Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Off the shelf ammo for all Rossi firearms.
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by Tuco Ramirez »

With the fps they are claiming I had to wonder what the pressures were running. All I could find is this.

(Proprietary blended powder technology allowed Hornady to introduce Superformance factory loads that substantially improve the performance of many popular centerfire cartridges without raising pressure).

Not that I would ever use them as I love my cast bullets just crossed my mind..... :?:
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by pricedo »

Tuco Ramirez wrote:With the fps they are claiming I had to wonder what the pressures were running. All I could find is this.

(Proprietary blended powder technology allowed Hornady to introduce Superformance factory loads that substantially improve the performance of many popular centerfire cartridges without raising pressure).

Not that I would ever use them as I love my cast bullets just crossed my mind..... :?:
Proprietary no longer..........the LEVERevolution® & Superformance® powders are now available as Hodgdon canister powders and can be used to reload ammo like any other powder available on gun shop shelves.

** off topic but I picked up 2 x boxes of the 430 grain Buffalo Bore ammo at the gun shop from another shooter who said it was way too much for him to handle in his Guide Gun. This stuff apparently kicks out a 430 grain hc lead pill @ 1950 fps for a ME of over 3500 ft-lbs. He joked about having swallowed a couple of tooth fillings while trying the ammo at the range. He said BB should include gift certificates good at any chiropractors clinic with their ammo.
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by Wildwoodjk »

Let us know what you think of the Buffalo Bore in the guide gun? Getting back to my question regarding regarding ballistics on the Hornady round, I checked out the BB 350gr mag round and it should be a flatter shooting round when compared to the Hornady by 25 yds after 150. You may need a shoulder pad! The 430 gr should shoot through steel plate! I'll wait for the video.

Be sure to post pics!


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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by Rooster59 »

I've shot quite a few of the 325LE in my 26" Marlin CB at the range. I've harvested 3 deer with them also. A doe, four pointer, and eight pointer. All were at 70 yards or less. The four poiter at about 25 yards.

Accuracy is excellent at the range and the field. Recoil, when hunkered down on a shooting bench with a hard butt plate, makes an earache seem pleasant. All three deer where DRT with one shot. With all the positives I don't like them for my hunting in close woods and small fields. Their design seems to favor reasonable expansion at the longer distances (100-200 yds) they are capable of. At shorter distances they expand violently and don't exit. The last one was used on a frontal shot at 68 yds on the eight pointer through the neck about halfway up from the shoulders. It hit the spine just where I aimed and the deer fell on it's feet like it fainted. The bullet was just shy of 1" in diameter with the copper petals flared out like a ceiling fan.

I should be immensely pleased, which I am, but for short shots I prefer a cast 405 going about 1300-1400fps that will hold together better and give two drain holes.

If all my shots were 125-200yds I wouldn't use anything but the 325LE.
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Re: Hornady FTX 45-70 factory ammo is watered down

Post by pricedo »

I notice that the published factory ballistic tables indicate that the factory Hornady LEVERevolution 450 Marlin 325 grain FTX ammo pushes the same bullet 200 fps faster than the equivalent factory 45-70 ammo (approx 2200 fps vs 2000 fps). This tells me that the 45-70 325 grain FTX ammo could be hand loaded hotter that the factory offering if a person thought that useful or desirable. This would flatten the trajectory somewhat but would increase recoil & make the somewhat frangible bullet even more explosive at less than 75 yard ranges resulting in increased meat loss. I own a couple of guns in 450 Marlin as well as half a dozen 45-70 caliber firearms and find the factory 325 grain FTX ammo superbly accurate in both calibers. The Hornady factory ammo is considerably cheaper than most premium factory ammo (@ approx $30 a box about 1/2 the cost).
Your thoughts....
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by Rooster59 »

I've not seen any pressure information on those two cartridges. Maybe the 450 is loaded into the Ruger #1 range? I understood the 450 has the same case volume so I'm at a loss.

Yes, it would definitely raise the recoil ante. Is the component bullet part number the same for both cartridges? If so, the expansion aspect would be as you described.
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by pricedo »

Rooster59 wrote:I've not seen any pressure information on those two cartridges. Maybe the 450 is loaded into the Ruger #1 range? I understood the 450 has the same case volume so I'm at a loss.

Yes, it would definitely raise the recoil ante. Is the component bullet part number the same for both cartridges? If so, the expansion aspect would be as you described.

I'm sure the 325 grain FTX bullet in both cases (450 Marlin vs 45-70 GVT) is the same unlike say the jacketed Barnes "Original" bullets which came in a couple of jacket thicknesses for the same bullet weight in the .45 rifle calibers.........the thicker jacket for the 458 Winchester loads and the thinner jacket for the anemic 45-70 trapdoor loads so expansion would occur at the quite different velocity ranges.
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by Knightmare »

I use this ammo almost exclusively for my Rio Grande. Most accurate stuff I've found, and since I can't reload (specifically forbidden in the lease) the cheaper price doesn't hurt. Noticed the case is somewhat shorter than a standard case, so reloading the empty brass might pose a problem if you don't stick FTX bullets back in. It cycles smoothly, and the improvement in trajectory is noticeable. Never liked the trapdoor rounds, felt way too underpowered.
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Re: Hornady FTX (325 grain) 45-70 factory ammo

Post by pricedo »

The factory Hornady 325 grain FTX ammo is very accurate in my 2 x 45-70 Guide Guns ( SS + B) and my BLR in 450 Marlin.
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