My first 45-70?

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CanadianBaconPancakes

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What do you guys think? Marlin 45-70 guide gun or if there something else I should be considering? I would like something I can load heavy rounds into without problems. This will be my only 45-70.

Would prefer not to spend more then 900-1000$
 
Hard to argue with a big lever. Personally I wanted a 1885 for it's trim lines. I had a 1895 CB for a while but I wasn't that enamoured with it so I sold it on here for a massive profit. Maybe a Guide Gun would feel better in my hands. Or a standard 1895. Or an 1886, but the '86 is a little spendy. If you want to maximize your horsepower you need a Ruger #1 or 1885 (Browning, not original Winchester). That said the Marlins will handle pretty stout loads as well but not top of the heap stuff.

Either way, you'll like it. If you don't reload, start. It's pretty much a must for any cartridge like the 45-70 (7x57 and 6.5x55 also come to mind) designed for old weak actions that can't handle modern heavy loads.
 
My first and only 45-70 is a Marlin Guide gun.

Haven't ever regretted my choice, it's my Boom Stick!

Seriously, you can load quite hot in the Marlin.

Not as hot as a Ruger No. 1 but to be honest they are plenty hot enough for any animal on this continent.
 
Anything else? Go the Classic route with a 22" barrel. The GG is cute but will blast your ear drums with psi up around 40,000! I've owned 4 Marlins in .45-70. One was the GG and I hated the thing. BTW, .45-70 is my favorite cartridge. The 444 can't compete, nor the 450 which is a wannabe, created by Hornady and Marlin to justify 43,000 psi in factory guise. It's a huge flop because those with experience in .45-70 were already doing that in their Marlins.

My favorite rifle is a Ruger No.1 in .45-70 with a long throat. In ballistics, it's a .458 WM in disguise!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
The 450 marlin is a victim of bad marketing, it can feed in a bolt action much better than a 45/70 ever will.

Apparently the H&R rifles can handle heavy loads but the Ruger or another heavier rifle might be more comfortable.
 
woodlotowner said:
...or a 444 Marlin, or a 450 Marlin. All good and all similar enough in ballistics.
Click to expand...

I can see no advantage whatsoever, in a 450 Marlin over a 45-70. They are basically the same rifle that shoots the same size bullets. The Marlin 45-70 can simply be loaded to 450 Marlin pressures and you have a 450 Marlin.
This may be a contentious statement, but I understand that if you twist Marlin's arm, they will admit that it is true.
The Marlin 45-70 is the only rifle I ever reloaded for where I didn't look for pressure signs to see how heavy to load it, but instead just went by how much recoil I was willing to put up with!
 
I had a Marlin 1895GS.



Nice rifle but I found the straight stock :redface:design can be a little hard on the fingers when using the top end power handloads the Marlin is capeable of digesting. Ended up giving to my Son in the B.C. central interior and he loves it.
I much prefer the pistol grip butt stock design of my 444S.



With that in mind, I've fairly recently replaced my 1895GS with a Marlin GBL.



Along with it, to;) keep it company, I picked up a Magnum Research BFR, also in 45-70.





What can I say. I'm weak and 'needed' it:p.
 
H-4831,

Well...yes. I agree for sure. Some sources will point out that the 45-70 can have a slight ballistic advantage over the 450 Marlin with the right load. I was just trying to provide some alternatives to the OP. I own them all. The best part is the ease of reloading a straight walled case. :)
 
I just picked up this little fella and i'm still trying to figure out if I should keep it image.jpg sorry for the upside down pic its off my cell. I really like the idea of a 45-70 in the safe just gotta make up my mind if its practical!
 

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I have four 45-70's now and recommend them all as starter 45-70's due to their accuracy and thumping power I would not hesitate to hunt game at 200 yards with any of them I do not practice shooting further or I'd shoot further with them.

Marlin 1895GS (JM) awesome gun will never part with it good for everything you can do with a 45-70
stainless 14" barreled T/C Contender carbine single shot takes lower pressure rounds awesome for still hunting in thick coastal rain forests for blacktail deer it also fits across the handlebars of my motorcycle.
stainless 22" barreled T/C Contender carbine single shot good all round lower pressure 45-70
stainless 24" barreled soon to be shortened to 18.6" T/C Encore single shot bought this a week or so ago so I could shoot my higher pressure Marlin 1895 loads in a single shot
 
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