45/70 or 308 for moose and black bear?

Gargoyle

Gargoyle

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"South"western Ontario
Asking this for my wife. She is looking at picking a rifle up this weekend for this falls hunt.

Criteria -

- obviously enough knock down at 150 yards
- has to have open sights with the option to mount a scout scope
- has to come in under $1000 for the rifle (optics is another topic)

We are looking at either a Mossberg MVP scout (308) or a Marlin 1895 (45/70) currently but very open to suggestions.

And yes I'm aware we would have to ad the cost of the XS sight scout mount to the Marlin.

I've shot many 308 rifles but I've never shot a 45/70, how much difference in recoil is there? I don't want this to be a rifle she isn't comfortable with and unfortunately where we are the option to go shoot a bunch of rifles just isn't there.
 
Recoil is the main factor here.
If it’s no issue go with the Marlin 1895, it’s got a great shock absorber on it. The 45-70 is ultra versatile and makes an excellent bush gun that will easily handle 150yds.
I would buy in person though, as one person on here recently purchased a GBL with a bent front sight. My 1895 SBL however was perfect with my only complaint being the shallow checkering on the pistol grip buttstock.
 
colombe said:
I have had both rifles.
I still own a 308.
45-70 iS just too hard to shoot. [RECOIL IS SEVERE WITH GOOD LOADS.].
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Thats what I was afraid of, her long gun experience is 20G SST slugs, .270win and 303brit and I imagine the 45/70 having more than any of those. The 20G SST slugs do have a good kick though. Any idea how they compare in felt recoil.
 
Turkinator said:
Recoil is the main factor here.
If it’s no issue go with the Marlin 1895, it’s got a great shock absorber on it. The 45-70 is ultra versatile and makes an excellent bush gun that will easily handle 150yds.
I would buy in person though, as one person on here recently purchased a GBL with a bent front sight. My 1895 SBL however was perfect with my only complaint being the shallow checkering on the pistol grip buttstock.
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She won't buy anything without putting her hands on it first, thats the hold back on the Mossberg, no one seems to have one in stock. How bad is the kick compared to say a 20G SST sabot?
 
Gargoyle said:
She won't buy anything without putting her hands on it first, thats the hold back on the Mossberg, no one seems to have one in stock. How bad is the kick compared to say a 20G SST sabot?
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It doesn’t hurt, I can shoot it benchrested with the excellent Pachmyr buttpad it comes with, whereas my old 30-30 had me almost crying after 20rds (benchrested) at the range with “Marlin” legibly bruised into my skin lol. It does rattle the cage a little though, I would compare it to shooting 12ga slugs out of my 870 with a thick supercell recoil pad.

I also can’t imagine the MVP being impressive in person, Mossberg generally makes ugly guns... Marlin however can be beautiful
 
If she can handle a 20 gauge with slugs, she can handle the .45/70. The .308, however, is a much better all around choice for many reasons, not the least of which is trajectory, and also easy availablility of a wide range of ammunition, including reduce "managed recoil" loads. The tricky part is finding one with iron sights, they are invariably plain barrel rifles awaiting an optic. You can try shopping the used market and if you strike out, I would suggest you forget the iron sights and buy her a quality low power variable scope... with a .308 hunting rifle, I would recommend the Leupold VX-3 2.5-8x36mm... or at a slightly lower cost the VX-2 2-7X33mm... I am just not happy that Leupold did away with the ocular locking ring on the new VX-2 series scopes... better if you can find a VX-II model.
 
308 would be better..
just a thought ...6.5x55 is great cartridge with low recoil and great accuracy ! Might be something to look at... itll definitely work on the game mentioned
 
If it's for your wife I would go 308 for sure. Look for a rem model 7 or a ruger ultra light.. both very easy to handle.
 
Ruger Scout in 308. Open sights, comes with scope rings or use the forward rail. Detachable magazine. Laminated or synthetic stock. Adjustable length of pull which is great for smaller shooters. Retails for about $1400 but they do pop up at dealers online for about $1000 if you keep your eye out. I have two left hand ones, 5.56 and 308, both purchased new from dealers on CGN for around $1000 before taxes.
 
I found the 300gr Winchester 45/70 ammo to be quite comfortable to shoot thru my SBL... Quite a bit better than the quick snap of a 150-180gr load thru any of the sub 7lb .308's I've owned... And you'd be hard pressed to find a 45/70 that dosent come with iron sights...
 
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Taking over 50 years of hunting experience, from coast to coast, and a lot of game animals such as Elk, Moose, a few bears, and many big western Whitetails and Mule deer into account, go for the .308.

My go to rifle is a Ruger International Carbine in .308, with a barrel around 18 inches long. It is a pleasure to carry, fast pointing in the dark timber and Cedar swamps, and is very effective on the larger animals. I use 165 grain handloads, and they do the job for me.

EDIT - Just saw LarryG's post. Nothing wrong with the 7mm-08 either.
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Hey buddy. I do believe i do.
My sxs 4570 might weigh a little less than a lever gun but youre welcome to try it out to see how she likes the recoil. I have dies to so if you go with a 4570 just buy the components and drop by
 
I shot a 450 grain Factory Remington 45/70 load and The Recoil difference between that and my 308 was marginal but the recoil pad on the 45 70 was much larger
 
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