what do you think is the most versatile cartridge ever made?

SHELL SHUCKER said:
Ye gotta learn the arch of the 45-70 at the ranges ye intend to use 'er at like any cartridge. Lots of practice and good loads can pay off in spades using the 45-70.
As a super versatile number?... Nope. Too many lighter, faster & flatter shooting choices out there for most folks.

That said, the 45-70 is a beauty game dumper at ranges that would pee-off most "ethical shooting" types these days and is a preferred number in places where game
are hefty and dangerous at close distances. Where the 45-70 shines really well is in long range match shooting on steel or paper. BPCR shoosting fer instance. ;)
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A .270 goes +/- (or 7 Mag) the length of a playing card with the 110s to 350 yards, no holdovers or goofing around. It also drops animals like a sledgehammer so I struggle to see what the .45-70 brings me, I guided one and was distinctly unimpressed on bear.
 
Ardent said:
A .270 goes +/- (or 7 Mag) the length of a playing card with the 110s to 350 yards, no holdovers or goofing around. It also drops animals like a sledgehammer so I struggle to see what the .45-70 brings me, I guided one and was distinctly unimpressed on bear.
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Ask Ed Stevenson on his results with the 45-70. He switched from .375 Hawk/Scovill chambered Win 1895 type Brownings for better slapdown on Kodiaks fer good reasons. Namely, saving his arse in tight spots with peed off bears. He was using Marlins the last time I checked and found them to be ideal fer his line of work.
 
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66 votes for the 30/06...

Of course the over all range is from 22 rimfire to 50 caliber BMG...

I've only seen 17 polar bears at the Church Hill Polar Bear prison,,, I'd think twice before pulling a trigger on those that were there... They ranged from 350 to 650 lbs...

They are not friendly to humans,,, they are fairly smart at sneaking up to humans,,, and they normally strike fast with lots of power...

My good friend encountered a fairly young Grizzly in the Rocky Mountain Range of Western Canada,,, 30 feet between him and this Bear with a @zz as wide as a 1956 Chevy tail-gate...

He was holding onto a loaded 7mm Remington Mag,,, it was the only time in his life that he felt out gunned even though he had killed lots of black bears,,, Elk and Moose... Strange that he thought this on that encounter,,, I'm sure it was 1 big Grizzly...

He was at that point of no return,,, if the Grizzly took one slight step it was trigger time with as many as he could get off before being mauled to death...

The Grizzly decided to walk sideways to him instead of proceeding forward,,, he said it was a very eerie feeling indeed...

He harvested a good size Grizzly with a bow from a tree stand 10 years before that encounter,,, that was a pretty scary feeling climbing out of the tree stand 1 hour after the hit by the arrow... He knew he got a good shot on it to its boiler room,,, but even then I can understand what feeling in some ways...

Of course this is only part of the bear stories,,, lots of folks forget that more humans here in North America have been killed or maimed by Moose then by Bears...

Moose are dangerous,,, not only the Bulls,,,.the Kows can cause the same damage with the hooves... We call it strange encounters of the furry kind...

I sure don't know what it takes,,, I would think that the 30/06 would be enough,,, but,,, would I chance it to find out...

I can't say I do since I haven't been in that situation,,, nor would I want to find out...

Face to face when a person least expects it really gets a person thinking,,, is what we have in hand enough to save our selves """if""" things go south...

I'm game to not finding out...

Cheers from the North
 
chuck nelson said:
The 45-70 is one of the least versatile cartridges for North America. Change my mind.
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Depends on what you do. You can load it with lead round ball for small critters, all the way up to hammer loads for moose and big bears, and if you know your ballistics, it will reach out and kiss something far away. Billy Dixon dropped a quy at over 1500 yards with a 45-120, which is pretty close to the same ballistics as a modern 45-70. It definitely would not make my list of most versatile cartridge, even though it is pretty close to my favourite caliber.
 
Yup they can be used for lots. From a 300gr bullet at 800fps to a 300gr bullet at 2500fps.. low BC so it will slow fast but within 100m it will thump a little over 4000 ftlb
 
Evanguy said:
Yup they can be used for lots. From a 300gr bullet at 800fps to a 300gr bullet at 2500fps.. low BC so it will slow fast but within 100m it will thump a little over 4000 ftlb
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Round ball or button with Trail Boss, black or handgun powder and they're great for grouse, rabbits, etc. ALso, what I love about the 45-70 is that you can eat right up to the bullet hole.
 
I'm not really sure why the 45-70 is being discussed in a "most versatile cartridge thread". The 458 WinMag is higher up in the ranking and it's far from versatile.
Make it a 7mm or 300 mag of some sort, if you can't handle the recoil you have no business hunting the big bears anyhow and can stick to one of the lesser recoiling cartridges for ungulate hunting.
 
Papaclaude said:
Round ball or button with Trail Boss, black or handgun powder and they're great for grouse, rabbits, etc. ALso, what I love about the 45-70 is that you can eat right up to the bullet hole.
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That’s the very reason their terminal effect is so lacklustre. I totally agree they kill 100% reliably when placed correctly, but there is no shock and radiating tissue damage that comes with an impact above 2200fps. In my admittedly limited experience guiding .45-70s or .450 Marlins (sane thing) they have been the least impressive rounds in use for shock and making an animal fall on its shadow. Which where we hunt is kind of a big deal, as an animal that runs can rapidly become irrecoverable. Combine that with the rainbow trajectory and how much the ammunition weighs on a backpack hunt, and I consider them as close to useless for much of BC’s wilder hunting as a cartridge gets.
 
The broadly experienced members are all choosing a 7mm or .30 cal magnum, with the "little" .30/06 coming in third... the woods hunters are choosing the .308 and possibly the .270, although the .270 also does well with the mountain sheep and goat crew... really if this becomes a poll as suggested it need only be;

1) 7mm Rem Mag
2) .300 Win Mag
3) .30/06 Springfield
4) .270 Win
5) .308 Win

Nothing else has a prayer of winning the debate... particularly .22 LR or .45/70... you might add the 6.5 Creedmoor in there, but only because that crew are prone to shedding tears and stamping feet.
 
I'm partial to the 8x57, it's worked on everything from coyote to elk and is available in some very nice rifles. It's not hunting exactly, but how many countries that had to pay for their own gear ever picked the 30-06 over the 8x57?

The only reason to ever pick the 308 is if you want a Savage 99, the 30-06 is better in every way.

IMO, the 300 Winchester would win except for the recoil. The most shots I have ever seen a deer take was 5 from a 300 Win Mag, and I heard of a sheep taking 14 from a 300 Weatherby.
 
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