.45-70 VS .300 win

CanadianBaconPancakes said:
Looking for an all around rifle for deer to black bear.

Is the .300 win a more powerfull choice then .45-70 up close?
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Slamfire said:
^^
Are you sure about that?? :p


Ballistics compared. The 45-70 Ruger No.1 300gr X bullet has more energy than the 300 Win. Mag. out to nearly 400 yards.

300 grains of 45 caliber destruction all the way. ;)

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win94luver said:
The whole thread was a rhetorical question from the start in that everybody already knew what the right answer is.
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Again, compare the energy column figures shown above. The 45-70 has more energy up close and out to nearly 400 yards.
 
Ah man, I really don't want to shoot at 400 yards with a round that shotputs out there, and mess with figuring the drop by lines on the scope.
Sure, it can be done, but why?
I want the flatter shooting round.
 
njlondon said:
Ah man, I really don't want to shoot at 400 yards with a round that shotputs out there, and mess with figuring the drop by lines on the scope.
Sure, it can be done, but why?
I want the flatter shooting round.
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Definitely too much like work for me though I did enjoy watching the 'quigley down under' movies.
Everybody to their own but it will take more than watching a quigley movie to be able to shoot that good.
The talking and bragging part is easy.
It's making those 4 and 5 hundred yard or more shots consistently that's harder.
 
Lots of cartrages including the 45/70 and 300 Mag could most likely harvest Deer and black bears along with many other furry critters.

Some of todays younger generation under estimates the potential of what worked well many years ago.

The old school 45/70 can reach out there far past the little 400 yard mark easy.

Loaded with the 500gr lead wad it will plant the lead ruffly 12" deep into the ground at the 1500 ish hundred yard mark.

One would think that any small Deer or small black bear would not like being tagged by one of those heavy weight wads.

There a fellow on YouTube running the 45/70 sharps off simple X sticks tagging iron silhouette at 990 yards with the old flip up rear sight. In the winds.

https://youtu.be/st4qE02GEKo
Yes, this can be done with the 300 Mag and many other cartrages too.

On the real side of this is the normal game Harvesting one would be with in the under 400 yard mark.
This is still not out of range for either rifle.

Lots of folks talk about hold over, flat shooting, and bullet drop... I'm guessing that all projectiles have some kind of drop.

This is taken care of with sight adjustment. The old sharps sight is pretty fast.

The Open peep hole sight allows for clear magic ring eye adjustment from 25 too 200 yards with the right open game aperture disk in place. This is done by eye,,, the other options are hold over or bump stop the sight too the range the critter is.

Most sharps peep ramp sights come factory with 1000 yard adjustments.
Long rails are available depending on what grain of lead one wants too put down range.

The old school rifles are coming back in the USA since folks can cast their own bullets, and a person feels pretty proud of them selves when taking a critter or pounding away at iron silhouettes from 200 too 1000 yards with their own unique hand loads.

Again, the same can be said about many other cartrages too.

What really counts over and above all is that the person them self is the one who gets to pick and choose what works for her or him.

Its all win win as each persons finds the path that best suits their needs.

Don from Western Canada
 
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win94luver said:
Definitely too much like work for me though I did enjoy watching the 'quigley down under' movies.
Everybody to their own but it will take more than watching a quigley movie to be able to shoot that good.
The talking and bragging part is easy.
It's making those 4 and 5 hundred yard or more shots consistently that's harder.
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A friend and I were out to Forsyth Montana last month and shot the "Quigley" competition. I wouldn't call it work :)
 
torontogungal said:
Ok I'll bite.
Results?
Did you make us proud?
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No, nothing to make anyone proud. It was my first time there. Results..... shooot....didn't think about anybody asking that. Okay, I got 16 hits out of a possible 48. Lets see, it was quite windy the first day; I've only had the 45-70 for a year; we don't have anywhere to practice long range shots like that in the wind here in NB - that's all the excuses I can think of right now.
But it was definitely not work. Lots of fun!
Anyways, sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread.

This might help put the score in perspective if you're interested in that sort of thing.
http://www.quigleymatch.com/2017-match-results.html
 
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Slamfire said:
OP didn't specify standard 45-70. Again, a 300gr X bullet at 2600 fps MV is safe in my Ruger No.1.
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For that matter, what is "standard" for a 45-70? Between the trap door Springfield, lever guns, and the no.1 there is at least 3 different power levels, nevermind the fact that with hand loading you can make anything in between those...
 
The OP is looking for all around rifle so if it was me I would pick a 18-20" rifle and I believe 45-70 is a better choice than 300 WM, unless you are deaf and into flame throwers...
Then again 308 win works fine even in 16" rifles...;-)
 
I love the 45-70 own it reload it shoot some level gun and single shot this is a fine caliber for most hunter whit a 3-9 or a 2-7 is a good 200m gun whit factory ammo
if you live in place where you can shoot out to 300/400m go whit the 300 win mag is easy to hit where you whant
not the 45-70 can hit at 300m or 400m but you need a good load in modern gun like a 350fn at 1900fps to achieve a usable ballistic and the rifle kick hard at this point more thant a 300 win mag
Just for fun factory ammo
165gn 300 win mag zero at 200m -6 inch of drop at 300 -14inch at 400m
325 ftx 45-70 +3inch at 100m zero at 200 -27inch at 300
 
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Suther said:
28 000psi for the 45-70. That's borderline irrelevant to modern guns though, its a byproduct of its age, and set there to ensure the safety of 100+ year old guns...
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3 power levels are generally recognized for the 45-70:

1) trapdoor
2) leverguns like marlin 1895, win 1886
3) ruger #1
 
hometownhero said:
45/70 will get you to 1000 yards with factory ammo so will a 300 win mag. Take your pick and go hunt.

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I don't think even farley mowat would stretch credibility that far.
The bullet needs to get on target and have enough poop left to kill the animal cleanly when it gets there.
 
torontogungal said:
I don't think even farley mowat would stretch credibility that far.
The bullet needs to get on target and have enough poop left to kill the animal cleanly when it gets there.
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I think a 555 gr cast lead launched at 1350-1400 fps from a 45-70 would still have enough power to take down a deer or black bear even at 1000 yds. The bullet basically goes into cruise mode once it goes subsonic. But as you say, getting on target would be another challenge altogether. Shooting steel targets 4 feet square with a vernier ladder sight at 600 yds, and hitting a deer or black bear in the vitals at 100 yds are two different things altogether. I do both.
Since this thread is really about hunting, if it were me, I'd grab either the 45-70, or as has been suggested even better, the 308 or 270. They all work fine for hunting. It is great to have choices. The only reason I'd pass on the 300 wm is I don't have one. :)
 
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