Just bought a new Marlin 1895 in 45-70 and can't wait to take it to the range. I bought it for it's great hunting versitility and utility when your handloading...you can load it for deer and "super-size" it for bear! Oh yeah, I always wanted a lever action as well. Anyways, I bought this rifle/round combination without test firing someone else's first. Being a younger (27 years old) guy, I'm thinking these shoulders can take a little added abuse from a big bore round. Having a Tikka T3 Lite in .30-06 and rifled 12 guage 870 Express as my primary and secondary hunting guns, I figured that 45-70 can't be too bad. That is before I take up the art of reloading and start juicing up my own rounds
It's snowing and miserable right now in Packerland, so I'm stuck having to wait to shoot it. Can anyone out there who own this or any other rifle in 45-70 tell me what the felt recoil of this big bore caliber feels like? Is it similar to anything out there? Some tell me it should be no different from firing a 180 grain .30-06 round. I seem rather skeptical about that notion. Can anyone enlighten me on this? As a standard for comparision, I'm wondering what the recoil is like when firing factory loads like Winchester's or Remington's 300 grain rounds. Any information would be appreciated. Please help "entertain" a guy that's stuck in his house with a bad case of cabin fever.
I have both, a 30-06 which I have hunted with for years and a Marlin 22 inch 1895 in 45-70 which I have shot for two years. I have only used factory ammo but have not found the 45-70 to be difficult to shoot at all. The Marlin has a pretty nice pad on it while my 700 has a hard plastic plate so that may be part of it. The marlin also seems to shove you while the '06 pops you. Don't know if that helps, but I can tell you that you will want to start handloading some hotter rounds as soon as you have shot the traditional factory stuff. I know that I do!!!
It's a little late to be worried about recoil...you've already bought the gun!!!
The recoil with factory loads is pretty fair, like you said, maybe a .30-06 with 180's sounds decent...with Garret cartridge ammo, or buffalo bore, or hot handloads, they'll purple your shoulder well though.
Get a good recoil pad and you'll be fine.
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Thanks for the information. I have a feeling that I will start reloading and both the .30-06 and 45-70 will benefit from that. I'm sure the recoil will only increase as I juice up the rounds.
Keep the messages going! I need all the information you guys can provide!!!
As noted, a little late to be concerned with recoil
Anyway, if you can handle your Rem.870 12ga. then you should not have a problem with
factory loads for your Marlin 45/70. As for the "hot" stuff (handloads, etc.), well, you'll
just have to wait and see
I also have both a .45-70 and a .30-06. I have a Marlin 1895G and I"d say the recoil of normal factory loads is similar to my Ruger stainless .30-06 for the most part. Your 1895 is just slightly bigger than my 1895G so your felt recoil may be slightly lower. I normally use a 350gr. @ 2025 FPS PMC load that"s a bit hotter than Remington and Winchester stuff and that does make my 1895G recoil a bit more than my .30-06. It is certainly not what I would call severe, but you know you"re firing a decent amount of lead downrange at a good clip. I can"t comment on the hottest loads in .45-70 such as those loaded at 405gr. @ 2000+ FPS, I don"t handload and have never fired anything that cool! I"d say a mildly heavy .45-70 round feels similar to a normal 12 gauge slug out of an 870, less than a 3" magnum slug in my opinion.
Yeah....I knew what I was getting into when I bought the 45-70...a lot of gun!!! I knew recoil would be an issue but I don't think, in my opinion, that it will be a major issue.
I was merely guaging your opinions since I'm stuck in my house with over 12 inches of snow. Wanted to go to the range but obviously the weather isn't cooperating too much.
Thanks for everyone's help. I'm sure picking a limbsaver pad will do the trick.
I just had to respond to this one. Congrats on your new gun. I've got the Guide Gun in .45-70 with the ported barrel. I've been hunting with this gun for the past 4 season's and let me just tell you they put an awful hurting on deer. I've taken several bucks with it and the farthest one went about 40 yards. You will definitely want to reload for this to get the most out of your rifle. I load my own and had great success with a 400 grain Speer bullet which had a velocity of just under 2,000 fps. Near the end of this past season I switched to a 300 grain hollow point. I don't know how this load performs as I didn't get the chance to shoot a deer with it.
As for the recoil, I'd say it is in line with a 12 gauge slug. Maybe a little more when you start shooting hotter hand loads. When I switched my loads I shot 20 rounds through it. The next day I woke up and found a slight black and blue mark on my shoulder. Don't get psyched out about the recoil. When was the last time you noticed recoil when you shot a deer? If you venture into loading your own ammo for it, make sure you check out this site. http://www.realguns.com They have some good handload data for the .45-70. Here's a photo of my set up. You'll notice I've removed the iron sights and have a Leupold 2x7 Riflemen scope. It's a deadly combination.
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The Marlin guide guns are awsome close range hunting rifles. They are extremely popular here in alaska. I have a stainless GG and mounted XS ghost ring sights and scout mount with a leupold 2.5x scout scope. I have been shooting some fairly stout loads of 405gr Rem bulk bullets @ 1800fps and 405gr Kodiak bullets @ 1800fps. The 405gr Rem bulk bullets are 12.99 per 100 at midway right now. I also only use starline brass. I shot a box and ahalf of shells from it yesterday and can tell you I'm still feeling it today. With heavy loads it will beat you up pretty good especially off the bench, much more recoil that a 30/06. There isn't a better big game rifle for under 200 yards, and it especially shines in heavy brushy situations where quick shots are important.
here is a couple of groups I shot with it yesterday.
Josh Nice set up man! I was contemplating putting the same set up on mine. The Ashley Ghost Ring and the Scout Scope, but it came down to money. I agree with you, these guns are hard to beat in the brush and they flat out wallop the deer! Since, I bought mine 4 season ago, several of my fellow hunters have jumped on the wagon and now several of us are hunting with them.
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"The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants."
New Marlin 1895 in 45-70
