WinchesterOwners.com

Any issues, concerns or problems you may have with your Winchester Model 1885; this is a thread for troubleshooting.

I just got a 1885 traditional hunter in 45/70. Looking for reloading data for a 500 grn bullet at black powder velocity with smokeless powder. Shooting 200 to 300 yards. I heard AA 5744 and trailboss are good powders to start with. Anybody have any pet loads? This is a modern falling block.

I load Pyrodex CTG with 300, 350, and 400 gr. Jacketed bullets for my model 1876 45-75. Pyrodex is a great way to duplicate black powder performance in older rifles. I scanned a couple of pages from the Hornady Handbook. This page explains the need for using lighter bullets and reduced loads for older rifles. I'd suggest starting out with a lighter bullet, Hornady's data covers 300-325 grain only for the older rifles.

Here's the second page with Hornady's load data