bigcountry

With factory ammo, what kinda accuracy can one expect out of box with a new marlin lever in 45-70. Lever action is all new to me. I know what to expect out of a box rem 700, but never a 45-70. Thinking of picking up one soon. Have been for a while until I got this 204 the other day. Thinking of 405gr ammo. Seems the norm.

Ok what about higher pressure loads. Like 2100fps 300gr JHP loads. Could you expect the same acccuacy?

Anybody with any luck?

tanzian

I am going to assume that you are talking a new Marlin 1895G. The newer ones have gone back to the Ballard cut rifling instead of the Microgrove as it tends to stabilize a wider range of bullets weights without the fouling assosciated with the older Microgrove rifles. My personal .45-70 will hold groups to around 2 inches at 100 yards reguardless of what i feed it. It is the Guidegun variation of the 1895 with an 18.5 inch ported barrel. The longer barrel version due increase velocity somewhat but do not seem to have that great an effect on accuracy.

The 300 gr ammo tends to blow up on very close shot except for the Federal with the Speer Unicore bullet. The 405 gr Remington is a better choice for hunting the thick stuff and will fully penatrate any blackie or deer but you ofcourse have quite an arc for those longer shots and a nice increase in recoil.

Personally all I ever shoot is the 300 gr Federal round or my own cast handloads.

aunsaber

I have a 1895 CB and it shoots great. 300 gr. Federals will shoot 1 1/2 at 100 yrds.
I will not use a Remington becuase they don't seem to hold together. (although I have not tried the corelokt ultra)
My all time favorite is the Hornady 350gr., they have good accuracy and pack a good punch and don't fragment.
I also have tried with good success a 385 gr. hard cast bullet.

bigcountry

I am shooting 300gr XTP mags in my muzzleloader with a muzzle velocity of 1950fps. I recovered two bullets last year and both were a perfect mushroom wieghing in a 240gr or so. Now these deer were shot at close range, like 20ft for one and a tad more for the other. But I recovered the bullet in one from a quartering shot thru the shoulder thru the lungs, and in under the hide way back near the gut.

I was thinking this is a bullet that could be reloaded for the 45-70. Am I wrong.

bigcountry

I notice the XTP mag is only listed for pistol like the 454. Wonder why they don't recommend it for the 45-70.

biggunz.45-70

45 cal pistol bullets like the xtp mag are only .452 and the 45-70 uses bullets that are .458. I think you can expect 2" groups from a new marlin and maybe you'll get lucky and find a combination that shoots better.

Nomercy

Before you get too discouraged with your new investment, remind yourself what you're shooting...Many shooters don't think that leveractions are very accurate, for a variety of reasons...No, they aren't capable of being as accurate as a bolt action is, but in that case we're talking about top of the line guns, not the capabilities of the average hunting rifle...I've got two Marlin 1895's, one is a stainless guide gun = stubby, the other is a Cowboy = really long... I've also got two Marlin 1894 .44mags, one about 25yrs old and the other about a year old...Beside those I've owned two others, and a 444, not to mention a few Marlin 336's and 30A's, oh yeah, a few, very few Winchester 94's, aka Win POS's. I've owned and handled a few repros of 66's and 73's, so I've gotten used to shooting leverguns....Most shooters are not!!!

My Marlin 1895 cowboy shoots between three quarters of an inch and 1 and a half depending on what factory load I run through it at 100yrds...My handloads are considerably better.

My Guide gun isn't quite that good, but it's very good for a factory rifle of any make, about 2" at 100yrds, which for a 22" bbl, that's dang good!!!

I've had a 336 (.30-30's) that shot one ragged hole at 200yrds off shooting sticks sitting.

BTW, I don't honestly believe in shooting rifles off a bench unless you're ONLY going to shoot it off a bench, it's just not realistic to shooting form.

bigcountry

Ok, so it sounds like if I reload, realistically 2" at 100 yards is about what is expected. Plan on 405 cast loads. I would like to have two loads. One heavy cast, and another JFP in the 300gr area. I didn't expect subMOA, but 2" would be nice.

whiskeysnoot

I'm having good luck with a 350 gr. Hornady Flat Point with 48.5 gr. of H4198. Five shots through the chronograph went from 1934 to 1948 out of a 18.5" Guide Gun. And yes, it is shooting under 2".

jroot

i have a marlin 444 and i can peg bulls eyes all day long at 150 yds ...it's a great shooter as far as i'm concerned.