC, too. Mine seems good, too. The only problem I've had is with the front sight height.

For myself I need to cast up a bunch of bullets to continue shooting mine...

[Mike D.]

Hobie, I have hundreds of Oregon Trail 300 grain hard cast bullets, as well as a couple hundred 300 Barnes Originals. I don't plink with the TSX, that's for sure. I tried some lesser loads but the result was dismal accuracy and sooted cases. One was 45/IMR 3031. Low velocity and very inaccurate. Don't discount the '76s strength, especially with modern steel. I shot my original .45-60 using 36/IMR 4198/300 lead and jacketed for years and it is still shooting today, although it is no longer mine.

[southfork]

Mike, on that 45-60 load did you use any filler to hold the powder back against the primer?

[Mike D.]

No, I have never used any fillers in my reloads, no matter what caliber.

[Hobie]

Is that all the .45-75 shooters here? I'm kinda surprised?

[Shasta]

I don't own a .45-75, but I sure would like to some day get one of the "Crossfire" carbines.

I think the high cost of custom ammo and/or reloading dies as well as the the lack of reliable sources for brass contribute greatly to the lack of interest in this caliber. It's bad enough to pay such high prices for the rifles!

SHASTA

[Cimarron]

I bought my Cimarron/Uberti last June. It's a 28" barrel standard rifle. I wanted the .45-75 because it was the original chambering for the '76. It is a real .45-75WCF not the .45-75UCF (Uberti Center Fire). I made sure of that thanks to my friend Danny. Anyone thinking about one of these repros should thoroughly check out the chamber to see what it is before buying. I have been working with smokless powders so far (5477, Trail Boss, 4198). I have a Lyman #457191 and a Buffalo Arms #459350 which produce 292g and 350g bullets. I've had good results with the IMR 4198 and the 350g bullet but I think the best so far has been with the 5477 and the 350g bullet. Frankly, the Trail Boss in my opinion is a waste of time in this caliber. I could not even get the bullets to print on the targets at 50 yards with it using a number of different powder charges. The lighter Lyman bullets have been a challange. I have yet to find a ballance of accuracy and consistency with the lighter bullets. I recently invested in a Marbles tang sight which I have found to be a worthwhile purchase. Not only does it increase the sight radius to about 36" it seems to make my old eyes focus better at 100 meters.

I have 100 rounds of Jamison brass and checking it with my calipers they are running between 1.87" to 1.89" in length. I went ahead and trimmed and segregated all of the 1.89" to 1.88". I have been sizing everything to .458" but I think I will experiment with .457" and .459" bullets next. When I have sorted out a couple of good smokless loads I plan on moving on to black powder and see what kind of accuracy I can come up with it. Hobie what have you been up to with your '76?

[Hobie]

Hobie what have you been up to with your '76?

I'm getting back at it now that I'm close to wrapping up Mom's business (well much closer...). I need to cast a bunch of bullets using the correct mold, lube with SPG, and try 4198 and get BP for that loading. I have been working on the front sight for my SRC as it was WAY to short. I posted about that. I used JB Weld and blackened with a pen and it now looks like a bayonet lug more than a front sight but it works.

[Cimarron]

I have been working on the front sight for my SRC as it was WAY to short. I posted about that. I used JB Weld and blackened with a pen and it now looks like a bayonet lug more than a front sight but it works.

It seem like I read that thread. I guess the JB Weld is temporary until you find the best height?

I have had good luck with the 4198. I want to do some more experimenting with it with different sized bullets. I know it performs great in my '86 in .45-70 with 405g bullet.

I have gotten better accuracy with the 5477 but it sometimes leaves some unburned powder. Not a huge problem but slightly annoying. I am using Winchester Large Rifle primers but I wonder if large rifle magnum primers would help to alleviate this? Then again I'm not sure what LRM primers would do to for the chamber pressure, if anything.

[Larryo-1]

Hobie:
I am still shooting my 45-75. As you may know, my rifle has the earlier larger chamber and it suits me just fine. I have found that the fire-formed cases hold 76 grains of Swiss 1½ just fine and I am using a Hoch custom bullet that weighs in at 350 grains using the 16:1 alloy that the old timers used as indicated on some of their cartridge boxes. This load, by the way, chronographs at 1445fps. The calculated free recoil is 21.5 foot pounds. Not bad in my rifle. As far as accuracy goes, it is NOT a target rifle but what with 2 inch groups at 50 yards who am I to complain. I also have noticed that at this time of the year I suppose there seems to be a lack of input on the CAS web site also. Maybe later huh! The cases I started out using were fire-formed 348 cases and then tried Bertram--only once! Now I have a bunch of 50AK and Jamison. All work great. The Bertram is just too dag-gone spendy. Hope this note rattles the cage a tad.

[Hobie]

Glad to have you post here!

Once I'm certain I have a good smokeless equivalent to BP load and some more bullets cast and lubed with SPG I'm going to get a bunch of BP and load up a bunch of ammo. I think I have about 500 formed cases now...

[Larryo-1]

Hobie:
I figured that I would pass on all the different powders that I have played with in my rifle. No loading data just what I used. They are H4831, IMR4831, 3031, 2400, Fg, FFg, Swiss 1½, 5744, 4759, Pyrodex CTG, Trail Boss and 4198. Very disapointed in the two 4831 powders as there are way too many unburned powder grains. The best ones,--for me--are the Swiss, the 2400 and the 4759. The 3031 worked well with jacketed bullets but that was it. All of them were fun to test out. Lots of lead went out that barrel. My favorite alloy is 16:1. Hope this is of interest.

[Hobie]

I thought you might like to see this modified rifle... (click the pic)