Buffalo Bore 45-70 405gr JFN – Stunning Hog And Bear Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 45-70 405gr JFN takes the original 45-70 bullet weight and doubles what the cartridge was ever meant to do with it. A 405 grain jacketed flat nose at 2000 fps carries about 3597 ft-lbs, and at that velocity Buffalo Bore says the bullet expands to an inch or more across. On hogs and black bear the result is not subtle.

• Buffalo Bore 45-70 405gr JFN Overview
• 45-70 Magnum Expanding Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 405 Grain Jacketed Flat Nose Bullet Opens So Wide
• Specifications
• Rifles Approved For This Hog And Black Bear Rifle Load

Buffalo Bore 45-70 405gr JFN Overview

Buffalo Bore item 8B belongs to their 45-70 Magnum line. The 405 grain expanding jacketed flat nose runs 2000 fps for roughly 3597 ft-lbs. Twenty rounds per box.

Buffalo Bore chronographed it at 2002 fps from a 22 inch Marlin 1895 and 1955 fps from an 18.5 inch Marlin 1895 Guide Gun. Those are over the counter rifles, not laboratory barrels.

405 grains is the classic 45-70 bullet weight, the one the Army loaded in 1873 over a charge of black powder for roughly 1300 fps. Buffalo Bore keeps the weight and adds 700 fps, which is only possible because modern actions can contain pressures the originals cannot.

The 45-70 has always been a case with far more room in it than its original pressure ceiling allowed anyone to use. Once Marlin and Ruger were building actions strong enough, the only thing missing was somebody willing to load it to the limit. Buffalo Bore was among the first.

45-70 Magnum Expanding Ammo Ballistics

At 2000 fps a 405 grain bullet produces about 3597 ft-lbs, from grains times velocity squared divided by 450437. A standard pressure 405 grain factory load at 1300 fps makes roughly 1520 ft-lbs, so this more than doubles the energy of the traditional cartridge.

Where this differs from the 430 grain hard cast load is in what happens after impact. That one does not expand and drives five to six feet. This one opens to an inch or more and stops at about two feet, dumping nearly all its energy inside the animal.

Recoil is heavy, as it must be. In a 22 inch Marlin with a decent recoil pad it is manageable for a box at the range. In a short Guide Gun it is considerably worse, and the velocity loss is only about 47 fps, so the longer barrel costs you nothing.

Trajectory is better than the weight suggests. At 2000 fps a 405 grain jacketed flat nose bullet shoots usefully flat to about 150 yards, which is a good deal further than most people expect from a 45-70 Magnum expanding ammo choice.

Why The 405 Grain Jacketed Flat Nose Bullet Opens So Wide

A jacketed flat nose is a lead core inside a copper jacket with a wide flat face. At ordinary 45-70 velocities that bullet barely expands at all, which is why the design has a reputation for penetration. Push it to 2000 fps and the behaviour changes completely.

At this speed the soft core drives forward into the jacket, the nose folds outward, and the bullet mushrooms to an inch or more in diameter. Buffalo Bore states penetration is limited to about two feet in flesh and bone as a direct result.

Two feet is exactly right for a hog or a black bear. The bullet reaches the vitals from any sensible angle, opens enormously on the way, and does not carry its energy out the far side and into the brush.

Where it is not the right choice is on anything requiring penetration through very heavy bone from a bad angle. A brown bear at close range calls for a hard cast bullet that will not expand, and Buffalo Bore builds that load too.

The jacket is what makes the controlled expansion possible. A cast bullet at this velocity either stays intact or breaks apart depending on its alloy; a jacketed bullet opens in a repeatable way because the copper controls how far the lead can go.

For a hog and black bear rifle load the arithmetic is simple. A bullet that opens to an inch and still reaches two feet deep has done everything you can reasonably ask of it, and the 405 grain jacketed flat nose bullet does that consistently at Buffalo Bore velocities.

Specifications

Rifles Approved For This Hog And Black Bear Rifle Load

Buffalo Bore approves this load for modern strong actions: the Marlin 1895 made after 1972, the Browning 1885 and 1886, the Ruger No. 1 and No. 3, the Winchester 1886 made after 1915, and comparable falling block rifles.

Buffalo Bore warns explicitly that this ammunition must never be fired in any original or reproduction Trapdoor action. The design is far too weak for these pressures and the cartridge will chamber in one without difficulty, which is what makes the warning necessary.

If you own a Trapdoor Springfield, Buffalo Bore sells a black powder equivalent 45-70 that is safe in it. Do not substitute high energy lever gun ammunition of this kind on the assumption that one 45-70 is much like another.

Feeding is generally excellent. A 405 grain flat nose is the profile the 45-70 was designed around, so it cycles through tube magazines and falling blocks without the fussiness that very long modern bullets sometimes bring.

Sight your rifle with the load you intend to hunt with. A 405 grain bullet at 2000 fps lands in a noticeably different place from a 300 grain load, and a hog and black bear rifle load is worth zeroing properly.

High Energy Lever Gun Ammunition Availability

This Buffalo Bore 45-70 405gr JFN is in stock and ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer, and orders of this high energy lever gun ammunition normally leave within one business day.

If you need penetration rather than expansion, the Buffalo Bore 45-70 Magnum 430gr Hard Cast drives five to six feet. For a lighter jacketed bullet see the Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr JFN, and for a lead free monolithic option the Buffalo Bore 45-70 300gr Barnes TSX. Approved rifles are listed by Buffalo Bore Ammunition.