I love this round and how many ways it can be used so I'm gonna get one but the question is, which one? I will whitetail hunt with it of course but also elk and other large game. I want to be able to take this rifle to Africa and take a Cape Buffalo as well. Am I being unrealistic in expecting such performance out of one rifle? I know the Guide Gun is nice and compact but the Cowboy model has a 26" barrel that will probably do better for the ballastics part of it. The middle of the road 1895 is a good choice as well with the 22" barrel. Dang choosing the right gun is fun!

I have not hunted in Africa, but I doubt that longer barrels will offer much in the 45-70. It is not fast in the heavy bullets even full of powder, so velocity loss in shorter tubes should be negligible. I was surprised by the low recoil of my guide gun when I first fired it, but Buffalo Bore and Garrett cartridges will liven that up a bunch.

Good luck with the Cape Buffalo. I hear they are very dangerous. Take a buddy!

From my under standing the ruger #1 will take the heavest loads.

I have the 1895 and a hand-rifle in it i like the cal.
i am debating on geting a win 86 in it.

I have a Buffalo Classic with a 32 in. barrel and it is very accurate and fun to shoot. With the baffalo bore 405 grain rounds it will go through a 10 in hedge post. That is serious power !! The wound channel it creates is very impressive also . on whitetail nice 1.5 " hole right through them.

On the contrary to what biscuit Jake has assumed about velocity loss in short bbls, the .45-70 typically performs best with slow burning powders (typical of straight wall cartridges), so indeed shortening the bbls does have a significant effect on velocity...however, the Marlin Guide Gun is quite capable of handling loads pushing the cusp of hte .45-70's maximum performance, the Marlin Cowboy 1895's longer bbl does provide a bit quicker bullets...however, either rifle's performance is more than on par with the requirements of any north american game....

As far as going to africa goes, yes it's possible, a recent article illustrated a Marlin 1895 Cowboy I believe it was taking two Cape Buffalo in one shot, one standing in front of the other....HOWEVER, this wasn't the author's first experience in africa, and as far as I'm concerned, the .45-70, while capable of it, shouldn't be used in africa.....

You're going to likely spend $10K-$40K to just get to hunt over there, so why concern yourself with using a relatively unproven cartridge to save a few bucks? Ruger Bolt action .416Rigby's or .458Lotts can be had for about $1000, so why run the risk and critisism by taking a "controversial" rifle?

This is certainly one way of looking at the problem, and I'll admit to a certrain bias toward the "use enough gun" hypothesis. But to me, the question is, "what's enough gun"? I am convinced that a reifle that can kill two Cape Buffalo with one bullet is hardly "unproven", and, even when firing an adequate bullet, the primary requirement is to hit in the right spot. If you can shoot your .45/70 better with the correct kind of bullet than you can a .416 Rigby or a .458 Winchester, then by all means, use the .45/70. It is certainly adequate, as has been more than proven in Africa more than once!!

The 45-70 has a track record in North America, and I have felt comfortable wandering off into the deep woods with a map and compass figuring it would give me a fighting chance with anything at its range. Similarly, with really big, berserk critters... why not use good handloads, and getting your particular rifle chronographed would be great. The guide gun, in addition to having a short barrel, has built in recoil reduction that would lower velocities once again. So I would certainly take the step to ensure that I was confident in the round. I recall an account that it took 11 rounds from a 375 Holland & Holland to finish one... at least per Guns & Ammo (yup, we all have our opinions on gun mags and it was a bad scene for the hunter. I eat what I shoot so Africa is out for Biscuit. Now, there is something to be said about taking this legacy in a lever action to Africa. At the same time, if it was my son doing this, I would steer him to a big bolt action.

I have read the discussions about cast bullets and meplat on this round. I have heard issues that a really wide meplat may tumble in big game sooner than one more along the SWC design. I would love to hear if anyone has had real experience checking out a wound channel with these bullets on big game.

The 45-70 Marlin Lever gun has taken the African Big Six at least twice. Is it the best choice for that type of hunting? I doubt it but it has and will do the job on the largest toughest animals on earth. That with power and penetration to spare. I would not be afraid to try it on an African trip if I were familar with the loads and with hunting the game in question.

I located the February '03 thread on the .45-70. It is actually rewarding to see that much interest in one of these great grand-dads of cartridges. I'll always see this as a round that out-kills its ballistics.

But I'll drop this thread as it is really gone over in 2/03!