Unlicensed Dremel
Moderator
There ya go. But yeah, Hogzilla #2 may be out there somewhere, so I guess no.
Is a 45-70 overkill for south ga?
- Thread starter aaronsc
- Start date
There ya go. But yeah, Hogzilla #2 may be out there somewhere, so I guess no.
Smaller rifles than the 45-70 will work fine, but one of the advantages of the old 45-70, especially with a cast bullet is that it will put a straight 45 caliber hole through whatever you shoot with very little blackened meat. Most likely you will destroy less usable meat with the 45-70 than with the 30-30. Eat right up to the hole.
Before MS changed its "primitive weapons' rules a few years ago to allow .35 and up it used to be single-shot exposed-hammer rifles greater than .40. Back then, 45-70 was a very popular caliber for the primitive weapons season. Now that it is .35 and up, the 45-70 has kind of faded in favor of the .35 Whelen. However, there are still lots of .45-70 users.
Put it this way: A muzzleloader shooting a .45 caliber saboted bullet weighing 250 gr using 100 gr of 777 will be shooting about 1600+ fps. A 45-70 using a Hornady LeverEvolution round will be going 1800+fps. People don't think that ML bullet is overkill so why should they think a similar bullet going only a couple hundred fps faster should be overkill.
Put it this way: A muzzleloader shooting a .45 caliber saboted bullet weighing 250 gr using 100 gr of 777 will be shooting about 1600+ fps. A 45-70 using a Hornady LeverEvolution round will be going 1800+fps. People don't think that ML bullet is overkill so why should they think a similar bullet going only a couple hundred fps faster should be overkill.
reynolds357
New member
Buy it because yo want it, not because it is practical. 90% of my rifles are not practical. I live in North Georgia and I hunt sometimes with my 45-70. I hunt sometimes with my .416 Rigby. I have been known to hunt with a .458 Win mag. Why? Because I wanted to. Did I need them to kill a deer? Absolutely not. You might actually be disappointed in the 45-70 performance on deer. It punches a big hole and has almost no hydrostatic shock. If the hole is in the right place, deer goes down like a ton of bricks fell on it. If you dont hit bones (shoulder smashing is the only quick drops I have seen the .45-70 do), you will have a huge blood trail, but most likely a long one.
Kreyzhorse
New member
It don't think it is overkill. It will kill a deer but it won't blow a deer apart or cause you to throw half of it away.
I killed a Kentucky doe with my 45-70 and there was a hole in one side and a slightly larger exit hole on the other side. She ran 50 yards and dropped dead.
What more could you want?
They are fun rounds to shoot and unless you hand load, the modern loads are pretty mild.
I killed a Kentucky doe with my 45-70 and there was a hole in one side and a slightly larger exit hole on the other side. She ran 50 yards and dropped dead.
What more could you want?
They are fun rounds to shoot and unless you hand load, the modern loads are pretty mild.
I plan on using my 1895 Marlin 45-70 for Oh. deer this fall.
It dropped a 300 pound black bear in Onterio. One shot, d.r.t.
Until this year Oh was a shotgun/handgun/muzzle loader only state for
deer season. I've taken over 50 Oh. deer with a 12 bore & slugs.
A .73 caliber 1 oz slug does a lot of damage, the 45-70 shouldn't be worse
than a 12 bore slug.
My Lyman Great Plains .54 does a nice job on deer also.
I doubt one can be over gunned.
It dropped a 300 pound black bear in Onterio. One shot, d.r.t.
Until this year Oh was a shotgun/handgun/muzzle loader only state for
deer season. I've taken over 50 Oh. deer with a 12 bore & slugs.
A .73 caliber 1 oz slug does a lot of damage, the 45-70 shouldn't be worse
than a 12 bore slug.
My Lyman Great Plains .54 does a nice job on deer also.
I doubt one can be over gunned.
Brotherbadger
New member
Yeah, it's a bit overkill for south Ga. That being said, I've taken many a southern Ga Deer with my 7mm Rem Mag. Overkill as all heck, but i don't care. If you enjoy it, buy it and use it. Just don't expect there to be a lot of meat left over.
What is "over kill" exactly???
Get it and use it. I live in WV and own two 45-70s. A modern made 1886 Winchester rifle and a Browning made 1886 carbine. Have used and love both. As has been said, the 45-70 can be loaded down or up depending on your needs. Very versatile round. I generally use Hornady lever evolutions or a case full of BP and a 350-405 grain lead bullet. Both work quite well for white tail deer. Or anything else.
Get it and use it. I live in WV and own two 45-70s. A modern made 1886 Winchester rifle and a Browning made 1886 carbine. Have used and love both. As has been said, the 45-70 can be loaded down or up depending on your needs. Very versatile round. I generally use Hornady lever evolutions or a case full of BP and a 350-405 grain lead bullet. Both work quite well for white tail deer. Or anything else.
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Unlicensed Dremel
Moderator
I see what you did there. You sir, just won the internet. Not for the day, week, or month, mind you, but for the whole year. Kudos.
reynolds357
New member
Glad to be in the company of some sane people. Yall just dont know how tired I get of hearing people tell me all the reasons I should not hunt deer with a 7Rum. "Overkill is underrated." If a .30-30 will do it, a .45-70 (with the proper bullet) will do it better.
Brotherbadger
New member
Unless those people are going to be doing the shooting for you, i'd tell them to buzz off. It's your shoulder taking the recoil, it's your wallet paying for the rounds. Shoot what you want, life's too short to worry about what other people think is best.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I'm sorta empirical: Whatever works is good. An '06 works just fine on jackrabbits and coyotes. 
On Bambi? Nothing ruins meat if you don't shoot him in the eating part. I figure to aim at a particular spot on a deer, not just, "Somewhere in the brown."
On Bambi? Nothing ruins meat if you don't shoot him in the eating part. I figure to aim at a particular spot on a deer, not just, "Somewhere in the brown."
RangerHAAF
New member
No, it's not overkill just added insurance. It's become by favorite rifle caliber as I'm not fond of tracking and following deer or hogs when I can knock them over like a bowling pin in their tracks with one shot.