Information on 45-70 lever guns

[TexasM1A]

Morning folks, I was wondering if any of you have had any experience with .45-70 chambered rifles. I am in the market for one but I truly know next to nothing about them. Most of the people I would normally go to for information regarding a firearm are in a the same boat as me, they have no knowledge of these firearms.

I have been searching the internet but have found few places/people that break down the pros and cons of the various models/manufacturers. I would like some thing that is competition legal, but competitive shooting is not the reason why I am going to purchase it.

Thanks much.

[IMR 4350]

I shucked out 5 rounds of 405gr as fast as i could on some wild dogs.

Got 3 out of 5 of the dogs.

Damn near got me too. Learned my lesson.

I started loading the 350gr after that.

[TexasM1A]

I have a Marlin .30-.30 now, obviously not the same animal, but I would like to step up in caliber to see if I can become proficient with it.
If I can and I can maintain a certain level of proficiency I might try competitive shooting.
I like Lever Rifles, I know they are not “sexy” or “tactical” but the simplicity for lack of a better word appeals to me.

[posse rider]

I’ve been hunting with a 45-70 for about a dozen years. I have a Marlin guide gun that I bought when they first came out. I had the factory replace the ported barrel with a non-ported one, the porting was too loud for me. I’m not adverse to recoil, but did put a decerlerator butt pad on. I hand load, from light 405 grain lead around 1100 fps to 350 grain jacketed soft nose at about 1900 fps. I really like the lever evolution load it has amazingly flat trajectory for a huge bullet. Save those cases, though, they are about 0.1” shorter than saami specs, to make room for the flex tip.

It’s a handy easy to carry gun. I put a Trijicon 1.25 x 4 scope on it, the green dot on the cross hair is easy for my aging eyes to pick up. I’ve taken deer at 250 yards, it drops ‘em like a bag of rocks.

If you can, find a buddy to let you shoot one, I think you’ll like it.

[IMR 4350]

I didn’t remember if it was the 110 or the 120, but I knew it wasn’t .45-70.

[TexasM1A]

I will try and see if I can rent one at a range around here, nobody I know has one of these.
If you dont mind me asking, what type of terrain do you hunt in?.
For my self it will be Texas Hill country for Hogs/Javelina and southeast Texas for deer.

[Dusty Road]

Ask Quigley.

He didn’t shoot a 45-70.

[umgud]

So you want, not need s 45-70. More power to you. I view this round as short range game getter. A lot of folks use it for very big game or even self defense against big game (bears, etc.). But, there is also a lot of folks competing with them too, though in this use, they usually go for longer barrels.

[Patriot365]

Made in America.

http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-45-70.cfm

[Colorado Doug]

Check with Piers Morgan. He knows all about such things. I’m pretty sure that it’s an assault rifle though since it doesn’t use flint to initiate the powder.

[TNoldman]

ping answer later.

[joe fonebone]

war of northern aggression????

If my history is correct, the confederacy fired the first shots....

just sayin’....

[yarddog]

I had one made up on a Siamese Mauser action. The gunsmith reworked the action for better feeding and installed a Shaw barrel. To save money he used the original stock.

Like others have said, it kicked like a mule and I am not particularly sensitive to recoil. It might have been partly due to the stock but I ended up selling it after a short time.

[Lees Swrd]

This is a hell of a round you just have a learning curve in shooting it, its like lobbing a punkin. I shoot mine out to 500 to 600 yards and regularly hit my targets yep lots of hold over but it goes straight I think you could shoot it through a tornado and hit your target lol.

Ammo is a bit pricy but once you get your brass you can reload them forever! If you want a round with lots pf punch and goes straight try a 454 casull that dang round about broke my shoulder wasn’t expecting that in a pistol cartridge!

NEF makes some great break down single shots and reasonably priced just go to their web site Marlins are great guns also but a bit pricey...

[mnehring]

Unsure on the rifle front but I have a friend who has a 45-70 revolver for sale and that sucker will dislocate your arm if you aren’t holding it securely.

[Terry L Smith]

Here is something ‘45-70’ related:

“The Sandy Hook Tests of 1879”, Sandy Hook, Long Island, NY, pre-bloomberg and Cuomo, of course!

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/45-70-govt/13422-45-70-two-miles-sandy-hook-tests-1879-a.html

This is reason enough to own a 45-70!

[Moltke]

in the same boat as me

I see you're planning ahead. Good. Very good.

[Riley]

Interested in a .45-70. Has anyone used both modern smokeless and cased black powder with one? Differences and impressions?

[Moltke]

Egads! I hate websites that start blasting music as soon as you open them. Give a fair warning at least!

(There’s a *very* small control panel to shut it off in the upper left-hand corner.)

[Rio]

I’ve watched SASS shooters shooting the Marlin Guide Gun with smokeless loads. They were fine short range.
My wife has a Pedersoli reproduction Trapdoor with a VERY long barrel. After learning to use the ladder sight, we can hit targets out to 800 yards or better. The loads are home-loaded black powder with original army spec bullets (425grain?) to be SASS legal. It sure is fun to shoot that trapdoor. Since it’s black powder, recoil is more of a shove than a sudden impact.

[Joe 6-pack]

Just got done putting my Springfield through its paces over vacation...

...tons of fun :-)

Currently, there are three generally available rounds in the .45-70 class: the .45-70, the .444 Marlin and the .450 Marlin. While they have a lot of similarities and can each generally do most things the others will do, there are enough differences that, depending on your specific desires and needs one may clearly be a "best choice" of the three.

Research them, the firearms they come in, the commercial loadings available, the availability of reloading components, etc. and I think one will eventually stand out from the others.