Comparing 45 cal cartridges
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Comparing 45 cal cartridges
Has anyone done a comparison of 45 cal levergun cartridges?
I would like to figure out which one I want this year. On my list so far:
45-70
450 Marlin
457 Magnum (wildwestguns.com)
Any others worth considering?
Pros and Cons?
I want a 45 cal levergun as there seems to be more non-lead bullets
available for use in CA.
Tanks,
Jay
I would like to figure out which one I want this year. On my list so far:
45-70
450 Marlin
457 Magnum (wildwestguns.com)
Any others worth considering?
Pros and Cons?
I want a 45 cal levergun as there seems to be more non-lead bullets
available for use in CA.
Tanks,
Jay
KI6WZU
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NRA member
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Well, there's the Rossi in 454 casull. It will also shoot 45lc.
Steve Young aka Nate Kiowa Jones Sass# 6765
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Steve's Guns aka "Rossi 92 Specialists"
205 Antler lane
Lampasas, Texas 76550
http://www.stevesgunz.com
Email; steve@stevesgunz.com
Tel: 512-564-1015
The 45-70 can be loaded to do everything the 450Marlin and 457WW will do and then some. A 45-90 of recent manufacture would allow you to shoot 45-70, 457WW and 45-90 cartridges.
The 457WW is a slightly long 45-70 case (or a shortened 45-90) loaded primarily with a 350gr Kodiak at 2100fps give or take a bit. I can get that bullet to the same velocity in the standard 45-70 without being at a max load. Boutique ammunition makers offer such loadings commercially.
This is a similar situation to the 460 S&W. A gun in that caliber will shoot 460, 454 and 45 Colt. The difference here is that the pistol cartridges have much more significant differences in the bullet weight and velocity capability that the rifle cartridges discussed above.
Personally, I am satisfied with the 45-70 with appropriate loads for everything I want to shoot within the range parameters. Generally, I shoot more large critters than most folks with a couple of water buffalo, bison, bears, a host of exotics and an annual Africa trip each year. I've never wished I had a 457WW or a 45-90. If I question the ability of the 45-70 I jump up to a 416 Rigby, 416 Rem Mag or 450/400 3".
The 457WW is a slightly long 45-70 case (or a shortened 45-90) loaded primarily with a 350gr Kodiak at 2100fps give or take a bit. I can get that bullet to the same velocity in the standard 45-70 without being at a max load. Boutique ammunition makers offer such loadings commercially.
This is a similar situation to the 460 S&W. A gun in that caliber will shoot 460, 454 and 45 Colt. The difference here is that the pistol cartridges have much more significant differences in the bullet weight and velocity capability that the rifle cartridges discussed above.
Personally, I am satisfied with the 45-70 with appropriate loads for everything I want to shoot within the range parameters. Generally, I shoot more large critters than most folks with a couple of water buffalo, bison, bears, a host of exotics and an annual Africa trip each year. I've never wished I had a 457WW or a 45-90. If I question the ability of the 45-70 I jump up to a 416 Rigby, 416 Rem Mag or 450/400 3".
This is what I was thinking as well. I wanted to confirm that the 45-7086er wrote:The 45-70 can be loaded to do everything the 450Marlin and 457WW will do and then some.
is what I'm looking for and don't need some new wizbang cartridge.
Thanks 86er
KI6WZU
NRA member
"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'present' or 'not guilty.'"
--President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner”
NRA member
"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'present' or 'not guilty.'"
--President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner”
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Trust me on this one Get the 45/70 first and then buy the Puma in 454 or 45colt. I have both Dont want to offend any body but i would throw away my beloved 30/30 to keep them!!!! i shot my plain jane 1895 for year but for hiking around it is heavy after 4-5 hours, I then traded a Mini-30 stainless in on a Puma 45colt with 16'' barrel and stainless steel. It will do for 95percent of all shooting needs and then of course you need a Ruger 45 for a compaion good luck happy shooting
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I love my 450 Marlin but my 95 LTDIII 45-70 gets more use than any of my other levers with the exception of my 32-20s.
The 45-70 is just plain easy to load for and brass is waayyyy cheaper than the 450 (mainly bullet selection. the longer, heavier bullets don't work well).
I only have one load for the 450M for slaying dragons and other beasties.
The 45-70 gets used for plinking, hunting and everything in between.
The 45-70 is just plain easy to load for and brass is waayyyy cheaper than the 450 (mainly bullet selection. the longer, heavier bullets don't work well).
I only have one load for the 450M for slaying dragons and other beasties.
The 45-70 gets used for plinking, hunting and everything in between.
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Re: Comparing 45 cal cartridges
ill go with the 45-70 also, but im not sure their are more non lead bullets available here in kalifornia. in fact, i havent seen any although if i hunt next year up north i had better have non lead or not hunt.
bsaride wrote:Has anyone done a comparison of 45 cal levergun cartridges?
I would like to figure out which one I want this year. On my list so far:
45-70
450 Marlin
457 Magnum (wildwestguns.com)
Any others worth considering?
Pros and Cons?
I want a 45 cal levergun as there seems to be more non-lead bullets
available for use in CA.
Tanks,
Jay
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86er wrote:The 45-70 can be loaded to do everything the 450Marlin and 457WW will do . . . Personally, I am satisfied with the 45-70 with appropriate loads for everything I want to shoot within the range parameters . . .
Absolutely +1. No whizbang new cartridges needed. Just the right rifle platform.
The 45-70 loaded with 50 grains of 3031 under a 400 gr jacketed soft point and fired in a round-bolt 1895 Marlin will do anything that I need it to in the Lower 48. That load dropped the very last deer that I killed, back in 1987, and I mean dropped. It hit the left shoulder and took out the right one, hitting the lungs and the top of the heart on the way through, and leaving a fist-sized hole on the right side. Despite the stiff load, the cases can be reinserted in the chamber with little force.
The load kills at both ends, but I wouldn't be surprised if it penetrated light armor, given the chance.
Noah
Might as well face it, you're addicted to guns . . .
.45-70. The brass will still be available long after the other cartridges are forgotten. In modern guns the .45-70 is easily loaded to duplicate the other two calibers. Even the .45-70 doesn't offer anything extra unless the gun action allows it to be loaded to a greater COL. In that instance a .45-70 loaded to the same COL would duplicate the .45-90 and could use a ballistically more efficient bullet.
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Re: Comparing 45 cal cartridges
bsaride wrote:Has anyone done a comparison of 45 cal levergun cartridges?
I would like to figure out which one I want this year. On my list so far:
45-70
450 Marlin
457 Magnum (wildwestguns.com)
Any others worth considering?
Pros and Cons?
I want a 45 cal levergun as there seems to be more non-lead bullets
available for use in CA.
Tanks,
Jay
.45-70 !
God bless
Wyr
If I could only have one rifle it would be my .45-70.
Even using Remington factory ammo it's still the best IMO.
Even using Remington factory ammo it's still the best IMO.
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I'd like to have a .454 Rossi but I've heard a lot of bad stuff about them. The Rossi .357 I had was excellent.
"I have reached up to the gun rack and taken down the .30/30 carbine by some process of natural selection, not condoned perhaps by many experts but easily explained by those who spend long periods in the wilderness areas."~Calvin Rutstrum~
"You come to the swamp, you better leave your skirt at the house"~Dave Canterbury~
"You come to the swamp, you better leave your skirt at the house"~Dave Canterbury~
I've had no major problems with mine but I have heard of stocks cracking. Mine does have some overall length and bullet shape concerns. Some bullets it doesn't feed as well as others but that can be a problem with any of the Rossies(or Marlins for that matter). I've never shot SWCs in mine so I don't know if there's a problem there. The overall length deal is because the 454 is near the max for the design of the action. My problem was with a wide flat pointed cast bullet(two crimp groves) seated out to the second crimp groove. With it seated to the seated to the deeper grove, the problem went away, with the loss of some powder space. I needed to seat them deeper anyway to get rid of a little bullet jump in the pistol to get more neck tension.Swampman wrote:I'd like to have a .454 Rossi but I've heard a lot of bad stuff about them. The Rossi .357 I had was excellent.
The 45-70 can handle much heavier bullets than 454.
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My Rossi 454 is the best made (fit, finish, smoothness) of the four Rossi's I've had. Functions fine, too. My 2007-vintage gun's buttstock has a soft plastic 'sleeve' in the tang-screw hole, which may be a response to the stock cracking issues; I don't know if they have always had that.
Power-wise, it seems like the 454 has to be 'pushed' to get where the 45-70 goes even with moderate loads. You can push the 45-70 really far in the right guns, although mine is a Marlin 1895 and I don't know that I'd want to 'push' it too far in that action.
The thing is, what is there you really need a 'hot' 45-70 for, anyway? Not very many things I can think of a properly placed moderate load wouldn't drop in its tracks on the U.S. continent. Probably with the right bullet the same can be said for the .454, which is in a handier package. You can slim down the 45-70 as a 'guide' gun and get what the stock .454 is like, but you could slim down the 454 and get a REALLY light little gun if you wanted. Just a mite less power.
Power-wise, it seems like the 454 has to be 'pushed' to get where the 45-70 goes even with moderate loads. You can push the 45-70 really far in the right guns, although mine is a Marlin 1895 and I don't know that I'd want to 'push' it too far in that action.
The thing is, what is there you really need a 'hot' 45-70 for, anyway? Not very many things I can think of a properly placed moderate load wouldn't drop in its tracks on the U.S. continent. Probably with the right bullet the same can be said for the .454, which is in a handier package. You can slim down the 45-70 as a 'guide' gun and get what the stock .454 is like, but you could slim down the 454 and get a REALLY light little gun if you wanted. Just a mite less power.
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