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well when santa delivers a dillon 650 reloader, we are going at this full steam.
45/70 's aint cheap by the box nor cheap by the case.
and then you add in the "boutique" rounds i mentioned it takes a reasonable sport and sends it into the realm of "porsche" and its goofy spendiness.
we are gonna get some corbons, just for giggles, and the warm fuzzy feeling of a "boxed" round for any nasty critters until we get up to speed with a good solid load that feeds reliably out of a levers mag tube.
as mentioned, hearing new reloaders mistakes come hunting day, is enough for me, to sit back, and do a hell of alot of testing before i put my azz on the line with a 1/2 azzed reload thats untested.
since all i feed my .338 win mag is 250gr barnes or molys, and my multiple .308s 168gr BTHP sierras, that recipe has been proven over the years and thats not a worry.
here in the SW, every hunt, every weekend, can be different hunting conditions. one day your canyon hunting, the next down in the thick azz'd juniper,oak, buck brush, and the next day on the dezert flats, to thick aspens or pines.
so if i got drawn in unit 10 by williams south of the grande canon, we have pines,to flats,to junipers in a matter of a few miles.
these juniper "islands" are literally bagdad "door to door" searches, throw yer scope away. hence my marlin 1895. and whats fun always is coming upon a buried elk/deer kill and looking at "putty tat" tracks. not a hell of alot of difference than a bear jumping out at you. and how quick you may have to fire from the hip.
on the other side of the coin in the same unit, you can be in the pines in cover with a longggg downhill shot to a meadow, hence the .338 win mag or .308.
or shooting canyon rim to canyon rim hence the long range aspect.
so since i just picked up my marlin 1895GS after drooling over the present i got my son a couple of years ago...........marlin 1895 XLR 45/70 24" barrel, 45/70 will be the first set of dies we set up for.
already have designated bench space in out building, refrigerator to store powder, fire extinguishers etc. not attached to any other structure. this will be the "mad doktors" of reloadings home away from home.
now its not like we are gonna subject ourselves to all day shooting sessions off the bench with 45/70's. hell we did that stoopid stunt getting the 1895XLR's leupold dialed in with various mfg's bullets and settled on the 325gr hornaday leverevolutions. which hornaday sells alone. ie you can buy these and experiment with your own powders/primers.
there isnt much difference in recoil btwn a .375 h&h and a 45/70. you just have to make damn sure the buttstock is firmly planted in your shoulder each time.
when hunting, you dont notice them much. off the bench...........well ya just gotta be smarter than the average bear.
i feel wayyyyy more betterererer-er with a 45/70 anyday over a 30/30. yeah i know about dangerous game being killed in stress situations with all sorts of non-suited calibers, but homey dont play dat way. im gonna stack the cards in my favor each and every time.
just got done reading about this guy in alaska who was a hunting/fishing fool. he knew his poo, very educated and aware of his surroundings and local bear population. one day he told wifey he was going hunting at so and so spot where he had been many times before. he didnt show back up. wifey went looking w.friend. then called ranger dangers, they found him on a trail with his head caved in, a backpacker stove w/top ramen on it, and (1) round of .280 expended,shell on ground, and (1) round in pipe. cops found his bootprints with mr. grizzilies tracks over his. they surmised mr. bear picked up scent in thick brush, and started stalking this guy. bear came around corner, surprised guy, he got off one shot, and bear grabbed him by head and killed him. they never found the bear, so they dont know if he was even hit by the .280 round.
whats the moral to this story?????
1) NOT ENOUGH GUN
2) NOT ENOUGH TIME
3) NO PISTOL BACKUP
4) WENT BY HIMSELF
homey aint gonna be bear poo nor mtn kitty poo!
you can learn a hell of alot from these articles and police/ranger/coroner reports.
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if there are TROUT..........there are BEARS!
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