bigcountry

Do you guys all hunt just deer? I am just trying to figure out this guns nitch.

slugman

I have an old Sharps rifle thats 45/70 .......a tad large for deer

BigBore1895

I use it for damn near everything. I like to get in close when I am hunting, under 100 yards at least. I have hit a few yote dogs with this thing, taken it elk hunting, deer hunting, everything. It will kill anything in Africa. Take a look at that webpage I gave you and check out the trophy page, and the reviews. That will give you all the information you will need to know. I like the softpoints bullets for the most part, but my next elk trip I am taking some of these Garretts. And if anyone tries to tell you that this thing is a 100 yard gun, all they have done is look at trajectory on websites. After you put 100 rounds through it, you will be exploding water bottles at any distance you want.

mlaubner

Dang it, you guys are about to talk me into a new barrel for my Encore[:@]

UncleNorby

A Nitch...............Hmm. I'd say it's good for all land mammals over 30 lbs.

Seriously, it is a cartridge that can be adapted to any hunting purpose, for shots within 250 yds. Of course there will always be better rounds for specific applications. I use mine in relatively thick woods where 30 yd shots are more common than 75 yd shots.

It is not overkill on deer sized game. Some folks don't like a bullet that whistles on through, but you have to remember you're starting with a 45 cal. hole already. Mushrooming beyond that is just a bonus. On a broadside shot to the lung area, the critter may not drop (often times they do), and when you hit shoulder bone, or any other bone, you'll really see some knockdown power.

I don't feel it is uncomfortable to shoot either. It shoves you pretty good for sure, but it's doesn't hammer sharply like some highpowered numbers.

Carpmaster

The guide gun /45-70 combo is perfect for deer hunting if you want a manuverable gun with a large bore. To me it is the perfect gun for blind hunting with restricted shot distance and still hunting. My 2 cents.

James B

Its Nitch truely is anything that moves. It will take small game with squib loads and has taken the African Big six several times now. It is a stopper for the biggest Bears and the smallest deer.. With 300 and 350 grain bullets it will be easy to hit with out to 150 yards and with practice will do much better. The old buffalo hunters used it to take Bison out to 300 yards with Black Powder loads. There are many bullets available for it and and its a versitile powerful weapon. As someone else said, go to the Garret cartridge site. You will be amazed at what this 110 year old cartridge can do. There is not much it can't do. I have it in Marlin , Encore and H&R as well as a Sharps replica.

mlaubner

OK James B,
Now you have really peaked my interest. Did you get the "standard" T/C bbl or do you own one of the Fox ridge "custom shop" bbls? What length and bbl weight? Open sights, peep sights or scope?
I am sitting on the fence for a new bbl for hte Encore and haven't decided which one to get yet.
I love the old "tried and true" cartridges, 30-06, .45acp etc., and I would seriously consider the 45-70
Thanks,
Mark

oldelkhunter

Anyone please feel free to correct me if I am wrong but isn't the 45/70 a short range proposition at best? Yes they were/are used at long distance by all the old buffalo hunters etc etc but realistically where are they used nowadays. Probably whitetail deer , moose and the occasional Elk. I actually bought 2 of these things 45/70s and enjoyed shooting them but when I really thought about taking them Elk hunting decided they had more going against them then for them. A great cartridge for sneaking along in timber and jumping one and popping it but what happens when one shows up on the other side of a 300 yard clearing. I hear all this talk about Garrett cartridges and their ballistics are impressive but look how much a box of cartridges costs same price as some premium safari grade cartridges. I think most 45/70s in the field are probably Marlins ..a fine rifle by the way but when shooting a jackhammer load probably not the best shooter friendly design. Wouldn't one be better off with a .416 Rigby, .416 Remington or a 375 H&H which would also have a much flatter trajectory ?

Nomercy

Oldelkhunter, I've got the same recoil pad on my Marlin 1895's (guide gun and cowboy) as I do on my Ruger M-77 .30-06, and recoil is similar in all three! I handload so ammo cost is minimal, but I run pressures up as high as the Marlins are rated for (which is pretty stout).

As for the ranges, I shoot my cowboy to 600 and 800yrds fairly often (about twice a month), I'm pretty confident that I could ethically take a shot on a whitetail at 600yrds and be as certain of myself as a 300-500yrd shot with my .30-06s or .300win mags.

Most people consider it a "short range" weapon because they are lazy and the .45-70 only shoots flat along a short range...if one learns to play the rainbow, incredible things can be accomplished with this century old cartridge. I've got a folding ladder peep with a spirit level globe sight on my Cowboy (32" bbl-my long range rig) and I've got a 4-16x rangefinder glass on my guide gun, as I mentioned, my cowboy is 2MOA out to about 800yrds with this set up, cloverleaf groups at 100yrds...

my guide gun (SHORT bbl) is about 2MOA at 250-300yrds with the glass, but is under an inch at 100yrds.

The .45-70 is great for anything you would want to hunt, it's a little over powered for varmints and maybe so for antelope or rather lightweight deer (use a HARD bullet and you can eat right up to the hole though!!!!), but it gives awesome performance on anything over 100# clear up to 2500# and beyond.

The best thing about the .45-70 is its versatility, you can load it heavy for heavy game, or load it light for easier hunting/shooting, and they'll both shoot pretty well equally, and very well to boot!

My only recommendation: BUY the Marlin 1895, but before you shoot it, do a "Marlin fix", simply involves filing the sharp edge off of the carrier elevator cam (cuts a small notch into the bottom of the carrier and eventuallly MAY jam and refuse to elevate/close the action...round that off and it'll shoot for generations to come-if you don't, it might jam up someday and require that you take the lever off to un-jam it (one screw, but not handy in the field).