45-70 at deer camp

I think that you're fine with factory ammo so long as you take a lung shot behind the shoulder. The 45-70 can wreck a lot of meat if you manage to be so unlucky as to hit a serious bone. I shout a forkhorn mulie with my 1885 (418gr cast bullet at 1950 FPS) a few years back. The range was abotu 125 yeards. The bullet went behind his on-shoulder and through the heart. However it shattered the off side leg and severed the leg. That whole quarter was a jellied mess. The rest of him was nice and tasty but in reality the load is well more than I needed at the time. I imagine they'd work exceedingly well on a larger deer, moose or elk and I hope to try it out again some time.

My 1885 is probably my favourite "walking-around" rifle.
 
405g Reminton SP going about 1900FPS through the vitals of a deer(heart and lungs), Broom handle sized hole going in and coming out with very little meat damage. Have seen it more than once.

Hit a shoulder with that load and the meat damage is a whole other story though :eek:
 
unstableryan said:
Big ugly man, that's a pretty hot load. I shoot a lot with a 420gr cast at ~1700 and they kick some ass.
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It's right rude (probbaly my worst kicking rifle - worse than my 458 #1H and ahead of my 7.5lb 9.3x62 ramming 286's out of it) but keep in mind that it's a 28" barrel and one of the strongest actions available. I got the load from "Pet Loads". It's a stout charge of 3031 but not over Ken Waters' load.
 
-JD- said:
Yah that's what I was wondering, if the better trajectory was worth the possible extra meat damage.

Thanks
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I would keep the velocity reasonable and carry a range finder.

Take a range finder into some mixed bush with some openings. Have a few guys estimate ranges. Then use the range finder. Results will surprise. Then add snow or mist, fading light into the equation.

I bought a Leupold range finder and it works very well.
A few days of carring it while hunting made a huge difference in my ability to estimate range.

It is not about spotting a deer then picking up the range finder.
It is the skill too know from the practicing.
When you sit pull out the range finder and spot around you.
So if one steps out you know how far.
 
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