45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

Hi All,

Another question from the peanut gallery.

Can someone liken the kick of a 45/70 Government to another cartridge that I have shot. I have shot 308, 3006, 30-30, Bird Shot, Turkey Magnum Loads. Thats about it. The only one on the list that I don't like shooting are Turkey magnum loads.

Also I am looking into purchasing a Marlin 1895 Cowboy with the Octogon barrel. Does anyone have any experience with this gun? Do you like it? I intend to use it for hunting.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

Loaded with factory loads which are kept down to levels safe in the older rifles, the kick would be much like the factory 180 grain 30-06. Loaded up to levels listed for the Marlin in the reloading manuls, the kick would about equal a 300 Win Mag. The cowboy model is fairly heavy which would help some. I have not owned the coboy model but I have had a couple of the 22 inch 1895 models. In hunting the recoil would hardly be a problem but a long session at the bench will get your attention. I also have the NEF and Encore in 45-70. I love the caliiber. For hunting out to 150-200 yards its a good choice for most North American game. Loaded with the Garret reloads its capable of hunting everything this planet has to offer.

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

The .45-70gov't in the Marlin Cowboy with factory loads is a pup. With handloads to the levels that the marlin is made to withstand, it gets to be a pretty good kick, but the .45-70 is a straight walled cartridge, instead of a "pop", it's more of a "push" to the shoulder.

I've got three .45-70's now, two marlin 1895's, one a Cowboy and one a Guide Gun (stainless:D), the third is a H&R 1871 Buffalo Classic single shot. I don't think the recoil in any of them is terrible, and I certainly do enjoy target shooting with the cowboy and the H&R.

As James has said, the .45-70Gov't loads are typically no worse than a scoped sporting .30-06 with 165-180grn hunting loads. In the ".45-70Mag" loadings, it's a bit stiffer, but still very managable. Put a recoil pad on and you'll likely never notice it.

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

Thanks guys. I think I am going to go buy one. Anyone know of a place on the net that I can get it for under $549?

That is the cheapest that I have been able to find.

Thanks
Tom

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

I am going to pick one up at Cabelas. Believe it or not they had the best price. $550. Pretty damn excited right now.

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

I have the H&R Buffalo Classic also, It is very fun to shoot and suprisingly accurate. The buffalo bore bullets will rock your world if your not prepared for it (like holding aginst your shoulder correctly ). If you dont hand load I would start with remington 405gr. ,they are kinda weak . It maybe the 36in barrel that makes it have alot of recoil from my rifle

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

I don't care if I do catch some flak for this, but Walmart has them for special orders for $532. It's the same gun, that's where I got mine (of course I got mine for $535 instead of $532 since I bought it two years ago!!). I asked them before I ordered if it showed up and wasn't EXACTLY what I had in mind or wanted if I got my deposit back, and they said I would, so I ordered it, three months later (of course it was on back order at the time) I got it, and the manager threw in a free box of winchester ammo for my inconvenience (pretty certain he's not supposed to do that!!!).

They're nation wide at $532, so unless you've got some weird tax or something on them in your state, or your walmart uses a different distributor than those from TX up to MN, it should be that price at your store. If it isn't, I'd print off their website page that shows that price and take it into the store.

My feelings on buying from walmart, I've typically got more gun/hunting experience than the gun shop clerks I buy from, so I don't honestly gain from their "experience" anyway, so why not just buy my guns from the cheapest place?

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

Nomercy, no abuse from me. I have purchased 2 guns from Walmart because their's was the lowest price I could find. If you are an experienced shooter, what difference does it make where you buy it from? If you are a rookie, it might pay off to buy from a local shop for the customer service.

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

When I got to Cabelas, I decided not to buy it because I didn't like the front sight and I also didn't like the idea that it didn't have studs for mounting a sling. I ended up buying a 336 SS in 30-30. Not really crazy about the caliber but I love the gun.

I wouldn't ever buy a gun from Wal-Mart even if the price was lower. I want to make sure that there are places out there that are going to have the stuff that I need when I need it. Also I don't like Wal-Mart business practices and how they control markets and such.

Tom

RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
 

Stat, if you really think about it, gunshops aren't hurting much if you buy guns from walmart. If you think of where a gun shops major regular income comes from, you'll see why. Shops live on little stuff, ammo mostly. While a good week might see 10-15guns sold, it's going to see a hundred boxes of ammo, a bipod, a scope or two, a few cleaning kits, some gun oil, a set of mounts, a few slings and holsters, etc. Guns are expensive, but their mark up usually isn't huge, so while they make $100 on one gun, they only make about $2000 a week on guns, which isn't half of what they'd make on their other stuff.

Walmart also doesn't sell handguns, used guns, or "fancy" guns, if you really look at what they sell, they don't have much of anything. They've got basically only the guns a beginning shooter/hunter would want or need. If gunshops stopped carrying every gun that walmart sold, they likely wouldn't be hurting much. Certainly not as much as they'd have you think.

I've worked at a few and my old man was a silent partner in two when I was younger, I know a bit of the ins and outs, and while they do lose business to Walmart on bread and butter stuff, the fact that they still have the cream keeps them afloat.

Basically Walmart only speeds up their death, it doesn't kill them. If they die because of walmart, they were going under in the first place.