Recoil of a 45/70?

My 1885 kicks as hard or harder than my #1H in 458. It's loaded pretty stout with 418 gr cast bullets and it's a fairly light rifle. Factory ammo is real pussycat stuff but the handloads can run from the sublime to the ridiculous.
 
BigUglyMan said:
My 1885 kicks as hard or harder than my #1H in 458. It's loaded pretty stout with 418 gr cast bullets and it's a fairly light rifle. Factory ammo is real pussycat stuff but the handloads can run from the sublime to the ridiculous.
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Have you used much in the way of jacketed bullets in reloads, and if so, what has worked best for you?
 
crazy_davey said:
.... I put the pistol grip stock onto a 18" GG and it was much nicer to shoot. Then I gave it to my old man for Fathers Day, he likes it much better now than how it was set up before. Probably because he owns it now ;)
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Hey crazy_davey! It's funny how CGN'ers get around. A good friend of mine at work just received that GG for Father's Day! ;) Small world! The funny thing is that I've seen some of your other posts that made me think you might be Ed's son!

-Brad
 
Johnn Peterson said:
Have you used much in the way of jacketed bullets in reloads, and if so, what has worked best for you?
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Never tried any jacketed bullets other than factory ammo in it. My concern is that they (Speer Hot-Cor etc) might not be tough enough to handle the higher velocities. Now if you went with a Swift, Nosler or Hornady IB they'd be fine, but keep in mind that pointy bullets make your rifle into a 2 shot - One in the chamber and one in the mag.
 
I have used Hornady 300gr JHP's with 56 grs H322 for a lighter load that is also safe to shoot in my T/C Contender Carbine.

I have also used Speer 400gr & Rem 405gr Jacketed with 55grs H322. These are top loads for the Marlin lever actions.

All of the bullets hold together and are very accurate.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Never tried any jacketed bullets other than factory ammo in it. My concern is that they (Speer Hot-Cor etc) might not be tough enough to handle the higher velocities. Now if you went with a Swift, Nosler or Hornady IB they'd be fine, but keep in mind that pointy bullets make your rifle into a 2 shot - One in the chamber and one in the mag.
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Accuracy wise, the 400gr Speer's have worked out really well for me. Second to those the 350gr Hornady are promising. I haven't 'tried' any of the 405gr Remington's as I've had trouble getting some but a CGN member has sent me some to try. I've loaded some up and will test the three above mentioned bullets on my next outing. The Remington's 405's are supposedly a little more 'durable' than the 400gr Speer's and if the accuracy is compareable, that's the route I'll go.
 
crazy_davey said:
I agree. I have owned and shot both models as well, probably thousands of heavy rounds.

I put the pistol grip stock onto a 18" GG and it was much nicer to shoot. Then I gave it to my old man for Fathers Day, he likes it much better now than how it was set up before. Probably because he owns it now ;)
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This is my 45-70 after changing actions, stocks with the GG. Also got a new hard rubber puck from a fellow GN and fitted it properly. IMO this is how it should look anyways.

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With the straight stock recoil is much more noticeable, but manageable. Put about 40 full house loads through it the other day shooting gophers, the pistol grip stock does make a difference IMO, but I like how it looks now so I will deal with it :D
 
Playing with a "Recoil Calculator" program ...

A 30-06 scoped rifle weighing 8.5 lbs with "factory" 180 gr.'s @ 2700 fps
recoils with 19 ft/lbs. energy.

A 45-70 XLR at 7.5 lbs ( no scope) with "factory" 300 gr.s @ 1810
recoils with 21 ft/lbs energy ... the "factory" 405's
@ 1330 fps, actually recoil a little less ... about 15 ft/lbs.

A good 350 gr. lever action load for the Marlin @ 2135 fps
recoils with 39 ft/lbs

A stiff 350 gr. load for an 8.5 lb. scoped Ruger No. 1 @ 2300 fps
also recoils with 39 ft. lbs. ( same as the Marlin, but in a gun that
is 1 lb. heavier ! )

For comparison, an 8.5 lb 338 Win Mag with 200 gr.s @ 2965 fps
turns up 44 ft/lbs of recoil ... and an 8 lb. 12 gauge with 1-1/4 oz.
of shot @ 1330 turns up 25 ft/lbs recoil.

An 8.5 lb. 458 Win Mag with 350 gr. loads @ 2500 fps generates
52 ft/lbs of recoil.
 
60 gr. of H335 ( 2013 fps) or 60(C)gr. of IMR 3031 (2135 fps)
Both are considered as "max" for the Marlin levers, and both are
below 39,000 c.u.p. ( Hodgdon data )

I use the H335 load in a Ruger No. 1 and like it a lot :D

Pressure corrected top 39,000 c.u.p. Same bullets Hornady
350 gr. RN.

Oh, and Fed. GM210Match Primers too ... cause that's
what I have ! :)
 
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A quick note from an inexperienced big bore fellow. I really like the idea of a 45-70 in the 1895 GS version. Primarily for security, backwoodscamping etc. in my trailer. Do any of you use this for moose too?

I have a 300 win on order, but it may not make it for Fall season. I do have a .270 win as well. Which would you use- the .270 scoped, or open sights on the 45-70?:shotgun:
 
I'm a late comer to this thread, but my one experience with a guide gun was memorable. Hot stoked 405gr gas checked casts were intense to say the least, and I'm not a recoil sensitive person. I fired 10 rounds, and decided that would do it for the day, it kicked as hard as my 7 pound .375 RUM M700 LSS pushing 300gr Swift A-frames at 2,800fps (read BRUTAL).
 
My 45-70 model 1895 kicks about the same as my 30.06, using factory Remington 405 grain rounds. I don't have a recoil pad, and put 20 rounds through it yesterday, (and 40 more through a .260 Rem) no ill effects.
This cartridge is very versatile, there are over 100 loads at reloadersnest.com alone, and recoil on some of them can be just silly (38 LBS!?!?)
 
A fellow I know purchased a 45-70 and we flipped to see who shot it first as we were expecting it to knock our socks off. To our surprise it didn't kick as hard as we were expecting.
 
Wish me luck. I'm touching one off tonight for the first time.

I want to shoot some photos of it with its baby brother Marlin 39A. Man, the bore is big on that rifle when you put it next to a .22!
 
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