Kreyzhorse
New member
The 45-70 can get wild or mild and offers a wider range of offerings than your other options.
44/45 Magnum VS. 45-70 Do_All-Levergun
- Thread starter wilkup
- Start date
In the poll I voted 'other' because to me a great all-around lever action would be a Savage 99 in .300 Sav, .308 Win or .358 Win. I wouldn't hesitate to hunt anything here in Idaho with any of those calibers.
I'm a fan of the 30-30 as well. Way underrated, as has been correctly pointed out in some of the above posts. The Savage 99 is, IMHO, one of the finest rifles ever made, anywhere, by anybody.
I'm a fan of the 30-30 as well. Way underrated, as has been correctly pointed out in some of the above posts. The Savage 99 is, IMHO, one of the finest rifles ever made, anywhere, by anybody.
Shotgun693
New member
I loved the .45/70 until my right shoulder was rebuilt. They took all the padding off . I could take the butt on bone with the .45/70 so tried the .38/55 and just love it. A 250 gr bullet at 1700+fps will kill anything in Texas I can afford to shoot.
45 colt vs 45-70 in Indiana
I hunt mainly in WVa. and Maryland, but I do hunt in Indiana on my Dad's farm on occasions. In Indiana, you can hunt with a carbine/rifle in 44 mag and 45 colt, but not in 45-70 Gvmt. But some of 45 colt hand loads can be almost as powerful as some low and medium rangs 45-70 loads, and still stay within factory safty limits of both the Marlin and Winchester and Rossi Carbines. You don't need 454 casouls in a carbine for bear or deer east of the BIG MUDDY. Even the 357 is good powerful short range deer and vermin gun especially in a 24 inch Levergun in any brand of carbine/rifle.
J Budd
I hunt mainly in WVa. and Maryland, but I do hunt in Indiana on my Dad's farm on occasions. In Indiana, you can hunt with a carbine/rifle in 44 mag and 45 colt, but not in 45-70 Gvmt. But some of 45 colt hand loads can be almost as powerful as some low and medium rangs 45-70 loads, and still stay within factory safty limits of both the Marlin and Winchester and Rossi Carbines. You don't need 454 casouls in a carbine for bear or deer east of the BIG MUDDY. Even the 357 is good powerful short range deer and vermin gun especially in a 24 inch Levergun in any brand of carbine/rifle.
J Budd
Rio Grande?
Alright, I know I said I wasn't interested in anything but Marlins and the Rossi 92, but I was at the store this afternoon and couldn't help but walk over to the gun counter and ask to check the different guns they had.
Well, I looked at a Marlin GBL 45-70, Rossi Rio Grande 30-30 and Rossi M92 357.
I was a little disappointed and shocked to see how poor the fit/finish on the Marlin was and listen to the shop guy talk it up. The stock was about 1/8-1/4'' above the tang on either side on top and the screws going into the bottom stuck out so far they had apparently already scratched the lever were it touches. This was the same with 2 other ones I asked to look at as well. One of them had tooling marks when I worked the lever to look into the chamber as well.
The next gun I checked out was the M92 which I don't really have anything negative to say about, other than not really liking the wood very much.
I decided to look at the Rio Grande just out of curiosity and ended up comparing the 4 they had (1 stainless, 3 blued) just to compare their quality. I can't say enough about this gun after handling the other ones. The fit and finish was very impressive on all of them! 3 of the 4 cycled smoothly and with a little work (clean/lube) I'm sure would be even better. The wood's not great, but it fit the rifle exactly how it's supposed to. It has barrel bands, which I'm not too excited about, but for a brand new rifle that will cost about $400 OTD I can get over that.
Does anyone have experience with these Rossi RG models? I've been cruising the net looking for anything I can on these after seeing them and haven't been able to turn up too much, unfortunately. I'd love some perspective from owners =) Thanks for listening and the continued advice.
Alright, I know I said I wasn't interested in anything but Marlins and the Rossi 92, but I was at the store this afternoon and couldn't help but walk over to the gun counter and ask to check the different guns they had.
Well, I looked at a Marlin GBL 45-70, Rossi Rio Grande 30-30 and Rossi M92 357.
I was a little disappointed and shocked to see how poor the fit/finish on the Marlin was and listen to the shop guy talk it up. The stock was about 1/8-1/4'' above the tang on either side on top and the screws going into the bottom stuck out so far they had apparently already scratched the lever were it touches. This was the same with 2 other ones I asked to look at as well. One of them had tooling marks when I worked the lever to look into the chamber as well.
The next gun I checked out was the M92 which I don't really have anything negative to say about, other than not really liking the wood very much.
I decided to look at the Rio Grande just out of curiosity and ended up comparing the 4 they had (1 stainless, 3 blued) just to compare their quality. I can't say enough about this gun after handling the other ones. The fit and finish was very impressive on all of them! 3 of the 4 cycled smoothly and with a little work (clean/lube) I'm sure would be even better. The wood's not great, but it fit the rifle exactly how it's supposed to. It has barrel bands, which I'm not too excited about, but for a brand new rifle that will cost about $400 OTD I can get over that.
Does anyone have experience with these Rossi RG models? I've been cruising the net looking for anything I can on these after seeing them and haven't been able to turn up too much, unfortunately. I'd love some perspective from owners =) Thanks for listening and the continued advice.
tahunua001
New member
usually there are bait and hound exceptions for bears. unlike deer, elk and other large game, bears are loners that tend to have very large territories and do not keep the same schedules from day to day unless they have a very predictable food source so the only real way to hunt them are with bait or hounds. I haven't read about the washington laws but idaho has separate black bear seasons, spring is bait only, fall is hound only. of course you can hunt without either of these but your odds of a harvest are slim.
You have a bunch of responses, and the truth is any of the choices would do. A .44 and a .30-30 would both be better for your purposes than the .45-70 EXCEPT when it comes to elk or big bear. Even then they will work.
Someone mentioned the .454, which essentially combines the attributes of the .45 Colt/.44 Mag with the power of the .47-70. It looks like a great choice as well.
If I were you, I would buy a .30-30. If not a .30-30 I would go for a .44 magnum. I would anticipate buying a larger caliber bolt gun in the future, such as a .30-06 to cover the larger game/longer ranges.
I believe you will have more fun and save money with the smaller calibers at the range. Both the .30-30 and .44 mag cost about the same to shoot in factory ammo, and both are substantially cheaper than the .45-70.
Someone mentioned the .454, which essentially combines the attributes of the .45 Colt/.44 Mag with the power of the .47-70. It looks like a great choice as well.
If I were you, I would buy a .30-30. If not a .30-30 I would go for a .44 magnum. I would anticipate buying a larger caliber bolt gun in the future, such as a .30-06 to cover the larger game/longer ranges.
I believe you will have more fun and save money with the smaller calibers at the range. Both the .30-30 and .44 mag cost about the same to shoot in factory ammo, and both are substantially cheaper than the .45-70.
tahunua001
New member
congrats on the 336. it will serve you well. be sure to post a range review.
Id go with the 45/70. You can load some trailboss under a 300 grain bullet for real easy shooting all the way to crazy loads. The 45/70 has a lot of selection. I have seen bullets as light as 250 grains all the way up to cast bullets of 550 grains.
While personally I would not take a 45/70 to hunt DG in Africa it would be perfectibility suitable for plains animals. I know there are people that have hunted Black Death with the 45/70 and I feel it is capable of killing any animal on earth but I don't think it is a stopping rifle. Until I went to Africa I would not of believed it. But when you see a buffalo up close you feel under gunned with any thing (in my case a 458 Lott).
For american game I think the 45/70 would be just fine as long as the shooter can shoot well with it. If you are able to adjust for long range shots and judge distances well (its harder than you think) the 45/70 would make a fine Alaska gun. But I feel that most people would be better served with a faster bolt gun.
Sorry I got to rambling there. I love the 45/70 Its one of my favorite rounds but I think many people think its more than it is. It is not an Elephant round. But as a general do all caliber I think its very capable of any thing you will see this side of the pond.
p.s. hunting in Africa is not much more than hunting Alaska (out side of the flight). Again sorry for rambling on, i just get nostalgic with the 45/70.
While personally I would not take a 45/70 to hunt DG in Africa it would be perfectibility suitable for plains animals. I know there are people that have hunted Black Death with the 45/70 and I feel it is capable of killing any animal on earth but I don't think it is a stopping rifle. Until I went to Africa I would not of believed it. But when you see a buffalo up close you feel under gunned with any thing (in my case a 458 Lott).
For american game I think the 45/70 would be just fine as long as the shooter can shoot well with it. If you are able to adjust for long range shots and judge distances well (its harder than you think) the 45/70 would make a fine Alaska gun. But I feel that most people would be better served with a faster bolt gun.
Sorry I got to rambling there. I love the 45/70 Its one of my favorite rounds but I think many people think its more than it is. It is not an Elephant round. But as a general do all caliber I think its very capable of any thing you will see this side of the pond.
p.s. hunting in Africa is not much more than hunting Alaska (out side of the flight). Again sorry for rambling on, i just get nostalgic with the 45/70.
Rossi 45-70 Rio Grande
I agree the 45-70 gov is a great cal for BIG game. I have a 30-06 and a 30-30 for smaller game.
So I bought a Rossi 45-70 lever Rio Grande. Out of the box, the lever action locked up - - sent back to factory. Two months later they said they could not fix it so sent me a new one. Tried to test fire the gun and it missed fired every time. Also the lever was so loose that it would open under normal handeling, like adding a scope. TOOK IT BACK
Bought a Marlin 1894 45-70 and the action is night and day better than that Rossi. My gunsmith said that the Rossi manufacturing has gone down hill with cheaper steel and manufacturing standards - I can believe it.
Too bad Marlin was bought by Remington - May be the death nell for any new marlion levers.
I added a Busnell Yardage Pro rangefinder scope - a must for the longer shots with the 45-70.
I agree the 45-70 gov is a great cal for BIG game. I have a 30-06 and a 30-30 for smaller game.
So I bought a Rossi 45-70 lever Rio Grande. Out of the box, the lever action locked up - - sent back to factory. Two months later they said they could not fix it so sent me a new one. Tried to test fire the gun and it missed fired every time. Also the lever was so loose that it would open under normal handeling, like adding a scope. TOOK IT BACK
Bought a Marlin 1894 45-70 and the action is night and day better than that Rossi. My gunsmith said that the Rossi manufacturing has gone down hill with cheaper steel and manufacturing standards - I can believe it.
Too bad Marlin was bought by Remington - May be the death nell for any new marlion levers.
I added a Busnell Yardage Pro rangefinder scope - a must for the longer shots with the 45-70.
44 Mag and 45 Colt are for a revolver. If you're going to get a rifle, you might as well go with a rifle cartridge to take full advantage. That's one of the reasons I have a 45-70.
One train of thought, however, is to have a rifle with the same cartridge as your handgun, but in many cases (especially when shooting cast bullets) the rifle won't bore the same diameter as the handgun. You'd still have to load them separately (and size the bullets differently if you cast your own).
One train of thought, however, is to have a rifle with the same cartridge as your handgun, but in many cases (especially when shooting cast bullets) the rifle won't bore the same diameter as the handgun. You'd still have to load them separately (and size the bullets differently if you cast your own).