ORIGINAL: HEAD0001
I am not one who likes to quote charts, but saying the 243 has more energy than the 45-70 is flat wrong. Your factory round 45-70's are lame, because their ammo has to shoot in the Trapdoor Springfield. Using your 1000 ft. lb. rating-the 243 100 grain runs out of energy at just over 400 yards. According to the Remington catalog. Even with a heavy handload your 243 is under 1000 at 500 yards. A 405 grain 45-70 load at 2000 fps(not a max. load), has over 1000 ft lbs. at 600 yards. Where are you guys getting your information.
This started out as just a joking post. Trying to be humorous, in that a deer is just as dead either way. One of my first posts said where I got the information. I said I was using Remington factory loads for comparison. I also recognized that the .45-70 might show a lot of improvement with handloads. I hadn't, at that point, heard of the Garrett and Buffalo Bore loads, and I apologize. But, even with those hot loads, sighted in at 100 yards, the factory is saying the bullet drop is two feet at 250 yards. I can't even imagine the drop at 600. 15 feet or more? Also, none of those siteshave ballistics charts. On those 2000 fps loads, how fast is the bullet still moving at 600? I find it a little difficult to believe that one of those fat stubby shaped bullets will only shed 900 feet per second over the course of 600 yards. Not saying it isn't true, but, just doesn't seem logical..300 Win Mags, using bullets with better ballistic coefficients, lose over 1000 fps within 500 yards.
Truth be known the 45-70 is a far superior cartridge at distances over 400 yards, over ther 243. And please do not use the trajectory excuse. You better know your rifle and trajectory with any firearm over 400 yards. There were alot of Buffalo killed at a long distance with the 45-70. Those guys would have laughed at a 243.
I've never suggested the .243 was a buffalo round, or that I'd use one at those kinds of distances. As for buffalo killed at long distance, yeah, I'd imagine that consisted mostly of launching a round into a herd, knowing you'd hit something. I tend to doubt they were picking out a single buffalo and trying to kill it with a single heart shot.
When was the last time you saw a 1000 yard Vernier Caliper sight on a 243???? I have seen alot of comments over the years about a 45-70. Alot of those comments are negative. I have always wondered if those people have owned and shot the 45-70???? Tom.
Hell, I can't even see 1000 yards, at least not without a good scope. Are you telling me you can hit a deer sized target at 1000 yards using a caliper sight? I'd imagine at that distance, the trajectory would drop a bullet through the spine and out the breastbone. Shots like that are a bit ridiculous, evenwith modern magnum rounds, with high-tech boattail bulletsand 24X scopes. I'd think it would just be a squeeze and pray proposition with a round from the 1800's,using a bullet with the ballistic coefficient of a big rockandcaliper sights...