Convince me to buy a 45-70

KeltecFan said:
This is true for sure. My son bought one. It's a beautiful gun but tough to feed until I start reloading for it. $50.00 a box of 20. Leverevolution ammo is apparently cheaper but I haven't found any.
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The HSM "Bear Load" ammo available at Cabelas (the old SIR store) in Winnipeg pushes a 430 grain hard cast lead bullet @ 1750 fps for a ME of around 3000 ft-lbs.
It'll drop any critter in North America at short ranges (100 yards or less).
For longer range (over 100 yards) I use the Hornady 325 grain FTX ammo which put me in the game for the 100-300 yard range for big game including deer, elk and moose. It is considerably cheaper than the HSM "Bear Load" ammo.
I got a bunch of the HSM "Bear Load" ammo (20 boxes) a few years back when it was $28 per box because it is very accurate in my Guide Guns. It is now close to $50 per box at the same store.
The HSM ammo is loaded using Starline brass which is top quality and hard to get any other way.
Haven't seen Starline 45-70 brass in bulk bags in years.
 
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josquin said:
Was that out at the Mission range? I remember a couple of old guys (well, maybe in their 70s; I have to be careful now that I'm past 60) who would come out from Surrey(?) in a VW camper and "make a day of it". And yes, they could shoot! Wonderful fellas. One of them passed away a few years ago, unfortunately.

I haven't been up to the rifle range there for a while because it has become so busy, unless one is lucky enough to hit a lull.

:) Stuart
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Right you are Stuart ! The old boy with the VW camper was Colin Bracey long since passed of cancer.
I only ever beat him in a match but once and that was at Vokes Range, He also loved competing in the US at Custer Range and in Montana.
At one match He and I shot against a bunch of Mike Venturino's buddies and came out on top.
Colin was an amazing shooter with a real knack for reading the wind and working with it..... and an avid 45-70 lover.
I was the junior of the group and I'm coming up to 69, most of the others are either gone or gave up shooting... one chap still spends a Sunday @ Mission and I think he is pushing 90.

My apologies for side-tracking the original post..... nostalgia infected my keyboard.....
 
broncoo said:
I use a Lee enfield 45/70 conversion favourite load is 10 grains of trail boss and a 405 grain bullet I think it's around 800fps still has enough jam to pass though a 14" pine tree and is about as loud as.22lr
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I think your the only other person on here (that I know of) with an Enfield based 45-70, I had mine rebarreled and built a zebra wood stock for it, there is a few pictures of it on CGN already, I'd like to see some pictures of yours though if you have any please feel free to share, is it an original Gibbs rifle?
 
Kevan said:
Right you are Stuart ! The old boy with the VW camper was Colin Bracey long since passed of cancer.
I only ever beat him in a match but once and that was at Vokes Range, He also loved competing in the US at Custer Range and in Montana.
At one match He and I shot against a bunch of Mike Venturino's buddies and came out on top.
Colin was an amazing shooter with a real knack for reading the wind and working with it..... and an avid 45-70 lover.
I was the junior of the group and I'm coming up to 69, most of the others are either gone or gave up shooting... one chap still spends a Sunday @ Mission and I think he is pushing 90.

My apologies for side-tracking the original post..... nostalgia infected my keyboard.....
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Thank you and others for sharing your experiences. :)
 
Yes indeed thank you all for your input all the advice and shared knowledge is a wonderful way for a rookie like myself to learn and share in the knowledge. Also if you happen to find yourself on a thread I have started and it making you feel a tad nostalgic again please share, these are the thing that keep our community strong!
 
Kevan said:
The old boy with the VW camper was Colin Bracey long since passed of cancer.....
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Yup. That was the one. I guess it has been quite a number of years since I saw them up there. If you guys shot against "The Duke" Venturino, you must have been pretty darned good!

Geez... this thread has got me thinking "45-70" again... maybe an 1895 "Cowboy" with the octagonal barrel... (Pedersoli are out of my price-range, unfortunately.) That Ruger Nº1 on Alberta Outdoors looked tempting, too.
 
im gonna have to try out this 45-70 thing that I hear so much about... :D I just bought a marlin 1895gbl a few days ago, waiting for shipping has got to be the most frustrating thing EVER!!!!
 
There's an itch that I had for many years that the my 1895 GS finally scratched for me. I remember picking up a used 336 30/30 as one of my first rifles. It just felt so nice in the hands and was fun to shoot. But, something kept whispering in my ear, "it's a nice gun, but maybe you need something more powerful". So, I ended buying a Browning BLR lightweight in a .308. Great gun, short and light and very accurate. It was my go to gun for hunting every fall. But still, there was that whisper in my ear, "it's a nice gun, but you really need an all around thumper that will stop pretty well anything". So, I had been reading about the 45/70 for years and decided to buy one. I was so pissed at the poor quality of the remlins that it turned me off it for a couple of years. I then ended up buying a used one off one of the CGN members.

Man, as soon as you hold it in your hand, it just feels right. I loaded up some cor-lokts 405's and was expecting my shoulder to fly off, but quite the opposite. The recoil is minimal and more of a push rather than a jerk. Shot a few deer with it since and knocks them down fast. The really nice thing is that that load is a great plinker as well. This year, I'm starting to reload hard casts and play with some powerful loads. I'm sure my shoulder will regret it at some point, but man it's so much fun! I just love carrying this gun around in the bush and if I ever have to get rid of all my guns, this will be the last to go.
 
rpaulpen said:
...This year, I'm starting to reload hard casts and play with some powerful loads. I'm sure my shoulder will regret it at some point, but man it's so much fun!...
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Put a Decelerator or a Limbsaver on it and invest in a PAST Recoil Shield. (My friend is wearing mine in the pic on post #5.) I find it does help to take the bite out of the recoil. Mine is the Field Shield (1/4" thick) but they are avilable up to 1/2" should you ever feel the urge to buy a .378 Wby.
 
Gunoholic said:
The HSM "Bear Load" ammo available at Cabelas (the old SIR store) in Winnipeg pushes a 430 grain hard cast lead bullet @ 1750 fps for a ME of around 3000 ft-lbs.
It'll drop any critter in North America at short ranges (100 yards or less).
For longer range (over 100 yards) I use the Hornady 325 grain FTX ammo which put me in the game for the 100-300 yard range for big game including deer, elk and moose. It is considerably cheaper than the HSM "Bear Load" ammo.
I got a bunch of the HSM "Bear Load" ammo (20 boxes) a few years back when it was $28 per box because it is very accurate in my Guide Guns. It is now close to $50 per box at the same store.
The HSM ammo is loaded using Starline brass which is top quality and hard to get any other way.
Haven't seen Starline 45-70 brass in bulk bags in years.
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I take it this load is class 2 for pressures... above 28000 cup?
 
brybenn said:
I take it this load is class 2 for pressures... above 28000 cup?
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From the HSM website (http://thehuntingshack.com/?page_id=405)

What firearms can I safely shoot your 45-70 Bear Load from?

As with the 45 Colt, the 45-70 cartridge goes back a long way. There are still many vintage and of course replica firearms available in this chambering.
It also is officially a low pressure round and only select firearms are capable of handling the pressures of modern +P ammunition including our Bear Load.

Firearms capable of shooting our 45-70 +P ammunition:
Marlin 1895
Ruger #1
Browning 1885 High Wall

Keep in mind that some lever action firearms may have problems with loading and/or feeding cartridges using the longer heavier bullets in the more powerful ammunition.
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Gunoholic said:
Some of the Pedersoli 86/71s have had feeding/cycling problems.
My 86/71 took a bit of polishing and a few adjustments after I first bought it before it would feed/cycle properly.
Hopefully yours won't be one of the problematic ones.
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My one is all good. Someone at the factory be-burred the action and polished the cartridge lifter. The rifle came out
of the box slick, snug and clean. Cycles standard length 405 gr. ammo just fine.
 
Calum said:
Here is a neat vid...

[Youtube]eNrH77SdHMI[/youtube]
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That video is crazy, I've never seen a video of ballistic gel where it jumped like that, in contrast have a look at what the .32 special does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4bwqdd124c&index=5&list=PLYMWfcsHTtzdvbZ883GrOsC9ilf9d1CfU


Or, here is a cool calculator a friend forwarded me, Taylor knockdown calulator:

http://www.handloads.com/calc/quick.asp

Check out the numbers for a .308 win vs. a 405 grain 45-70 handload, even though the .308 may have more energy.
 
The .45-70 is a really neat cartridge. I have a number of them. If I was thinking of hunting it'd be either the Marlin 1895 or the Ruger #1. Mostly I shoot black powder and use single shot rifles, which is more fun than you can imagine, especially at the longer ranges. In a lever gun, don't forget the Winchester Short Rifle. It's a well made rifle.

Chris.
 
.45-70 is simply the mid-range wonder...and it died off and then came back 100 years later...speaks for itself

i use a handi-rifle because...well...it's handy! ...customized two others for friends ...a friend has a browning 1885 hi-wall in it...rear tang and front globe sight with open aperture insert...extremely accurate and a long range marvel

View attachment 15207

10" poplar at 40' + 5" into the one behind it (405 grain cast bullet, paper patched, 1300 fps)

View attachment 15208

...and responsible (in its variants) for the death of 60,000,000 bison (...or there abouts) :sok2
 
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Just a heads up there are a few sweet deals on 45/70 handy rifles in the EE.

I tried selling mine a while back as I needed funds for another project but the market on these can be fickle at times.

This thread has pretty much sealed the deal on keeping mine. ;)
 
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