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Q:
can some one tell me what exactly a 45/70 is please ? I mean is it a .45 cal or what , and if it is what does the 70 mean
Question by bearcoldheart. Uploaded on November 21, 2009
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Answers (10)
.45 is the caliber and the 70 refers to weight in grains of the black powder charge - at least according to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70
(I have found wikipedia to be great source of basic information about different calibers.)
You can knock a tree down with one. Better be ready if you are gonna shoot one.
Yep it means it's a 45 caliber with 70 grains of blackpowder, just like the 30/30 and the 32/20 and the 44/40, etc.......
All this is true, and its a great caliber. Marlin makes a nice lever action guide gun chambered in .45-70 that is fairly popular for self defense guns for bear in Alaska.
Yeah, but don't spend a lot of time at the range with that Marlin. It's noisy and bruising. By the way, the federal agencies up there in Alaska use either .375 rifle or 12 gauge shotgun with slugs for grizzly medicine, depending on the agency. If I had my druthers, I would have opted for .375 double-barrel rifle (rather than the issue bolt actions) backed up with shotgun. If a bear is chewing on a visitor eighty yards upriver, I wouldn't want to try to knock him down with a shotgun. Could easily hit the visitor instead. Most of the short barrel riot or deer shotguns they issue to rangers are quite light. Frankly, I can't imagine some of the little bear tech gals I met getting off more than one round before they're staring at the sky. But I guess they can. They have to qualify on the range.
It was my understanding that the diameters where different aswell.The 45-70 around .458 and the 45 colt in at .452-.454 making the use of .45 colt in a .45-70 less accurate.
The 70 part is why most factory ammo is weak. They don't want people blowing up their old trapdoors with the powerful loads that are this cartridge's potential. They are only made for the old low pressure blackpowder loadings. Handloads and some of the specialty hot loads are very powerful, on par with a .458 Winchester Magnum. No joke. Nothing is safe.
Shane you are partially correct. The 70 is for 70 grains of black powder that used to limit the 45-70 but not today you can get max loads for your marlain from several places, I think hunting shack, and buffalo bore come to mind. And yes this load is a tuffy, it's kill all big 6 Dangerous game animals in Africa. (leverguns.com) I love mine, I've also got a 450 marline that I plan on shooting tomorrow.
That's basically what I was saying, the original guns intended for 70 grains of stinky stuff can't take the good high pressure loads we have available, so most basic factory ammo is weak. I've been known to advertise for B.B. and Garrett loads on here, mentioning the ABG taken with such fire-breathing loads. The .450 Marlin was developed as a modern .45-70 - powerful and made for rifles that could chamber it. No worries about old guns. That's why it's belted, so it won't fit in any .45-70s. If you don't reload, you might be better off getting a .450 so you have full power loads all the time.
This discussion of cheap and antiquated guns leaves room for additional comment. I had a Ruger #1, chambered for .45 Basic (.45-120). By using buffers or wads to take up space, it could be loaded down to .45/70, or up to .458 Whatever. This would be your best bet for versatility. Learned all my stuff from a gunsmith friend (ex-Army Sniper) who fired every load imaginable from a Remington Rolling Block with a Unertl scope. He left no doubt about the .458's long-range accuracy. I strongly recommend the Ruger. You may just want to go with the .458 Win Mag, as the .45-70 is not recommended for anything as big as mebbe 700 lbs plus.
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.45 is the caliber and the 70 refers to weight in grains of the black powder charge - at least according to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70
(I have found wikipedia to be great source of basic information about different calibers.)
You can knock a tree down with one. Better be ready if you are gonna shoot one.
All this is true, and its a great caliber. Marlin makes a nice lever action guide gun chambered in .45-70 that is fairly popular for self defense guns for bear in Alaska.
Yep it means it's a 45 caliber with 70 grains of blackpowder, just like the 30/30 and the 32/20 and the 44/40, etc.......
Yeah, but don't spend a lot of time at the range with that Marlin. It's noisy and bruising. By the way, the federal agencies up there in Alaska use either .375 rifle or 12 gauge shotgun with slugs for grizzly medicine, depending on the agency. If I had my druthers, I would have opted for .375 double-barrel rifle (rather than the issue bolt actions) backed up with shotgun. If a bear is chewing on a visitor eighty yards upriver, I wouldn't want to try to knock him down with a shotgun. Could easily hit the visitor instead. Most of the short barrel riot or deer shotguns they issue to rangers are quite light. Frankly, I can't imagine some of the little bear tech gals I met getting off more than one round before they're staring at the sky. But I guess they can. They have to qualify on the range.
It was my understanding that the diameters where different aswell.The 45-70 around .458 and the 45 colt in at .452-.454 making the use of .45 colt in a .45-70 less accurate.
The 70 part is why most factory ammo is weak. They don't want people blowing up their old trapdoors with the powerful loads that are this cartridge's potential. They are only made for the old low pressure blackpowder loadings. Handloads and some of the specialty hot loads are very powerful, on par with a .458 Winchester Magnum. No joke. Nothing is safe.
Shane you are partially correct. The 70 is for 70 grains of black powder that used to limit the 45-70 but not today you can get max loads for your marlain from several places, I think hunting shack, and buffalo bore come to mind. And yes this load is a tuffy, it's kill all big 6 Dangerous game animals in Africa. (leverguns.com) I love mine, I've also got a 450 marline that I plan on shooting tomorrow.
That's basically what I was saying, the original guns intended for 70 grains of stinky stuff can't take the good high pressure loads we have available, so most basic factory ammo is weak. I've been known to advertise for B.B. and Garrett loads on here, mentioning the ABG taken with such fire-breathing loads. The .450 Marlin was developed as a modern .45-70 - powerful and made for rifles that could chamber it. No worries about old guns. That's why it's belted, so it won't fit in any .45-70s. If you don't reload, you might be better off getting a .450 so you have full power loads all the time.
This discussion of cheap and antiquated guns leaves room for additional comment. I had a Ruger #1, chambered for .45 Basic (.45-120). By using buffers or wads to take up space, it could be loaded down to .45/70, or up to .458 Whatever. This would be your best bet for versatility. Learned all my stuff from a gunsmith friend (ex-Army Sniper) who fired every load imaginable from a Remington Rolling Block with a Unertl scope. He left no doubt about the .458's long-range accuracy. I strongly recommend the Ruger. You may just want to go with the .458 Win Mag, as the .45-70 is not recommended for anything as big as mebbe 700 lbs plus.
Post an Answer