Best hunting lever action calibre

[Bigcrigger]

I always say if In these threads.

Buy once cry once..

Get a Bighorn Armoury in 460 or 500S&W mag and call it a day.

Nicest gun I own by far now that I’ve figured out how to properly hand load for it

I was considering picking one of these up awhile back, heard some stories about the build quality on some of the rifles and that’s when the search stopped, I ain’t dropping that much on a rifle that isn’t guaranteed to perfectly function every single time I want or need it to. That being said they’re very neat, id just hate to get a lemon.

 

[Cteve]

Great photo.
Im in with the 30-30 gang.
Way flatter shooting then the 45-70 and at a fraction of the cost for ammo and recoil.
Honestly if you do your part the game isn't going to be able to tell what they were shot with.
-Just like millions before me the 30-30 is my pick.

 

[barbarossa]

The 45/70 cartridge must be doing something right to still be around quite the achievement for a round developed in the early 1870s.There are a lot of wiz bang new calibers that haven’t lasted not even a third of that time.

 

[RyoTHC]

I was considering picking one of these up awhile back, heard some stories about the build quality on some of the rifles and that’s when the search stopped, I ain’t dropping that much on a rifle that isn’t guaranteed to perfectly function every single time I want or need it to. That being said they’re very neat, id just hate to get a lemon.

The one I have is built amazingly , as well as the other 3 I’ve handled that people I hunt with use.. 3 of them are 500s and 1 is a 460.

The only problem we had and it was really our fault but I’ll admit it was frustrating, was not realizing that none of the factory ammo had a strong enough crimp to be put into tube mags as it was meant for revolvers… as soon as we started tightening the crimp on our ammo the guns all performed absolutely flawlessly and their accuracy tightened up a bunch.

Also the price on them is pretty reasonable now considering factory marlins and Henry’s are stretching towards 3k all in… which is a joke.. I paid 3700 all in to my door for my BHA, that’s a tiny premium over what tonnes of people are paying for mass produced factory guns.

The results of hunting with this gun? I’ll never use another one for tight bush and places I do not want to track. You could probably shoot an animal in the guts with this gun and still fold it up on the spot the kinetic energy is insane.

I watched a buddy shoot a mid size mule buck with his, he missed all the vitals somehow(lol) and the animal was still dead where it stood. Pulled the heart lung kidney spleen etc out entirely intact with no blood in the cavity.


I’ll admit I blew through a lot of money in ammo trying different ones before I realized that the spring in the tube mag was pushing the rounds back into the cases thus making every round have different pressure and POI. Since I’ve worked with BHA and figured out the issue I have been smitten.

The biggest surprise is how little recoil the 500 S&W has shooting 500grain pills. Follow up shots are an absolute joy.

 

[Suther]

The 45/70 cartridge must be doing something right to still be around quite the achievement for a round developed in the early 1870s.There are a lot of wiz bang new calibers that haven’t lasted not even a third of that time.

I wonder what factors seem to keep it on top. It's old, yes, but it's also evolved with smokeless powder, higher velocity, and stronger rifles. My understanding is it was very much on deaths door a few decades back but has seen a real resurgence as of late?


As for why it's popular again, my guess is it's a big bore rifle without the big bore price tag, or real big bore recoil. Guys can get their 45cal fix without dropping the money on, or dealing with the recoil of a 458win mag or other similar big gun one might take to Africa.

Plus if you want a lever action with more power than a 30-30 then you don't have a lot of options. Yeah, Savage 99s and Browning BLRs exist but those don't scratch the lever gun itch for many people like a win94 or a Marlin does.

 

[eco]

30-30. It sits right in the middle. Historically took out more game than most other calibers. Good for big and small for a lot less money and a lot less kick than the larger 45/70 etc.

 

[barbarossa]

I believe the 45/70 keeps going as a deer rifle simply because it works .I started hunting with a 45/70 when the most common factory load was for the old trapdoor rifles and killed plenty of deer with it.Of course it s not really a long range deer cartridge but with in its limits it gets the job done.My grandfather use to call it and all around game getter.Basically though as far as caliber goes it s what ever floats your boat

I also took this deer with a Uberti 1876 carbine in 45/60 with a black powder load