.45-70 info?

Satanta; Go to "search" and type in 45-70 and you'll get a wealth of info on the 45-70. I owned a Marlin 45-70 years ago and I liked it alot but never hunted with it. Good Luck, J. Parker
 
The 45/70 Marlin Guide Gun is a sweet and smooth shooter - changing its sights for the Ashley Outdoors 'ghost ring' just about rounds it out as a good middle to close range game gatherer. The 'compensated barrel ports' seemed at first a rather silly feautre but it actually works. Naturally, if you shoot a porker 'just right' with one, in this caliber, you can skin, dress and quater the game in just one shot :)
Peter Knight
 
I just ordered the Marlin Guide Gun myself after a lot of research. I plan on using it to hunt black and brown bears, moose and maybe deer (gotta see how much damage a 300 grain solid does to a 100 lb Sitka blacktail!). Might even try it out on a mountain goat hunt. My primary reason to get it is for defense against brownies while working/playing in my neck of the woods along coastal Alaska. Garrett Cartridges makes some potent, bear-stopping loads for the 45-70.
 
Loves the .45-70, does me. However, this weekend I had the ill luck to be standing by a Guide on the range. Got peppered pretty good, almost as bad as revolver cylinder gap blast.

Mine is a straight 1895 carbine without porting. It's a pretty good thump, but if your stance is correct, it doesn't hurt.

Much. ;)
 
S-man:

I'm not much bigger than you. The Guide Gun should work nicely. This may sound funny, but it doesn't have that much recoil- it just moves a lot! :D (at least, wit the typical fodder. Don't think I'm ready for Randy's stuff, yet.)
 
Spectre: With those 300 grain loads you had I don't think your Guide Gun had much recoil at all.

Speaking in VERY general terms is was about like a low recoil 12 gauge load or 20 gauge load to me.
 
Coinneach's lil thumper doesn't kick too bad.. and he loads it hot.. of course a firm hold is essential and leaning into it like a shotgun helps too
 
I got a Guide Gun about a month ago, and I love it!! I think it doesn't have much recoil. I got some 405gr.'s from Buffalo Bore, plan on using it to hunt deer.
 
To me, the recoil from the Guide Gun is heavy but not bad. It's more like a former linebacker buddy giving you a shove on the shoulder than a "kick."

I have some doubts about the compensating ports. Where they can get really obnoxious (to those around you) is when firing on a covered range or indoors. Yeoww. However, the shooter doesn't really notice, and outdoors in a hunting situation it couldn't hurty and might actually improve follow-up, since if nothing else the muzzle won't rise as much.
 
The Marlin Guide Gun is great. The 45-70 is great. You can do just about anything you want to do with that gun as long as the ranges are under about 100-150 yds. You can load it super-light and plink, or you can load it Class 4 and kill dinosaurs (ok, not quite...but a Class 4 is a lot of energy). If you are worried about recoil, get a pad and learn some technique. Its the perfect gun for you. I still sometimes wish I would've gotten the Guide Gun instead of my #1H. (But only VERY sometimes) :D Get the gun, you can use it for everything you need it for...and I guaruntee you, you will find even more uses for it. You'll invent reasons! Laters


Hueco
 
I'll give a vote to the Guide Gun. I don't own one but have had chances to shoot one and I have to say that it is a sweet shooting gun. As others have stated, the recoil isn't like a sharp punch to the shoulder, but more like a firm push. I was a bit intimidated before pulling the trigger on the first round, but after that I wouldn't hesitate to go out and burn a box of shells.

Jack
 
I have the Guide Gun and I love it, handy, pretty light and will kill anything that needs killing on this continent within 100-150 yards.

The only bad thing that happened to me is that the firing pin broke on mine after 12-16 rounds just 2 weeks before hunting season last year. Fortunately, between Marlin and UPS, I got the gun the day before it started.

Albin
 
The last .45-70 I owned was a Springfield Trapdoor which I only fired with black powder loads, but I had a chance to shoot a buddy's Co-Pilot, and I loved it. I see a Marlin Guide gun in my future. Wish I could afford Jim West's Co-Pilot conversion, but I'll be happy enough with the factory gun.

Satanta, I had a buddy about your size who had no trouble at all handling .458 Win. Mag. It rocked him a bit, but he could get back on target very quickly. If you have the desire, you'll master it.

------------------
Shoot straight & make big holes, regards, Richard at The Shottist's Center
 
I've got a Ruger #3 single shot (now discontinued) that weighs in at about 5 lbs.
When loaded up, it gives a substantial kick. I like to shoot 405gr. home cast bullets at about 1000-1400 fps, real easy on the shoulder.
The cartridge is capable of taking any North American big game, and most African as well. I sometimes use it on big Jackrabbits for those one shot stops, usually breaks them into two pieces. (Great practice as this is my Javelina and wild pig gun)
The 45-70 is a great American classic, whose popularity increases all the time. My next rifle will be a Marlin lever gun in 45-70.
Go for it.

[This message has been edited by TABING (edited October 18, 2000).]
 
The Marlin is also on my short list. Was thinking about one in .450 but the 45-70 has a better history behind it. A Ruger 1 would be nice also.
 
A good friend is a .45-70 fanatic with at least 8 original trapdoors, a cadet trapdoor, a Marlin 1895SS, and a Browning 1885 (highwall). He keeps saying he will sell some to get another rifle but loves them all. He shoots blackpowder loads in some of the .45-70s and has shot a few in the Marlin, but also uses modern heavy loads in the modern guns.

I have shot a number of them. The analogy to the linebacker shove is perfect for all rounds except heavy loads in the Marlin. That approaches a "Big" shove... ;) From a bench, 20 rounds was my limit, but for hunting, you never even notice the recoil. Those big long trapdoors absorb a good deal of the shove.
 
The first time I shot a .45-70 was with a Marlin Guide gun. Target was a over-ripe pumpkin at 100 yards. The recoil was not a problem, accuracy was great, and the pumpkin was a big $&^%ing mess.
 
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