anyone here had the chance to shoot the .45-70 plus it's three big brothers?

I had a 45x2 7/8 which I built on a Ruger No.1 (28 inch barrel, about .700 at the muzzle). I could load 350 Hornady bullets to 2600 fps with no trouble. Recoil was substantial. Re-chambered a Ruger 45/70 to .45x2.6". Recoil was beyong substantial with the loads furnished for testing and the box was returned to the customer with one round fired.
 
I had a 45x2 7/8 which I built on a Ruger No.1 (28 inch barrel, about .700 at the muzzle). I could load 350 Hornady bullets to 2600 fps with no trouble. Recoil was substantial. Re-chambered a Ruger 45/70 to .45x2.6". Recoil was beyong substantial with the loads furnished for testing and the box was returned to the customer with one round fired.
hahaha, beautiful! how would you compare them to something like the .458 Win Mag?

and what are your thoughts on how the cartridges could be tamed with a muzzle break?
 
45-70 factory loads kick less than 12ga turkey loads.my handloads are 350 grain hornady interlocks over 49 grains of imr 4198. i put a good recoil pad on and don't find recoil that bad.shooting a marlin 1895
 
I've shot 45-70 and 45-90 in the same gun, before and after rechambering. The 45-90 has case capacity that's comparable to the 458 Win Mag, and in a strong action it can really lay the hurt on, e.g. 500 gr at 1950 fps. 1300 fps is much more enjoyable, and the 45-70 can do that with ease at modest pressures.
 
Found 1895 marlin to havebrutal recoil with heavy 400 grain loads. got rid of it kept 444,no regrets.
 
I'm thinking the extra case capacity of the .45-90 might be good for longer .45 caliber bullets that would otherwise need to be deeply seated in a .45-70 and take up valuable case capacity.

case in point, the Barnes 300 grain TTSX for the .458 Socom. :yingyang:
 
I'm thinking the extra case capacity of the .45-90 might be good for longer .45 caliber bullets that would otherwise need to be deeply seated in a .45-70 and take up valuable case capacity.

case in point, the Barnes 300 grain TTSX for the .458 Socom. :yingyang:

That Barnes TTSX bullet is awesome. I shoot it in my custom smokeless ML’s up to 3000fps. Recoil is substantial but tolerable as gun is heavy. Typical hunting load is 2700+fps.

Last order I placed was for 14 boxes of 50!

Performance on game is very very good.

With regard to the big cased cartridges, I regrettably have limited experience.
 
That Barnes TTSX bullet is awesome. I shoot it in my custom smokeless ML’s up to 3000fps. Recoil is substantial but tolerable as gun is heavy. Typical hunting load is 2700+fps.

Last order I placed was for 14 boxes of 50!

Performance on game is very very good.

With regard to the big cased cartridges, I regrettably have limited experience.

that's in the .45-70, rpcw? are you up to sharing any of your load data? there's not much out on Google when I searched...
 
that's in the .45-70, rpcw? are you up to sharing any of your load data? there's not much out on Google when I searched...

No, as stated it’s out of a Smokeless Muzzleloader (ML) . You could not get that speed out of a 45-70. You would be hard pressed to get that out of a Win Mag.
 
Muzzle brakes are not real effective on rifles which shoot heavy bullets and use faster powders. A greater portion of the recoil is primary from the inertia of the heavy bullet and less is from pressure differential.
 
No, as stated it’s out of a Smokeless Muzzleloader (ML) . You could not get that speed out of a 45-70. You would be hard pressed to get that out of a Win Mag.
this makes me curious! how can a ML (didn't recognize the term the first time you used it, hence my stupid question) attain velocities like that when a big magnum cannot?

please tell me more, I want to know! :D
 
Found 1895 marlin to havebrutal recoil with heavy 400 grain loads. got rid of it kept 444,no regrets.

YUP My 1895g Ported has Vicious recoil with 420 cast at 1995 FPS and my 540 Train Stopper loads at 1540 are very HEAVY recoil too ! I also load a 525 Bear Tooth Pile Driver at 1665 fps ! All Loaded wth H322 Powder ! I have MILD loads to practice mostly with . RJ
 
I ve shot the 45/70 and the 45/120 both o
In Sharps rifles.The 45/120 is not a rifle you would like shooting from a bench long term.Mind you my gun had the curved buttplate ,which even though the gun weighed 11 pounds did not help matters.This was using a full load of 120 grains of BP and a 550 paper patch bullet.I did happen to take a nice deer with that gun though
I shoot 405 gr cast out of my 45-120 over AA5744 powder or 525 gr cast over the same powder. And yes even in a heavy rifle like the Sharps 20 rounds is about the most I will do, the recoil is cumulative.
I shoot 405 gr cast , 424 gr and 525 gr out of my Ruger #3 45-70 over 5744 as well. No need to push big velocity. It will shoot one hole groups at 50 yards with any of the 3 bullets . I use it (among others) for black bear over bait.
The # 3 is a very light rifle and high velocity loads are punishing. Original velocity loadings are quite capable of killing game.
I shoot the .50 Savage smokeless ML with .45 cal 300 gr Horn at about 2200 fps, recoil is very noticeable.
The .577 Snider (I use round ball over Pyrodex) is very pleasant to shoot but haven't got to take a deer with it yet.
 
YUP My 1895g Ported has Vicious recoil with 420 cast at 1995 FPS and my 540 Train Stopper loads at 1540 are very HEAVY recoil too ! I also load a 525 Bear Tooth Pile Driver at 1665 fps ! All Loaded wth H322 Powder ! I have MILD loads to practice mostly with . RJ

so even ported, the .45-70 make you flinch with a heavy bullet? what about something more moderate, in the 300 grain range? loaded hot, is it as punishing as a slower but heavier load?
 
I shoot 405 gr cast out of my 45-120 over AA5744 powder or 525 gr cast over the same powder. And yes even in a heavy rifle like the Sharps 20 rounds is about the most I will do, the recoil is cumulative.
I shoot 405 gr cast , 424 gr and 525 gr out of my Ruger #3 45-70 over 5744 as well. No need to push big velocity. It will shoot one hole groups at 50 yards with any of the 3 bullets . I use it (among others) for black bear over bait.
The # 3 is a very light rifle and high velocity loads are punishing. Original velocity loadings are quite capable of killing game.
I shoot the .50 Savage smokeless ML with .45 cal 300 gr Horn at about 2200 fps, recoil is very noticeable.
The .577 Snider (I use round ball over Pyrodex) is very pleasant to shoot but haven't got to take a deer with it yet.
that is some of the info I have been wanting to read! where did you get your load data for gunpowder in the .45-120? does your Sharps have a recoil pad or are you shooting with a buttplate?
 
Not to take away from remington jims experience, but I don't find the 45-70 recoil near as objectionable as I used to. I'm not a recoil junkie (or recoil shy) but the biggest part is getting it through your head that the recoil isn't going to kill you. Mind you, my Handi rifle has a scope and 10 cartridges saddled on it, so it might be a chubby gal compared to a Marlin. I shoot a fair amount of watered down loads as well. I also have a 458 Win mag, so after shooting that, nothing seemed quite so lively.

45-70
My deer stand/plinker load which is 14 grains Unique and a 405 cast goes 1,175-1,200 fps and feels like a 30-30.
Home version loads with the 325 Hornady bullets (about 2,150? fps) feel like the factory version.
405's going 1,500-1,600 feel like a shotgun slug or a bit less.
405's going 1,800-1,850 fps feel like a slightly angry version of a slug.
500's going ballpark 1,400 fps feel like a slower kick version of a shotgun slug.

edit to add: rifle full up is 8.6 lbs
 
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