45/70 govt.

K

KoRn.357

Inactive
In the realm of because I simply could. I picked up a BFR in 45/70 on Saturday. Going shooting next weekend with it.
Anyone else shooting that in here?
 
Of course there are because it's a great cartridge !! :)
Mine is a Browning 1885 and I use 300 gr Barnes factory ammo .Accurate, low recoil, very effective on deer !!
 
Is that the 7.5 inch barrel one? I'd like to try shooting one eventually, though I'd prefer a reduced power load first.
 
When you get to the 500 gr. bullets in a handgun, that is really a test of your concentration!


Story from my past:

I was introduced to the Thompson Contender about 1981 or so. We, my son-in-law, his friend, and me, had set up the steel ram at about 100 yards. This was sitting on the ground, and we used a steel rod to prop up up so it wouldn't fall with each hit from our .44 Magnum revolvers. We could hear the "Clang" when a .44 slug hit it. I took a shot with the .45-70 Contender, with 500 gr. bullets, and not only was there a resounding "Clang" but the ram did two flips backwards. That was impressive.

Bob Wright
 
I've been checking out the bfr only round by Garrett. It looks impressive. I already know I'm going to have to buy at least a box just to see what it's like.
 
My dad has a Contender with a super 14 barrel. That thing is a real beast. My uncle owned it before my dad and he now has hearing aids from shooting it with no hearing protection for years. :rolleyes:
 
I've always wanted to try a BFR. I like the .45-70 and have two, an 1895G Guide Gun and an H&R Buffalo Classic. Not sure I'm brave enough to pull the trigger on a .45-70 revolver!
 
Mine is a Browning 1885 and I use 300 gr Barnes factory ammo .Accurate, low recoil, very effective on deer !!
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I've never shot a .45/70. (In either revolver or rifle.)

It sounds like you're serious about the low recoil but maybe you mean it's low recoil compared to other .45/70 offerings.

How does the recoil compare to a regular .45 Colt 250 grain loading or a .357 magnum 158 grain loading?
 
DaleA, the recoil of any .45-70 Gov't loading is going to recoil much, much more than any .357 or .45 Colt load. The .45-70 is in a different class of ammunition altogether.

I am sure that the reference to a low recoiling 300 grain load is in comparison to other .45-70 loads. I have 405 gr LRN loads that recoil less than 300 gr JSPs but honestly they are all fairly stout compared to any pistol load that I know of except possibly .454 Casull or .500 S&W.
 
Even 'powerderpuff' 45/70 rifle loads (I load some just barely subsonic loads with Trailboss and 405 gn lead bullets) are going to get your attention in a revolver. I don't think I'd want to try my Marlin 1895 loads for deer hunting (300 gn HP at chronoed 2100 FPS in my rifle) in that revolver - I think it calculated out to around 28-30 foot pounds of recoil energy. Alot of 357 Mag loads come in around 9 foot pounds.
 
I have one, 7.5". You can load it anywhere from powderpuff to break your wrist, literally. My plinking loads are 300gr with 2400. Hunting loads with 305gr and 325gr FTX stout. I have shot a few 405gr loads done quite stout. These border on being able to hold on to the gun. They are more for the wow factor than anything practical.

I struggle with the fact that while I can shoot quite well with the plinking loads, I struggle with a very different zero with stout loads and after many loads I am not comfortable with my accuracy with the 325gr loads driven well. So I have not hunted with it yet having owned it a couple years. Honestly the plinking loads would perforate a deer and keep on going so I should probably just shoot them!
 
Howdy

I only shoot 45-70 in rifles. Pedersoli Sharps, original Trapdoor, and an original Model 1886 Winchester that I'm still fooling around with. 405 grain bullets and 65 or so grains of FFg are plenty in a rifle, I don't think I would want to try it in a revolver.
 
There was a time I thought a .45-70 revolver was a nice feat of engineering, but a pointless waste of powder and lead that would have been better used shooting a .454 Casull.

Then I realized that anything called BFR was too awesome to bash and now I want one.

If anything, you could load the .45-70 case with three round balls and have yourself something better than a .410 revolver. Better quality too.
 
Thanks for all the info on recoil guys.

Well, of course I'm tough enough to stand up to recoil of just about anything but, since I won't shoot a Ruger LCR with 158 grain .357 magnum rounds (again), I think (based on this info) that I can probably say a .45/70 revolver would not be my cup of tea. ("A man's got to know his limitations.")
 
How does the recoil compare to a regular .45 Colt 250 grain loading or a .357 magnum 158 grain loading?
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They compare quite well, like apples and orangutans!:eek::D

I have a 10" Contender barrel in .357 Mag, one in .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. And a 14" in .45-70

So, I've had the opportunity to compare recoil in very nearly identical guns.

The .44MAG is the sharpest, with the most muzzle rise, but its also the lightest, with its thin octagon barrel. The longer "bull" barrel of the .45-70, and all those little holes near the muzzle keep the rise down, but the recoil is heavier than the .44 Mag. its just a slower feeling push.

And that is with a 400gr cast bullet and the old Lyman "factory duplication load". (black powder speed)

I don't shoot anything heavier out of my Contender. And I don't shoot 500gr slugs, though I could if I felt I could handle the recoil.

Felt recoil isn't a matter of velocity alone, its many factors including the gun grip, and the shooter. Big heavy bullets even at low speeds have significant recoil.

.45 Colt, a 250gr @ 900fps, shall we say? OK, now think about a 400gr bullet at that same speed. I don't know what the BFR weighs, I know its heavy, but if its not as proportionally heavier than the .45Colt gun as a 250gr is to a 400gr, its going to recoil MORE.

I've had a (modern) Marlin 1895, and still have my Contender and a Ruger No.3. So I've got experience with guns taking loads from all 3 levels.

I don't know where, in the strength group the BFR goes. Certainly group I, (Trapdoor level, standard factory loads). Don't know if it can take Group II (Win 1886 & Marlin 1895) level loads, but I suspect not.

If you CAN run 300gr loads up in the 1800fps level (rifle length barrel - no idea what a 7.5" would actually deliver), safely, I would expect that you will need to see a neurosurgeon later in life, and maybe not so much later! :eek::D

Shooting a 3,4, or 500gr bullet at black powder speeds is a HELL of a lot of punch from something that is (less than?) half the weight and much, much smaller than a .45-70 rifle.

Enjoy!

One more thing, if you aren't experienced, and don't control it, my .45-70 Contender WILL wack you in the nose!! I would expect the same thing is possible with a BFR!
 
I had sent Magnum Research an email asking just what rounds it could handle. The response was any commercial round available that didn't specify "not for revolvers" the bfr will eat with zero problems.
We shall see on Saturday just how amazing or punishing this gun is.
 
When I first had a Contender, I bought a 45-70 barrel for it. 16". I loaded up some 340 grain Lee bullets over 40 grains of H-322.
The first shot: The entire gun went vertical in my hands - really trying to get to my forehead - and darn near sprained my wrist. The guy next to me said: "What IS that?". "A 45-70", I answered. He looked at me and at the gun for a moment and said "Why don't you just hit yourself with a hammer?"
 
I guess there are folks who just like to punish themselves with big cartridges in handguns, but I have never seen the point. Some years ago (prior to GCA '68) someone built a revolver to shoot .600 Nitro Express. IIRC, he fired one shot and suffered a wrist fracture; he retired the gun with the other 5 (?) shots being removed unfired.

Jim
 
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