Tell me about the 45/70.

[Calum]

I have had my eye on a few rifles in this caliber and might be relocating to central BC. So I was curious about a few things.

Anyone here hunt with this caliber?
Thoughts, experiences?
Anyone reload it with tsx?
What is the recoil like?

 

[HUNTERROD]

4570 Is a great hunting round, in my opinion, will knock over anything on this continent, variety of bullets and power levels of this cartridge, you can load modest loads fvor target, medium loads for deer size game and small bears, and load it to basically a close ballistic cousin to the 458 magnum in appropriate actions, such as rugers and marlins , i have a H&R Handi Rifle, 20" barrel, i load a variety of cartridges from 300gr loads, to 500 gr hard cast loads, i love the round, i paid 330$ shipped to my door for the gun, to me, its $ well spent, i easily get 2" groups at 100 yrds, lots of powders can be used loading for it, brass is common and not to expensive, if you need help with reloading, id be hppy to share my loading data with you, you would do yourself a favor to buy one of the handi's in 45/70

 

[brobones]

Great cartridge, light rifle and will stop anything. Go for it.

 

[ryan32]

I have shot one in a marlin 1895 with the lever evolution rounds and it didn't kick too hard or anything. Maybe about like a 12 gauge with light loads.

 

[irishlad]

Great caliber. I own a (pre-rem) 1895 Marlin Guide gun (18.5"bbl) and I love it. Scoped with moderate handloads it will shoot 1.5" groups at 100yds. Has kind of a rainbow trajectory over 200 yds, but what do you expect from a 300-500g round going 1300-2100fps. Will take down virtually any game in north america. Recoil ranges from moderate to stout depending on the firearm and the load, but no worse than a 12g shotgun in most cases.

 

[Bankster]

4570 Is a great hunting round, in my opinion, will knock over anything on this continent, variety of bullets and power levels of this cartridge, you can load modest loads fvor target, medium loads for deer size game and small bears, and load it to basically a close ballistic cousin to the 458 magnum in appropriate actions, such as rugers and marlins , i have a H&R Handi Rifle, 20" barrel, i load a variety of cartridges from 300gr loads, to 500 gr hard cast loads, i love the round, i paid 330$ shipped to my door for the gun, to me, its $ well spent, i easily get 2" groups at 100 yrds, lots of powders can be used loading for it, brass is common and not to expensive, if you need help with reloading, id be hppy to share my loading data with you, you would do yourself a favor to buy one of the handi's in 45/70

Hey Hunter rod, where did you buy it from for $330? It was used I assume? Thanks in advance!

 

[Boomer]

You don't need to load expensive bullets in a low velocity big bore rifle. They offer no advantage in accuracy or killing power and will simply limit the amount of fun you can have with your .45/70. Contact Ben Hunchak and order some of his 480 gr WFN cast bullets.

 

[Meph]

Factory load = soft, like a headbutt from a kitten.

Handloads = soft to heavy enough to press red "hickey" lines into your skin when the buttstock pushes clothing folds hard enough against you to draw blood into the skin. Not really a bruise. More of a gun hickey. It means the rifle likes you <3

The 45-70 is a very versatile cartridge. It can fire mellow loads like a 300 grain bullet sitting on a heap of trail boss. You'll get a very very soft kicking load that can still comfortably take deer within 100 yards. It can fire the same bullets much faster with a strong action and a much warmer powder load for a longer effective range and more power and effectiveness on bigger animals. Then it can fire 500 grain bullets (you can find them even heavier, like the 545 grain cast bullets) with anything from "slow push" to "why am I a foot behind where I was standing a half second before". Even with the mild loads, the really heavy bullets do not know how to stop moving.

There's no such thing as cover when you're shooting a 500 grain hardcast/solid. There's only concealment.

If you are used to stiff recoil, 45-70 is gentle to easily manageable. My handloads kick about like pulling both triggers on an 8 pound side by side 30-06.

The rifle is light, wood stock and steel buttplate, recoil energy 45ft-lbs at 20ft/s, where a single shot of 30-06 is just around 20ft-lbs at 16ft/s.



I picked up a butchered P14 for 125$ shipped, and had it rebarreled with an 18.5" and reworked to feed 45-70. Current load pushes a Speer 400gr JSP over a chronograph at 2050ft/s and hits 3.75" high at 100 yards, 3.75" low at 200. Not a bad MPBR for a 3800ft-lbs brush rifle, considering it has 100ft-lbs more power at 100 yards compared to a 308 Winchester at the muzzle! Good for any and every medium to large game within 200 yards and a bit more. Even when going really slow, these big heavy bullets will wallop a world of hurt on what they fall on.

7.5lbs for the whole rifle, really nice and handy to walk around with.

It's not that bad in terms of accuracy with the rather simple rear peep, front post and crude trigger.




tl;dr put it in the right spot on your shoulder, FIRMLY against the meaty crook and let it show its affection.

 

[saskgunowner101]

Hey Hunter rod, where did you buy it from for $330? It was used I assume? Thanks in advance!

I recall Frontier Firearms having them on sale a while back....Sometimes you just get lucky, and an old fellow notices you buying a gun cabinet in canadian tire and asks you if you need more rifles to fill it.

 

[Johnn Peterson]

You don't need to load expensive bullets in a low velocity big bore rifle. They offer no advantage in accuracy or killing power and will simply limit the amount of fun you can have with your .45/70. Contact Ben Hunchak and order some of his 480 gr WFN cast bullets.

X2. I have a pair of 45-70s, a Pedersoli Sharps I use for lighter cast bullet loads

and a Marlin 1895GS for hunting and the more potent loads.

For both light and heavy cast bullet loads I have a selection of cast bullets I get from a friend locally to choose from and performance is good.

For hotter jacketed bullet loads, primarily for use in the Marlin, there are basically three I use. The Hornady 350gr FP, Speer 400gr FN and the 405gr Remington.

 

[Calum]

Awesome replies folks, very much appreciated.
I had no idea how versatile this cartridge is, wow!

 

[Wrong Way]

God I hate that moose.

Beautiful guns, but no one sees them as all anyone sees is that dumb trivet.

Sigh.....

 

[Johnn Peterson]

God I hate that moose.

Beautiful guns, but no one sees them as all anyone sees is that dumb trivet.

Sigh.....

Ya but you're from Ontario. Sigh..... If if the Moose trivet really bothers you that much, let me help you out with a solution, Sigh....... don't look.

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

Trajectory sucks, so many better cartridges for hunting in the interior.
Majority of my mulies taken around here are @150-200 yards.
45-70 is a fun niche cartridge and has good stopping power. Two outta three ain't bad.
I had to have one a while back after hearing all the praise on CGN.
I sold my Guide and all the components and don't miss them one bit.
Components are expensive, Reloading on a progressive is slow, I moved to the Marlin 1894 in .357 and .44mag and never looked back. Cheap to shoot, Fast to load on a progressive.
You'll see lots of .45-70's on the EE, lots of folks love 'em, but lots get out of them.

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

Ya but you're from Ontario. Sigh..... If if the Moose trivet really bothers you that much, let me help you out with a solution, Sigh....... don't look.

Here's the one I'm thinking of adopting.

 

[Wrong Way]

Ya but you're from Ontario. Sigh..... If if the Moose trivet really bothers you that much, let me help you out with a solution, Sigh....... don't look.

Yup. Ontario.....if I want to see a moose I can take the quad 15 minutes up the road

The moose pot holder is still stupid though....does your wife know you are borrowing her kitchen stuff for "bling"

 

[Johnn Peterson]

Yup. Ontario.....if I want to see a moose I can take the quad 15 minutes up the road

The moose pot holder is still stupid though....does your wife know you are borrowing her kitchen stuff for "bling"

Again, it's a trivet, not a pot holder that sits on the coffee table in my den for use with hot meals while say watching a hockey game on the tube. And yes, my wife does know it's being used, why and where as it was a gift from her. Speaking of family though, does your Mum know you're on the internet pretending you're all grown up?

Where the Moose originated in some of my photos was it is the first big game I ever hunted when I started hunting in the B.C. interior. It's still my favorite big game animal to hunt and on the dinner table. As such, I've added that particular Moose example to some of the pics of my rifles & shotguns, just cuz.

In some of the pictures of my handguns, I've used a coaster, with a Moose on it, for the same reasons listed, Just cuz.

Once again, with concerns to your distress at being 'forced' to look at the Moose, I again offer you a simple and easy to understand solution as a cure. Don't look!!

 

[NAA]

Okay boys.... you've all had your fun here....

Let's get it back on topic....

Here's my vintage Winchester 1886 SRC [saddle ring carbine] in .45-70. I have light lead loads to shoot in it.

I also have a modern Marlin 1895 in .45-70 for the heavy stuff.

Personally, I like the cartridge.


----------
NAA.

 

[Calum]

For the record I like the moose artwork and think it's a nice touch on display with the rifles.

Anyway... As for reloading with a press, I reload only using one of those lee hand loaders, I'm in no hurry when I reload anyway.

BTW I'm loving the pictures and info.

 

[rthook]

Again, it's a trivet, not a pot holder that sits on the coffee table in my den for use with hot meals while say watching a hockey game on the tube. And yes, my wife does know it's being used, why and where as it was a gift from her. Speaking of family though, does your Mum know you're on the internet pretending you're all grown up?

Where the Moose originated in some of my photos was it is the first big game I ever hunted when I started hunting in the B.C. interior. It's still my favorite big game animal to hunt and on the dinner table. As such, I've added that particular Moose example to some of the pics of my rifles & shotguns, just cuz.

In some of the pictures of my handguns, I've used a coaster, with a Moose on it, for the same reasons listed, Just cuz.

Once again, with concerns to your distress at being 'forced' to look at the Moose, I again offer you a simple and easy to understand solution as a cure. Don't look!!

I like it