Quote:

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Early on there was a low pressure smokeless .45/70 load by both Rem and Winch using a jacketed 405gr. FN at 1,320fps, supposedly matching the 1873 mil. loading of BP with the 405gr. lead bullet. The later 1880's mil loading of 70gr. BP and 500gr. RN at 1,210fps which worked fairly well on bison in the 1800's, wasn't duplicated in a modern smokeless load.
In the 70's or early 1980's Federal came out with the first modernized smokeless loading for the .45/70 with a 300gr. Jacketed FN at something over 1,800fps that was safe in ALL .45/70 rifles including the 1873 Trapdoors. Rem. and Winch. followed suit.
These loadings should show QUITE plainly why the round didn't see popularity in Africa. I thought, wrongly it seems, that everyone knew this.
The Marlins, with their 43,000PSI max loading pressures turned the tide on the round, however Elmer Keith and others had been loading the 1886's with 53gr. of IMR3031, producing 1,830fps with the 405gr. Jacketed and cast Bullets for decades before Marlins came on the scene.

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Daryl:

I'm not certain this is complete. I remember reading, and I think (?) it was a statement from Elmer Keith, that the last military loading was w/ the 500 grain bullet and smokeless powder (not sure which one) pushing the bullet out at 1400 fps from the rifle. This would have been a very powerful load for a blackpowder mil round, about the most powerful there was, neck and neck or exceeding the .577/.450 Martini round.

I've searched but cannot find any info online. I'll keep looking.

I want to say (and this is even fuzzier...) that the bullet was jacketed.

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