45/70 options.

bollox

bollox

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I figure that I need to get back into the 45/70 game and was wondering people's opinions about the options out there. My recent marlin 30-30 is really good despite what you sometimes hear.

Anyone have a recent guide gun? Thoughts or better to go Henry/ ruger no.1?
 
Ruger No.1-S would be my pick... I have one and it is perfect in .45/70. I have a Leupold VX-3 1.5-5X20mm with German #4 reticle... also perfect.
 
I picked up a Guide Gun in September . I've put about 60 rounds through so far , factory and handloads , with 100% reliability . The rifle loves Hornady leverevolution 325's . It will keep 3 shots inside of 1 1/4 of an inch at 100 yards . That is with a Leopold 4X scope ( old eyes ) . It does almost as well with factory 405's and my hard cast lead 405 gr reloads . Over all , I'm very happy with mine . It's the fourth Marlin 1895 I've owned over the years and so far , it gives up nothing in comparison to the JM models . I like the Henry and Ruger No.1 very much , I had a Ruger for a number of years , and only gave it to a very good friend who just had to have it , otherwise I'd still own it .

It's more a matter of personal choice , and finances , than anything . I picked up the Marlin as a relatively inexpensive , and handy , woods walking / camping / big game rifle . For me , it works perfectly .

Any of the rifles you mention would be a great choice , keep us posted on what you pick up .
 
hoytcanon said:
Ruger No.1-S would be my pick... I have one and it is perfect in .45/70. I have a Leupold VX-3 1.5-5X20mm with German #4 reticle... also perfect.
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I love the #1 platform. Truly one of my favourite rifles out there. But it always seemed wrong in a 45-70 (or a rimless case). To me the Farquharson action always made more sense in a rimmed cartridge but for some reason the 45-70 just feels wrong to me. Maybe it's the UltraFudd in me. There is absolutely no reason it wouldn't be excellent. Just like briefs...Not my cup of tea.

That said, I have a Browning 1885 in 45-70 and to me, that's the ultimate platform for a 45-70. But I have a buddy wo would love an 1885 in 375 H&H and, to me, that seems an insane combination.
 
BigUglyMan said:
I love the #1 platform. Truly one of my favourite rifles out there. But it always seemed wrong in a 45-70 (or a rimless case). To me the Farquharson action always made more sense in a rimmed cartridge but for some reason the 45-70 just feels wrong to me. Maybe it's the UltraFudd in me. There is absolutely no reason it wouldn't be excellent. Just like briefs...Not my cup of tea.

That said, I have a Browning 1885 in 45-70 and to me, that's the ultimate platform for a 45-70. But I have a buddy wo would love an 1885 in 375 H&H and, to me, that seems an insane combination.
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I don't get your objections to .45/70 in the No.1... I installed the Trop safety and it functions slick as butter with positive ejection... the "S" balances perfectly and the jacked up loads amount to "not much" on the South end... whenever I am heading into the thick woods, it is the front runner.

Nothing wrong with the 1885 either.
 
I prefer the 22 inch barrel model of Marlins better than the short barrelled guide gun. I have a 1972 manufactured one, only the 2nd year after they started production of the model 1895, 45-70 and the general fit and finish is top of the line. The older Marlin rifles are, in my opinion, much better than the newer ones.
 
bollox said:
Anyone know of 1885's available?
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Another nice rifle . I also had , and stupidly sold , a Browning B 78 in 45/70 , to be honest , that's still the nicest 45/70 I've owned . I've also had two Ruger No3's , cool little rifles if you stick with black powder velocities or lighter bullets . They become monsters if you push the velocity up . With original loads they do make a very handy , and powerful carbine , I still have a faint hope of finding one in 30/40 Krag .
 
I bought a Marlin 1895 in 45/70 back in 2012 from Cabelas in Winnipeg. This was at the height of the QC calamity that became known as Remlin. I bought for $550 new off the shelf at the time. For that price, fit and finish are pretty darn good. The internals had some tooling marks, but nothing that needed any polishing to smoothen out. The weird thing about it, and I didn't notice until somebody on here checked his and posted a thread, the rifling looks very strange. It is very rough looking in the grooves, enough so that if I were buying this second hand, I would've turned and walked away! The even weirder part is that it shoots the lights out like nothing! Blasting clays out at 100-150 yards with it is really fun.

Hope that helped, I'm not too sure but have heard rumours that the latest productions from Remlin are up to snuff.
 
I have a Browning '86 carbine and a few original Winchesters. The Browning carbine is a real nice, modern version for hunting in a round like .45-70. I'm a fan of moderate .45-70 loads though. I tried heavy loads for a few years but the game performance was not noticeably greater than moderate loads and moderate loads were much more pleasant to shoot.
 
H4831 said:
I prefer the 22 inch barrel model of Marlins better than the short barrelled guide gun. I have a 1972 manufactured one, only the 2nd year after they started production of the model 1895, 45-70 and the general fit and finish is top of the line. The older Marlin rifles are, in my opinion, much better than the newer ones.
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To be honest , so do I . I got a great deal on the Guide Gun that I couldn't turn down . I sold my 22 inch barreled 95 to a young friend of mine after he used it to take his first bear with it last year . They are far more comfortable to shoot and , for me at least , point more naturally than the guide guns . My first 1895 was , like yours , an early model with the straight grip and squared lever . As you pointed out , it was a very well made and finished rifle , but I found the newer model with the pistol grip stock more comfortable to shoot .

I'm starting to realize that I'm a serial 45/70 owner lol
 
I have 3 .45-70 rifles - a Handi-Rifle, a Ruger No.1 and a Marlin 1895XLR. The Ruger No.1 shoots pretty flat out to about 250 meters loaded with Barnes TSX bullets at 2500 fps MV. I've taken Moose, Elk, Deer and Bighorn Sheep with the .45-70. It's reliable. :cool:

45-70_HR_Bushnell_1.5-4x20mm_a_r_zpsqmnkfl9w.jpg

.45-70 Handi-Rifle with Bushnell Banner 1.5-4x20mm scope

45-70_No1_Bushnell_1.75-5x20mm_zpswjmh89sz.jpg

.45-70 Ruger No.1-S with Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 1.75-5x32mm scope

1895XLR-2_zps162f9477.jpg

Marlin 1895XLR with Weaver 1-3x20mm scope:cool:
 
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QueensHorseman said:
I have a Browning '86 carbine and a few original Winchesters. The Browning carbine is a real nice, modern version for hunting in a round like .45-70. I'm a fan of moderate .45-70 loads though. I tried heavy loads for a few years but the game performance was not noticeably greater than moderate loads and moderate loads were much more pleasant to shoot.
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I came to the same conclusion myself , the original loads work well on game animals and hurt a lot less .
 
hoytcanon said:
I don't get your objections to .45/70 in the No.1... I installed the Trop safety and it functions slick as butter with positive ejection... the "S" balances perfectly and the jacked up loads amount to "not much" on the South end... whenever I am heading into the thick woods, it is the front runner.

Nothing wrong with the 1885 either.
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I said myself it didn't make any sense.
 
anglia2 said:
To be honest , so do I . I got a great deal on the Guide Gun that I couldn't turn down . I sold my 22 inch barreled 95 to a young friend of mine after he used it to take his first bear with it last year . They are far more comfortable to shoot and , for me at least , point more naturally than the guide guns . My first 1895 was , like yours , an early model with the straight grip and squared lever . As you pointed out , it was a very well made and finished rifle , but I found the newer model with the pistol grip stock more comfortable to shoot .

I'm starting to realize that I'm a serial 45/70 owner lol
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:) Same here, especially with the heavier bullets and hotter loads the Marlin is capable of handling. I had an 1895GS but I didn't care for the straight stock design, however, my son couldn't live without and now has it.



What I replaced it with is the 1895GBL with a 18 1/2" barrel. Haven't used it much but I do prefer it to the GS I had.



And, for something a little different,



I may, before too long, ;) 'need' a decent single shot, just to play with:p.
 
Sourmug said:
Johnn Peterson

Can you elaborate on why you prefer the GBL to the GS?
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Primarily, well, actually there's two main reasons. #1, I prefer the pistol grip style stock for the recoil reason I mentioned earlier. And, #2, the shorter length lends itself better for placement in the handle bar rifle rack mount I have on my quad.
 
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