45-70 for plains game?

[crs]

Nice boar taken with my 45-70 DR.
This one had been cornered by the dogs in a hole in a narrow creek and was fighting the dogs from under a downed tree.
the .410 is also very effective as in this pic of my 1895 .405 and boar shot as he ran by me. See blood on back of head.

 

[flatwater bill]

I have used the 45-2.1 on many a plains game hunt. Used a 405 grain hard cast driven by 63 grains of FFg at 1234 fps, a factory Leverevolution 325 grainer at 1970fps, and a 490 hardcast round nose at 1220, a Hawk 350 grain Hollowpoint at 1450, and others. If you can't get close enough for these loads, maybe you haven't earned your trophy......Good luck, good hunting............don't listen to nay sayers.....FWB

 

[crs]

"If you can't get close enough for these loads, maybe you haven't earned your trophy......Good luck, good hunting............don't listen to nay sayers."....FWB

Well said!
And thanks for speaking up!

 

[JOHN GRENZ]

It’ll work just fine. I’ve used my Marlin 1895 for anything from gophers to bison. None took more than a couple of steps before falling, especially the gophers.

 

[leslie hetrick]

a nice eating doe taken with my ruger #3 in 45-70, 300 gr Hornady with 50 grs imr 4198 and the very dangerous doe stealing mountain stump that charged and darn near got me and the doe, but for a low heart shot at very close range.

 

[Serbian Hunter]

I brought my Marlin 1895 Guide Gun .45/70 in Namibia and SAR on two occasions and had a chance to take Buffalo cow, zebra, Red H, Blue W, pigs, and oryx with it. I used Speer 400grs FP and 420grs HC WFNGC both on 1,700fps. Soft point was a bit too soft for plaint game but hardcast worked perfectly. For buffalo I used my own construction (something like combination of Punch Bullets made of 100% copper with driving bands) 400grs WFN 1.850fps with extraordinary results; I took a frontal shot at 50m and bullet stopped just under the skin next to the tail. Two side shots made exit wounds so my conclusion is that you can 100% rely on your .45/70 and have a great and successful hunt!

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

@Serbian Hunter After I get my reloading press set up I may trouble you for that load. That sounds like just the ticket for larger beasts.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

@leslie hetrick that sir is a beautiful rifle. I went looking for one just like it before I bought my Henry. The English style stock allows me the necessary room to grip the rifle properly, and I'm very sentimental for rolling block actions my father hunted with a martini endfield chambered for .303 commonwealth or British.

 

[Serbian Hunter]

@Serbian Hunter After I get my reloading press set up I may trouble you for that load. That sounds like just the ticket for larger beasts.

Skinnersblade,
No problem although I was using EU powders (Vihtavuori)

 

[tarbe]

Skinnersblade,
No problem although I was using EU powders (Vihtavuori)

Vihtavuori is widely available in the U.S.

 

[leslie hetrick]

yep, I use a lot of N560 in my 6.5x55 swedes. cost a little more than our regular powders(imr 4350 4064 ect)

 

[crs]

Serbian Hunter
Those bullets strongly resemble the North Fork FPS (flat point solid) which are utterly reliable penetrators.
Did you load a hollow base with lead as does the brass Punch bullet? Punch is a short-for-weight bullet that does penetrate.

PS I also use VV powders; particularly N133 to keep down pressures in my .45-70 DR and .405 WCF DR.

 

[Serbian Hunter]

CRS

Serbian Hunter
Those bullets strongly resemble the North Fork FPS (flat point solid) which are utterly reliable penetrators.
Did you load a hollow base with lead as does the brass Punch bullet? Punch is a short-for-weight bullet that does penetrate.

PS I also use VV powders; particularly N133 to keep down pressures in my .45-70 DR and .405 WCF DR.

CRS,
Punch bullets are great but since I couldn't import them I was forced to develop my own solution.
I made my bullets on lathe (my friend draw and made them for me but according to my idea and inputs)
My project task was:
- Keep OAL on max 65.2mm in order to secure flawless cycling
- Maximize velocity but stay on 40.000PSI level
- Min bullet weight 400grs
Due to relatively low capacity of .45-70 case, I was forced to stay on as short bullet as possible so - stayed away from solids. Hard cast was one of the options but sometime lacking consistency. WFN is a shape which offers good penetration. Result: Copper bullet, hollowed base filled with soft lead made on lathe. In order to give some extra velocity put 7 driving bands. My calculations said that driving bands gave me add 30m/s on the same pressure level. Tested in 6L water jugs (6"x6" base) and bullet went through all 10 jugs I had in line (m=400grs, V=560ms)

 

[Longwalker]

Those bullets are pretty! Look like they work well too!

 

[tarbe]

Punch bullets are great but since I couldn't import them I was forced to develop my own solution.
Tested in 6L water jugs (6"x6" base) and bullet went through all 10 jugs I had in line (m=400grs, V=560ms)
-

Great work!

My hat is off to you (and your lathe-operating friend)!

Tim

 

[Serbian Hunter]

Tnx
I was just stubborn to find bullet which could "magnumize" my chances vs buff

 

[Dr Ray]

I have only been to Africa twice but those experiences have taught me that a more flexible jack of all trades caliber is better than a specialized one and I would consider the 45-70 a short range specialist. So if your hunting the bushveld of the Limpopo or the NWP its a great choice providing you are using a quality bullet and you can keep your shots at 100 yards or less but if you hunting the open spaces of the Eastern Cape it sucks. That being said even in the Limpopo and the NWP you may need to shoot 200 yards and that's just not what the 45-70 was made for. As for the size of the game you can take with your 45-70, well that's a personal opinion and everyone's will be different, as for me I would limit myself to Zebra and below.

In the end the 45-70 will work but a 30-06 with a 180 grain bullet is a much better choice.

Yes and the 45/70 has a trajectory of a rainbow!

 

[edward]

i took my 1st cape buffalo with my scope sighted contender in 45-70,shooting the 405 gr corbon penetrator solid at 63 yards.

 

[Serbian Hunter]

Dr Ray,
I fully agree with your rainbow and universal caliber comments but buff hunt is all about shooting big and potentially dangerous target on not more than 50 m where trajectory is not critical component. Also, minimal caliber for buff is .375 even mighty 9.3 mm is not legal at SAR.
And yes, shooting with .30-06 would be much easier especially having in mind long(er) distance shooting but I was more looking for "old way" rather than "easy way". I am not saying it's better but it's the way I like.
I hunted plaint game in Namibia with .45-70 with longest shot at zebra at 240 yds using Burris 2-7x32 (handgun/scout) with Balistic Plex. This reticle together with rangefinder helped me to "flatten the rainbow" and shoot at up to 270 yds

 

[Serbian Hunter]

i took my 1st cape buffalo with my scope sighted contender in 45-70,shooting the 405 gr corbon penetrator solid at 63 yards.View attachment 320641

Beautiful Dagga Boy and great choice of weapon/caliber!