Briman

There's a reason why long range .45 rifle bullets weigh 500 gr. The 45/70 is not a flat shooting high velocity caliber, its going to have a pronounced rainbow trajectory no matter what you use. The 500 grain bullets have the advantage of using sheer mass and momentum along with a large diameter to put a big deep hole in things when the bullet finally makes contact far downrange.

BarnesX.308

Why is a Barnes X bullet overkill on a whitetail? I use Barnes X bullets exclusively for whitetails and so does everyone in my camp. They drop deer in their tracks and destroy very little meat. Don't avoid using them.

G2 Shooter

I have decided to use the Barnes X-Bullet in 350 grain because of the better BC than the 300 grain. I have read a lot of articles on it and I am impressed. Do any of you guys have the Barnes Reloading Manual Number 3? If yes, could you please tell me if there is a lot of information in it about loading the .45/70 with this bullet. I can't find one local and don't want to buy it without knowing how much it will help me out with this little project.
Thanks to all.

HighDesertWolf

hey G2 after my last post , your idea caught my interest so much ive been doing a little something with a 357 magnum, I was thinking of buying a 45-70 but wouldnt fit in my budget at the time. But to make a long post short i'm getting nearly 30-30 performance from a 357 magnum out of my marlin 1894 carbine. I worked up my load and chronographed it today I'm pushing a 125 grain Montana Gold JHP sitting on a little over 22 grains H110 at 2276 fps. My extreme spread is incredible each load i shot was within 7 fps of eachother. I calculated 1439 ft lbs of muzzle energy. not quite equal to a 30-30 but pretty darn close. Who says wild catting isnt contageous LOL

G2 Shooter

I'm not so crazy after all.

I knew a guy who had a custom, break action in .357 magnum. It had an 18" barrell on it and he would shoot deer in the ear at 100 yards with it all the time.

I am going to the gun show in Frederick this weekend to look for a die set for the .45/70. I'm short on time due to my 7 month old daughter and hunting so I probably won't start playing with this load until Feb. My wife put me on house arrest so I have to prioritize my projects now.

quigleysharps4570

Have you considered a cast bullet? I shoot the 535gr. Postell in mine, it shoots well. I shoot smokeless and black both. If you plan on any long range shooting, a rangefinder is a must. I carry one everytime I go out, wether it be hunting or shooting. Yes there are modern cartridges that are flatter shooting, but that's where alot of practice comes in to the picture. I've ran a few thousand rounds through mine, so I know all my elevation settings. But I've got to know the yardage. Then I can dial it right up.

biggunz.45-70

The 350 gr barnes x bullet was designed to expand at .458 win mag velocity so I wonder if it will work at 300 yrds when started at .45-70 velocity. Barnes used to make a 300 gr spitzer soft point bullet in the barnes original line. I've been using the original flat nose with good results. That wide flat nose on most .45-70 bullets does add to their killing power at low velocity.

eldeguello

You're certainly NOT crazy! I shoot the Barnes Original 400-grain semispitzer from my Ruger No. 1 at 2270 FPS MV. It rises 3.3" with a 200-yard zero, and hits 8.9" low at 270 yards. It has 4,576 foot-pounds at the muzzle, 2550 FP at 300 yards, and 2075FP at 400 yards, where it is only 38" low. For elk hunting, I zero it +5" @ 100 yards, and it is only 7" low at 300 yards. It rises to a max. ordinate of +6" with this zero, giving point-blank range on big animals, well within the vital zone of a bull elk or moose, from the muzzle to 300 yards with enough impact to kill anything in North America all the way to 400 yards!

Actually, with the right bullets, the .45/70 is hardly obsolete!!

G2 Shooter

Now that is what I'm talking about! Sounds like you have a nice load for your Ruger. Would you mind sending me some load data that I can look at?

eldeguello

Well, my Ruger No. 1 load with the 400-grain Barnes Original semispitzer is 60 grains of RE 7. It uses REM. cases, and the Fed. 210 primer. This load runs close to 52,000 PSI, and should NOT be used in any rifle except a N0. 1, and then approached from 5% below! It gives 55 foot-pounds of recoil in the Ruger, and of course in no way should be fired in a handgun of any sort. How an Encore would handle it is unknown. But there's no reason you could not use up to 55 grains of either RE 7 or 3031 in your Encore with the same bullet, which should give you at least 2000 FPS from it with no problems, if you can handle the recoil.