WHAT THE HECK? derringer 45 70? most powerful handgun?

9

9mm

New member
Just saw it for the first time :eek::eek::eek: derringer chambered in 45 70. Is the 45-70 more powerful than the S&W 500? I know the 45-70 is a rifle round. The other barrel is for 45 colt/410. But still......... 45 70 in a SA only handgun lol.:eek::rolleyes:
 
Good riddle.

It depends. They can be close. A peek at Wikipedia can start you down the road to an answer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.500_S&W_Magnum

In each case, velocity and power figures are on the right-hand side about one-third of the way down the page.

The 45-70 will suffer from the shortness of the barrel, as the published figures are for a 24" barrel. You basically waste two inches of action length (the 45-70 cartridge is 2.5" long) when you use a firearm with so short a barrel in front of such a long cartridge.

(See www.ballisticsbytheinch.com)

You have gotten my curious now. Let us know what you find, please.

Lost Sheep
 
most

Most powerful? I doubt whether a .45-70 fired from a derringer is efficient enough to be as powerful as it is noisy.
Pete
 
Not only does the 45-70 take up much of the barrel due to its length but it is a relatively low pressure round and needs a longer barrel to gain much velocity. A 454 would be much more effective from a short barrel.
 
In normal factory loadings the .500 Mag eclipses the .45-70 Govt, in some cases by quite a bit. But in handloading, I don't think the .500 can be made as powerful as the stoutest loads in .45-70. At any rate, I don't want to try either of them out of a handgun; I have a T/C Contender in .45-70 that I don't even shoot anymore.:o
 
Just from estimations I have done, I think with a 300 gr bullet at 1850 fps you could expect 1000 fps or slightly more.
It's going to burn at least part of it's powder, even if it wastes most of it.

But you could get the same or better from many pistol rounds in that barrel.
 
A buddy of mine a work has one... It is painful on a whole new level for recoil.

I love the 45/70 I have 2 lever action marlins and a BFR.

I still want one just because it would be funny to watch others shoot it.
 
What was really impressive in the youtube video, was the dog in the cage in the background.
All that noise didn't even get a reaction from it.
 
I would not shoot it, unless a bear was upon me, and I had no place to run. But then I would not have the gun.


Regards,
Jerry
 
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