This is sort of related to the "most underrated deer cartridge" thread. A friend of mine has been hunting for ages all over the country and evidently insists on using only his own handloads, on the assumption that they are better in some way. Reading mainly commercial websites, I see there are a few that offer custom handloads, all presumably more powerful than store bought ammuntion and there are always people who are developing a different load for some particular caliber and essentially attempting to produce a different cartridge altogether. Not that there is anything wrong with that, since that's where many new cartridges come from. But some even require new guns in some cases, since many original guns, rifles in this case, won't handle the more powerful loading. It is possible the .45-70 government is the subject to more experimentation than most because of the potential for improvement.
I can see that there might be two ways of looking at the question. One is from the standpoint of hunting dangerous game, where an edge might be appreciated, and the other of, well, everything else.
My question is, is anything useful achieved beyond what you can buy at the local gun shop? I almost said Wal-Mart but none I've been in have .45-70. I don't mean to belittle anyone who is attempting to do thing because that's how progress happens. But for someone who is only interested in getting the game, is it progress? I wonder what people talked about when they used muzzleloaders?
I can see that there might be two ways of looking at the question. One is from the standpoint of hunting dangerous game, where an edge might be appreciated, and the other of, well, everything else.
My question is, is anything useful achieved beyond what you can buy at the local gun shop? I almost said Wal-Mart but none I've been in have .45-70. I don't mean to belittle anyone who is attempting to do thing because that's how progress happens. But for someone who is only interested in getting the game, is it progress? I wonder what people talked about when they used muzzleloaders?