.45-70 Government

Fish and Hunt Texas ^ | Dec 2004 | Clay Oldham

[45Auto]

Some cartridges just seem to live forever. Thankfully the 45-70 Government is one of them. It began life in the days of black powder and has evolved over time into the cartridge we know today. After owning and shooting several guns chambered for it it’s easy for me to see why. It’s accurate, easy to reload for, and hits like a freight train. From the muzzle to 150-200 yard range this old cartridge is hard to beat.

To really see the true performance of this round you do need to hand load for it though. Factory ammunition lacks the true performance the 45-70 is capable of producing. It seems almost any load will shoot accurately in a rifle or handgun. If you are willing to endure a little punishment, the old 45-70 Govt. will show you the love. Recoil can be heavy but it’s well worth it. Since the 45-70 is a low pressure round the strait walled cases will last for a very long time. The large rim makes it a natural for single shot rifles and handguns.

A heavy roll crimp is a must to keep bullets in place under the heavy recoil of a repeating firearm. I recommend separating bullet seating and crimping into two steps to insure the crimp is solid. Be sure to follow the loading data recommended for the firearm you are using. Most manuals have several levels for the 45-70. Light loads for the old or antique guns, a little heavier level for modern guns such as the Marlin 1895 lever actions, and heavy loads for guns like the Ruger No. 1’s and the Browning 1885. Care should be taken to insure the proper data is being used for your gun.

The results of improperly hand loading the 45-70 can deadly. Be careful! The best powders I’ve found so far are Reloader 7 and IMR 3031. As far as bullets, I’ve tried from 300-grain up to a hard-cast 510-grain flat nose. Firing the 510-grain bullets from a 14” Thompson/Center Contender is an experience not soon for gotten. The 300-grain hollow points are common among deer hunters and offer higher velocities than heaver bullets. I’ve used them in the past with good luck in T/C Contenders. They are accurate and hit hard.

For deer the 300-grainers are probably the best choice. I used Sierra’s 300-grain hollow point with IMR 3031, in both the 16” and Super 14” Contender barrels I’ve owned. Accuracy from a scoped T/C Contender is phenomenal. Last fall I started using a 350-grain Hornady flat-point in my Marlin 1895 “Guide Gun” with Reloader 7 and now prefer it to the lighter bullet. This load kicks like a mad mule but hits just as hard. I truly believe it will take any game in Texas, or the world for that matter with authority, excluding truly dangerous game. At the time I’m writing this I’ve not tried the 400-grain or heaver bullets in my rifle but plan to try them soon and will update this article once I have a good load. A hunter looking for this type of cartridge but who prefers to shoot factory ammunition, the 450 Marlin is the one. It was developed as a joint effort between Marlin and Hornady to duplicate the performance of heavy loads in the 45-70.

[Swordmaker]

(wife: "Why do you need that elephant gun?" Husband: "To scare away the wild elephants." Wife: "There aren't any elephants in the state!" Husband: "See! It works!")

The TC is only good for scaring away ONE (1) elephant... here is what you need for the whole herd of elephants:

The .45-70 BFR Revolver (I leave it to your imagination what BFR stands for)...

[Swordmaker]

Forensic archeologists have discovered several Richards' Colt conversions...

I once had one of those... complete with the gunslinger's holster rig and a box of .44 Center Fire cartridges. Mine was nickle plated... I went looking for a web based photograph and found this one... Damn, if I don't think it was the one I owned!!!! They are rare enough that it is certainly possible.

The one I had was not a "conversion" but a factory original... the Richards "Conversions" had their own serial numbers (mine was in the 1400s). Colt would convert guns from the field to the Richards-Mason format (.44 rim fire) on special order to their repair shop.

[planekT]

Thanks for the update on the WSSM cartridges. My reloading manuals are getting a bit dated, kind of like myself. :-)

I looked them up on the net. Those are cute little boogers.

[g'nad]

mmmmmmmmmmm.... .45-70... muh next long arm is gonna be NEF Handi-Rifle in .45-70... and I will reload... cuz I can...

[sam_paine]

Holy crap. Where's the cushion on top of the scope to protect your forehead when that thing kicks!?!?!?!?

[jrp]

Beautiful guns!

[xcamel]

one shot and you'll end up looking like Quasi Moto

[Myrddin]

You shoot the single action revolvers like the BFR in 45-70 with ONE hand. The revolver rolls up and over your shoulder. Hold it with two hands and it may well smack you on the forehead. The Ruger Super Redhawk and S&W X frame revolvers are two-handed, double action affairs. The bore is significantly closer to the grip and delivers the recoil straight back into your shoulders. The muzzle breaks help reduce the muzzle flip from the recoil.

[PoorMuttly]

Ooooooo. Muttly NEED this.

[yarddog]

one shot and you'll end up looking like Quasi Moto

Now that really is funny.

[Myrddin]

Nice workmanship on the furniture. My first experience in refinishing a stock and re-blueing a barrel was on my dad's old Stevens Springfield .22LR bolt action rifle. It had survived a fire in my grandparents home, but sustained some smoke damage. It took most of a week to get the rifle back to serviceable condition. It was my "rabbit" rifle through high school. When my dad passed on in Dec 2003, I traveled to San Diego to pick up the rifle as my mom didn't have any "use" for it. It is more a matter of sentimental value. My Ruger 10/22 with Williams peep sights is a very fine and practical replacement.

[Mat_Helm]

Load my Ruger #1 with 300, 350, 400, and 500 grain bullets using Rel 7. Velocities approaching 458 Win Mag factory loads for the bullet weight. You can only stand so many rounds before the pain is just to much to take. Can shoot the 300 grain loads all day with velocities well over 2,100 fps, but the heavy bullet loads are awsome in their power. Recoil in the light Ruger #1 is beyond punishing. Accurate and fun and a one shot hunting round.

[sam_paine]

You shoot the single action revolvers like the BFR in 45-70 with ONE hand.

You are WRONG. I would shoot that thing with SOMEONE ELSE'S hand!!! :-)

I fired a friend's 45-70 lever action monster once with the 510 grain bullets and that was enough for me! My sissy 686 357M is plenty of excitement for me in the meantime.

[Myrddin]

My wife and I have "his n hers" S&W 686+ with 4" barrels. It is by far our favorite. We load 38SPL by the hundreds.

A 510 gr from a lever action probably left you with a bit of a bruise. For a real knock down experience, shoot a 416 Weatherby Magnum. I had a buddy with one of those rifles. He was the 3rd owner. In his possession was the first box of ammo purchased to go with the rifle. Only 3 rounds consumed. The rest are available to the next macho shooter who just has to own and shoot the rifle.

I compete with that 686+ using my own loads of West Coast Bullet 148 gr DEWC bullets over 3.4 gr of W231 powder. It's dirt simple to pull off a score of 96+ at 25 yards on the standard slow fire target. I like the West Coast product because the double ended bullet has a cannelure on each end and they are consistently swaged. Get the seating depth right and you can pull them off the Dillon 550 bullet tray without even looking at them.

[g'nad]

you say that like itsuh bad thing...

[xcamel]

Maybe it's not, in a Helen Thomas kind of way...

[45Auto]

That Winchester is just about the neatest lever action I have seen in a long while.

[ctdonath2]

Great. Another thread inching me ever closer to getting a Wild West Guns Alaskan Co-Pilot in .45-70

[Swordmaker]

That Winchester is just about the neatest lever action I have seen in a long while.

Which one???

[Swordmaker]

Thanks, but I can't lay claim to the finish on that picture... that is a representative sample I found on the internet.

In my NOT so humble opinion, mine looked as good... and I got lots of compliments from Winchester collectors... and the guy who traded the original '95 SRC .30-40 Krag obviously thought so.

When I carved the stock and fore end, I used a duplicating pantagraph carving device to closely recreate an original '86 stock. I then used a micrometer to measure thicknesses at various locations on an original stock... and matched it exactly. I used a very fine figurred Black Walnut blank (Simms Hardware, the gun shop where I worked had bought hundreds of air-dried, sawn out black walnut slabs from an orchard in the area that used Black Walnut for the roots and boles of their English Walnut production trees. Those trunks and roots could bring anywhere from $2000 to $10,000 PER TREE!). Simms sold those 2" x 6" x 36" blanks for anwhere from $40 to $300... Frank Simms let me choose mine for the $40 price... guess what I chose. I did no checkering on the wood because duplicating Winchester factory select checkering was very difficult and I was no where good enough... nor did I want to pay an expert to do it... so I kept the stock stock, so to speak.

The gunsmith at Simms was an expert at reblueing and helped me with the case-hardening and blueing of the barrel and small metal parts. The barrel was a Winchester factory original .45-70 Barrel with all markings, unblued in the white, but with a factory select polished finish. (According to Simms' records, the barrel was purchased by them in 1921 on special order but the customer who paid for it never picked it up! I just lucked out... it went perfect with my sporterized .33 Win. that my mother bought for me from a local antique dealer. The barrel had never even been taken out of the shipping tube and was still wrapped in the brown paper wrapper, with factory grease still on it.)