Why 45/70 ?????

I love the 45/70 it is a very accurate cartridge. Even on the second or third bounce. :)
 
That's funny reminds me of a shot I made on a rabbit a couple of years ago with my T/C Contender carbine in 45-70.

Can't remember the load right now but the rabbit was about 125 - 150 yards away the bullet hit the ground in front of it bounced once hitting the rabbit dead center in the head killing it instantly.

I look over at my brother and asked that hit the ground first didn't it?

He just grinned back.
 
Brad925 said:
If i have to explain it to you why i shoot a 45-70 you just ain't gonna get it!!
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Read my posts.

I got it while most of you were were farting in diapers.

It's great up close, but its a huge handicap at 200 yards and beyond.

I'd rather hunt with a 308.....And I hate the 308!:D
 
Hmm, BC needs to take another look at those sabot slugs out there, balistically a (hot) 45/70 with similar accuracy.


They also need a "it's comin straght for us" catagory in which you can try crazy #### like stopping a grizz with a 22, or 32ACP.
 
X-fan said:
Read my posts.

I got it while most of you were were farting in diapers.

It's great up close, but its a huge handicap at 200 yards and beyond.

I'd rather hunt with a 308.....And I hate the 308!:D
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I see...
In other words, you're just trolling. No sense feeding you any more then.
 
Almost everything I shoot is shouldered rounds and small boolits. Then I got an old 38-55. Now I begin to see after shooting it at the range. There is somthing ###y about a long straight case with a big chunk of lead in the end of it. Even the factory loads for this round perform well and at 1300fps a 250gr hunk of lead is still an owie. At 1700fps it should be quite adequate and is very accurate for open sights. Yeah, I get it and the 375 Winchester is starting to call my name now too. Oh Oh. Besides all that there is something about shooting a 110 year old gun in an even older round. THAT is BIG FUN.
 
Edward Teach said:
I see...
In other words, you're just trolling. No sense feeding you any more then.
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Not at all.

Most of the guys here use it for what it does best....Hard not to respect that.
It is a neat round housed in a great bunch of rifles.
While I "get it" I don't recommend it over something versatile like the 30-06 or 338Winchester.

Some of the guys that use it don't understand it for what it is and (just as important) for what it isn't.

The 45/70 is a simple round, but the bullets that go in it and the range it is used at require thoughtful consideration.
It is not a good setup for the one box a year hunter.
 
I can see the appeal of the 45/70 for the guys that shoot long range single shots (Like Catinthehat) I've never done that, but it looks like a fun sport.

And I can see how the Guide Guns would be good "stopping" rifles for the tiny few that actually do that sort of thing..

And I can see how using a lever gun makes you feel like a cowboy:D

But really, most 45/70 hunters are using Marlin lever guns at close range, not using single shots at long range on buffalo...

And in virtually all north american HUNTING situations, a 30-06 with Nosler Partitions or TSX bullets would put the game down just as fast, and at far longer distance, too...

If the 45/70 Marlin lever gun calls to you, then go for it..It's as good a reason as any. Just use it in it's limitations, like any other rifle/cartridge combo.
 
The 45/70 is a simple round, but the bullets that go in it and the range it is used at require thoughtful consideration.
It is not a good setup for the one box a year hunter.
Click to expand...

And in virtually all north american HUNTING situations, a 30-06 with Nosler Partitions or TSX bullets would put the game down just as fast, and at far longer distance, too...

If the 45/70 Marlin lever gun calls to you, then go for it..It's as good a reason as any. Just use it in it's limitations, like any other rifle/cartridge combo.
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These two statements are very true of the gov't. It is not the end all do all cartridge that some make it out to be. It won't guarantee that if you shoot at something it will die, just like buying a 300WSM or 375H&H won't guarantee more meat or trophies.

But for people who enjoy the history of the cartridge, the guns it's chambered in, and who prefer the hunt rather than the kill it is a great round. It has endless loading possibilities and intended targets. I have used it almost exclusively for the last six years and have never been disapointed in it. But I am not overly concerned with killing trophies and am not desperate to kill game I enjoy getting close, tracking and getting into the spots where game lives, and I don't push the envelope with the cartridge. This isn't to say you couldn't use any other cartridge/rifle combo, but for me I enjoy a lever gun with big bullets. To me the Gov't is more like the 375H&H of traditional tube fed lever gun rounds, too much for some game, out of place on others but when used properly it works very well.

Just my 2c's
 
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I used to use 405gr hard cast bullets in my guide gun, gas checked over 50gr of Varget... but I switched to the 325gr Leverevolution components since they were recently released to the Canadian market.

If I remember correctly, we're using rl-7 but I just can't remember right now.

Anyhow, I have peep sights and custom loads that allow for holding on at 100 and 200 yards on deer size game. I live in Saskatchewan and we get the opportunity for some pretty long shots out in the fields, but the longest shot I have ever taken was just a smidge over 100 yards. This rifle meets all of my needs for hunting in Saskatchewan and in a nice, tidy, handsome little package. It'll do anything I want when it comes to big game.

With that said, I still like to take out the .243 for deer. It's usually, open the cabinet and pick the flavour of the week. However, the 45/70 usually comes as a back up just in case something happens with the main rifle... you never know.
 
Pblatzz said:
For starters.

Bullet availability, cast or not.
Load diversity, so many to choose from.
The thump factor, No problem for shots with in 200 yards.
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The man speaks truth. Cast bullets make it economical, and besides that a very high percentage of shots taken on game (even with modern cartrideges with flatter trajectories.) are well within the 200 yd mark.
And anything that slings a 400+ gr. bullet is a serious show stopper.
Some call it the poor man's express rifle.
 
Although I haven't hunted with it, I have a 1886 Winchester Lever in .45-70 that carries stories of many dead buffalo, evidenced by the worn out barrel. Even though the rifling is almost none existent in the barrel I can still hit a 12" gong at ~100m. My rifle is 131 years old and is still a shooter, but I am seriously thinking about rebarreling it.

I put some hornady lever action through it and it really woke up compared to winchester factory loads. One thing about a .45/70, you sure know when it goes off and it does mean things to the gong compared to the other rounds I was shooting at it. When you compare a gong hit .308 to .45/70 the .308 seems closer to .22LR than a real rifle cartridge.
 
X-fan said:
Not at all.

Most of the guys here use it for what it does best....Hard not to respect that.
It is a neat round housed in a great bunch of rifles.
While I "get it" I don't recommend it over something versatile like the 30-06 or 338Winchester.

Some of the guys that use it don't understand it for what it is and (just as important) for what it isn't.

The 45/70 is a simple round, but the bullets that go in it and the range it is used at require thoughtful consideration.
It is not a good setup for the one box a year hunter.
Click to expand...

None of us who use it would say that it is.
A Marlin Guide Gun is a short-range, quick handling brush gun that packs a wallop. The lever means follow-up shots can come much faster than with a bolt. For range, 200 yds is pushing it. That being said, most shots are taken inside 150 (and probably inside 100 if truth were told), so range isn't as big a factor that you might think. Also I live on the BC coast, which has DENSE bush...
That being said, in order to get the 45/70 to perform adequately, you need to take the time to develop handloads for it, and if you don't have the inclination to do so then yeah a 30-06 would be a better choice. Factory 45/70 ammo is anemic at best.
 
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