Straight Grip 1895G ported ! And they do KICK hard . RJ
Hunting with a 45-70
- Thread starter elKrusto
- Start date
That's a proper bear stopper.
Yes John they did the job well - shot a 5.5 ft bear in the chest standing head on all 4 paws and it came out the rear ham not far from his A Hole . RJ
By the way he was DRT .
Last edited:
Where did you acquire these lil bricks? I use Oregon trail silver cast 405gr flat nose which I like but haven't taken any big game with them yet
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Not going to re read the entire thread, sue me if it's been mentioned.
The 45-70 is not a great long range round. That big slug drops like a stone. Long shots often allow more time than "bush" distance jumping animals from their beds. You would absolutely need to range a 45-70 shot beyond say 150 yds. If your out by as little as 25 yds, it could mean the difference between a ethical shot and slow death for the animal.
So hunting with a 45-70, sure, if say 80% of your shots are going to be 125yds or closer. That distance, and you have the discipline and ethics to pass a shot further. Maximum point blank range may be close to double that of the 45-70, for most every other rimless common caliber.
The 45-70 is not a great long range round. That big slug drops like a stone. Long shots often allow more time than "bush" distance jumping animals from their beds. You would absolutely need to range a 45-70 shot beyond say 150 yds. If your out by as little as 25 yds, it could mean the difference between a ethical shot and slow death for the animal.
So hunting with a 45-70, sure, if say 80% of your shots are going to be 125yds or closer. That distance, and you have the discipline and ethics to pass a shot further. Maximum point blank range may be close to double that of the 45-70, for most every other rimless common caliber.
I shoot the 45/70 out to 650 yards on my steel buffalo target. Its pretty educational; after cranking up a rear sight that can serve as a step ladder in the off season, and waiting roughly the length of time it takes to eat a sandwich you might be rewarded with a pathetic little “tink” sound. Stretch it out farther and there is enough time to meet someone and start a family, if you’re young enough and so inclined. It’s endless entertainment for people who want to do things the hard way. On the other hand if you just want watch #### fall out of the sky goose hunting has a lot going for it.
Shorten things to powder burn ranges and it changes a lot. It’s at least as good as a 45. caliber muzzle loader. That’s faint praise, but its not useless.
Shorten things to powder burn ranges and it changes a lot. It’s at least as good as a 45. caliber muzzle loader. That’s faint praise, but its not useless.
I'm taking my Henry 45-70 black bear hunting this spring (Ontario). Already sighted it in at 100 yards with Hornady 300gr using Alliant Reloader 7 powder (Speer manual claims 2000 ft/s muzzle). Hunting over bait so I suspect any shots will be 50 yards or less.
Will work fine . IM Just not a cup and core bullet Guy - I like Bonded - Monos or Hard cast myself but those IL s will Kill . RJ
I was sort of expecting that. My concern is that 50 yards in willows or thick timber can be very exciting!
My one adventure with a big grizzly that was running, and a hunter who very foolishly took shot at, was more than enough. As you know, they find the thickest stuff there is to run to.
I am not afraid of bears, but do have great respect for them. I had a black bear fall literally at my feet one time, but that is another story.
Ted
Have you ever tried recovering a fired bullet? I loaded some 300gr HP at 2700fps but haven't had a chance to see at what velocity they become varmint bullets at
I loaded them in a 458wm not a 4570
Never had the chance. All of my 45-70 shooting has been at a 100 yard range. I shoot 300 gr Campros for practice, and loaded up 50 Hornadys for hunting (yes, I rezeroed the scope for the different bullets).
I have recovered hard casts at both 1080fps and 1680fps from both water jugs and dirt.
My 1680 load at 100 yds penetrated my clay berm 13" and went through 9 milk jugs filled with water. The 10th jug caught the slug. Oddly the last elk I killed my coup de gras in the back of the head from about 6 ft stayed in the brain pan and shed over half its weight. It completely demolished the sinuses eye socket etc and you could see its ricochet pattern in the skulland it rolled and bounced around inside the brain pan.. both the heart shot and neck shot from 30 yds exited.
I have recovered 350gr rn and fp hornady bullets on offside hides on elk beforebut always quartering shots. The 350s do much more tissue damage than the HCs often hearing huge holes in the hid on the impact side... one tore a 8" long hole on the entrance side of a smallish Black bear and one shot on a cow elk popped her entire lung out the entrance hole..
My 1680 load at 100 yds penetrated my clay berm 13" and went through 9 milk jugs filled with water. The 10th jug caught the slug. Oddly the last elk I killed my coup de gras in the back of the head from about 6 ft stayed in the brain pan and shed over half its weight. It completely demolished the sinuses eye socket etc and you could see its ricochet pattern in the skulland it rolled and bounced around inside the brain pan.. both the heart shot and neck shot from 30 yds exited.
I have recovered 350gr rn and fp hornady bullets on offside hides on elk beforebut always quartering shots. The 350s do much more tissue damage than the HCs often hearing huge holes in the hid on the impact side... one tore a 8" long hole on the entrance side of a smallish Black bear and one shot on a cow elk popped her entire lung out the entrance hole..
Not my experience, I have shot more than a dozen bears, with 350 RN/FN bullets from Hornady and Speer, and clients have shot many more, as I keep recommending them whenever a .45 cal rifle is in question. Invariably, on lung hits, bears will run 20 - 50 yards and drop, bullet sized hole in, very slightly larger going out and virtually no meat/tissue damage... makes for a nice clean rug.
These are my go to bullets for my 45-70s. I load Barnes, and Hornady as well. Mostly though I fire the Hard cast. I cast them, powdercoat them size lube and gas check, and load them.
One is 300 grain, and the other is 405 grain. I've only ever shot deer, and only with the 300 grain. Furthest shot was 135 yards broadside with complete pass through. They have never gone more than 30 yards.
Attachments
Last edited:
I load 405gr Remington fpsn at 1600fps and the performance is great on bears. Great expansion but they've been hard to find the last few years so I'm thinking about playing with other bullets in my double rifle so I can shoot it more and still keep a solid stash of loaded ammo
Yah its interesting I have shot 6 elk and 1 bear with the 350 hornady at about 2200fps. All inside 100 yds and all of them tore hide on the near side and did decent meat damage on the bull I shot high shoulder. Bullets penetrated well often stopping under the hide on the offside... it also killed them quite quick and hit like a train. The hard casts give less meat damage and also hit really hard often knocking elk off their footing. I wouldnt hesitate using the 350s again but the HCs are MUCH cheaper and give less meat damage..
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
I'm curious which powder allows that kind of velocity at safe working pressures in a Marlin?
If you shoot them in the shoulder you will get more damage... I have never recovered a 350 bullet fired from a .45/70, .450 Marlin or a reduced .458 WM, broadside lungs were all pass through with very little bloodshot meat or jelly in the tissue... nothing went far. I also don't know how you are getting large "tears" on the near side? Tumbling bullets... hard quartering angles?
