tell me about the 45-70

[T77911S]

i was out at the sports store here in OKC, nothing else to do. so i was just looking at what ammo was on the shelf and i happened to pull out a 45-70.
holy cow what a large bullit with a lot of powerder behind it. i have been looking at 30-30's, marlin's, and i had seen that they come in a 45-70. what a cool looking cartridge. i have no purpose for the gun other than i like the western look of the lever action guns.

i am still looking for an M1 carbine although not as hard since i am buying an XDS-45. not planned this way, i wanted the M1 first.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

.45-70 is a fun caliber. And it has some legs--been going strong since 1873. The trajectory takes a bit of getting used to.

[id10t]

The thing about 45-70 is that its performance depends on what gun you are firing it in. Factory loads that you'll find at Walmart, etc. are kept low pressure to be shot in trapdoor carbines, etc. from pre-1900. BUT... there are modern guns that will handle a lot more pressure like the Ruger #1, Siamese Mauser conversions, TC Encore, etc. These can really crank the velocity (and pressure) and change performance drastically.

[Jeff Higgins]

Unless you are a hunter, and one who handloads to boot, it really has nothing to offer other than expensive ammo. Oh, and it helps if you are a bullet caster as well. If you can check all three of those boxes, you simply will not find a better round for hunting most game under most conditions. With properly assembled handloads, it's an honest 200 yard hunting cartridge that will hit noticably harder out to that range than most modern bottlenecked magnum rounds. You do pay the price in recoil, and factory ammo will not even begin to approach the performance attainable with handloads, so it does take a fair amount of commitment to really see all this round has to offer.

[scottmandue]

Is it true you can fire a 45-70 safely in a .454 handgun?

[crustychief]

I'm only good four four shots with my dads old gun. Bullet hits like a freight train. I can't remember but I think the bullets are up to 800 grain?

[id10t]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Is it true you can fire a 45-70 safely in a .454 handgun?

Nope, 45-70 is *much* longer.

45 LC in a 454 no problem.

[krystar]

grabbed off a spoon forum.

Bear Loads (left to right): .45-70 hard cast, .45-70 JSP, .50 Beowulf HP Brass Solid, .50 Beowulf Brass Solid Spitzer, .50 Beowulf Solid Copper HP (anti-personnel or varmint load), .454 Casull Hard Cast, .45 Colt Hard Cast.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Won't fit in a .454 by a long shot, but there IS a revolver made for it: the Magnum Research BFR.

[ODDJOB UNO]

here in az i cant think of a better caliber for thick brush cedar juniper throw yer scope away. yeah its a rainbow trajectory with the classic 45 cal bullet 70 grains powder 405 weight bullet, but then about a zillion indians and buffalo were decimated with the damn thing, so i really doubt the HATERS!

its a hell of a nice, nasty any bear rifle, knocks elk on their azz'z(ask us how we know), and generally if not set in shoulder correctly will give you one HELL of a WHAT FER that YOU will NEVAR FERGIT!

your 1st day of ownership sighting in on the bench WILL make YOU a BELIEVER!

we have built (2) marlin 1895's. both stainless. one long barrel and one short barrel. and when i say built.............i mean BUILT! butter smooth triggers. all the goodies known to man.


dont get one with a muzzle brake. wayyyyy tooo loud.



look for a REAL MARLIN..................not a POS REM-LIN!


500 gr boolits are a HOOT blowing stuff up!

[aigel]

It is fun and historic and a decent load for a lever gun for close-in work. That said, I'd take the 30-30 over it any day, it has less recoil and plenty of punch for any size critter here in CA.

G

[ODDJOB UNO]

Originally Posted by aigel

It is fun and historic and a decent load for a lever gun for close-in work. That said, I'd take the 30-30 over it any day, it has less recoil and plenty of punch for any size critter here in CA.

G

trust me.............................its clear the range bench FUN when i light off the 16" barrel 1895GS!


and ya better grab ON GUT UND TIGHT!


skinner sights are a hell of a nice upgrade to the 1895's. really like mine. liked them so much i slapped them on my 1894SS 44 and my 1894CS .357 levers.



after 200yds..................i'll use a multitude of other calibers to do the job. but for a no B.S. GRIZZLY STOPPER or GREAT WHITE SHARK/TERADACTYL STOPPER............i cant think of anything better thats as smooth to the shoulder and cheek, lightweight, and sends a FREIGHT TRAIN FULL OF BAD JU JU POO POO DOWNRANGE!




look for "JM" proofmark where barrel meets receiver. that means it was made before factory closed and remington bought them out.



wanna read a tragedy??? read all about "REM- LINS" on marlin forums.



just saw a real marlin 1894SS 44 mag go for $1700 BUCKS NIB! i paid $600 for both of my 1894's knowing full well that the factory was closing a couple years ago.


another american icon goes down the pooper due to corporate greed. and in the end................MARLIN BEAT WINCHESTER as the last american lever action icon mfg. before the japanese bought winchester.

[Joeaksa]

Agree with Chuck above... one shot and it clears the range... "what in the hell was that" is the most often question I used to hear when shooting a Ruger #1 in 45.70...

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by crustychief

I'm only good four four shots with my dads old gun. Bullet hits like a freight train. I can't remember but I think the bullets are up to 800 grain?

550 grains is the heaviest I shoot regularly, and even that is a bit on the heavy side. Standard Springfield loads were 400 and 500 grains, with 50 and then 70 grains of black powder for 1,000-1,300 fps from the carbine and rifle.

Here are my current .45-70 loads:



Left to right, they are:

410 grain RCBS loaded over 50 grains of H322 for about 1,930 fps from my '95 Marlin. Safe only in this rifle or a Ruger #1.

400 grain Lyman #457193 loaded over 53 grains of FFg and 7.0 grains of Reloder 7 for a "duplex" load. Good for about 1,300 fps from my original 1874 vintage Ballard Pacific.

500 grain RCBS loaded over 60 grains of FFg for about 1,120 fps from my c. Sharps Arms Model 1875.

540 grain Paul Jones Creedmoor loaded over 60 grains of FFg for right at 1,100 fps.

The last two are for single shots only; OAL is too long to cycle through the '95 Marlin, and the pointed nose and round nose render them unsafe for an '86 Winchester.

These are typical .45-70 handloads. The first elevates the old warhorse to a level of performance on game that is not matched by many other calibers. It has a combination of bullet weight, frontal area, and velocity that all adds up to a very telling affect on game. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, though - recoil is severe by any measure.

The other loads mimic the old original black powder loads - imagine that, since they are loaded with black powder. The 400 grain Lyman duplex load is about what modern factory loads will do. It's certainly a powerful load (and I've taken a number of deer with it), but nowhere near my "Marlin load".

Anyway, it's a great old caliber with a lot of versatility, if one handloads for it. Even better if one casts bullets for it.

[T77911S]

maybe i will just stick to the 30-30. with the problems i already have with my shoulder from my wreck, the 45-70 may just cause more problems. but, i would like to at least shoot one once.

[targa911S]

I've seen that cal. knock a deer right off it's feet and dead before it hit the ground.

[matt711]

If you really want to pump up the performance of the 45-70 look at the 450 Marlin. I have one of these monsters and it is a real power house. More or less it's a 45-70 loaded to modern chamber SAMI specs. The downside is that it kicks even harder than a 45-70 and ammo is pretty pricey, but these days all ammo is crazy expensive. I used to pair this little lever gun with a .470 Ruger pistol. The pistol had such violent recoil that shooting it was simply not enjoyable. Sold the pistol and replaced it with a 10mm Glock.

[ODDJOB UNO]

my standard drill on ANYTHING i am going to risk my life with is 200rds downrange, before it gets the green light.

a couple of bench sessions sighting in and seeing which ammo groups best. THEN a blast fest of rapid fire real world abuse and see what happens. no allowing the weapon to cool off, just reload and shoot over and over. no cleaning barrel each time.

we cleaned the barrel each time on the bench and found our fave ammo flavors with good groups. at the blast fest its pre-noted laser'd off ranges and BLAM BLAM BLAM with a spotter watching and correcting.

ya get to smell all the lube cook off, it gets real dirty and ya get to see what reality is or isnt. i would rather have a failure here than in the field.

the hornaday leverevolutions in 325gr shoot very accurate and knocked my sons 3x4 elk off its feet.

the remington 45/70/405 have a lil push to them but are fun to shoot for box ammo and not too spendy.


i ended up getting a longer butt pad for mine to get my correct LOP(length of pull) and with a jacket on in the heat of the moment, its nothing that cant be mastered as far as recoil.


on the bench.................be real smart about it. if scoped................ya better have correct eye relief set up or yer gonna foook yerself up bad!


oh yeah the 45/70 has KILLED EVERY KRITTER ON THE PLANET over its 135yr+ history on EVERY CONTINENT!


oh yeah i bought the wild west guns BIG loop lever. and that made a huge difference in how fast i can jack a round in and out without gloves on or with gloves on. i'm a regular PUKUS MCCAIN now(the rifleman starring chucky conners).

[Jeff Higgins]

We have been getting .450 Marlin performance - plus - from the .45-70 through hand loading for decades. The .450 was simply Marlin's means of ensuring that factory ammunition loaded to this performance level never makes it into an old Trapdoor, Ballard, or other "weak" .45-70 rifle. The .450 is aimed at those shooters who desire this level of performance without having to reload to achieve it. It's a good round, but for me it falls into that "how long will it last?" catagory, like all of the "short magnums", the old 8mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, .480 Ruger, and the like. It's very likely it will wind up being dropped by Marlin in our lifetimes. No one else has ever chambered it, as far as I know. Maybe T/C made a Contender or Encore barrel for it, but that would be about it. Doesn't bode well for its future, unfortunately.

[HHI944]

45-70 sounds fun, but 30-30 is no slouch with modern loads and I can shoot my Winnie 94 all day long with no trouble