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Stop and consider a Winchester 95 which to me is a much stronger action than most any other of the lever guns chambered in 45-70 or 45-90. The 95 can be had in .405 Win even today. TR used one in Africa "Big Medicine" if I recall correct is what he called it. A fast big bore lever gun that carries nice and points very good. If I had to choose it just might be the 95 in .405, some food for thought.
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my 1st Africa trip was amazing....
you get A LOT for the moneyRule 1- ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
Rule 2 -NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY (including your hands and legs)
Rule 3 -KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
Rule 4 -BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT
(thanks to Jeff Cooper)Comment
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Heck of a sling shot.Comment
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I wrote all this up yesterday but hit the wrong button and dumped it all so this is the abbreviated version.
I consider the .45-70 to be a 200 yard max cartridge. I say this because I use my 1895 CB (.45-70) and 1894 CB (.44 Spec/Mag) for shooting short Range Silhouette which ranges from 50 M to 200 M which is 220 yards. I can hit targets at these ranges well. After 200 yards the trajectory increases dramatically due to the drop in velocity and the BC of the boolits we shoot in these guns and as such miscalculations in exact distance to the target must be dead on, as +/-10 yards can be the difference in a solid hit and a complete miss or worse a wounded animal.
Garrett Ammo is pretty good stuff however it is not cheap and no one is going to be able to shoot enough of it to get really good with the gun. That stuff is loaded right up to the max and Marlins are light guns so the recoil is brutal.
My 1895 CB (26" bbl) was 7 lbs on the nose, for comparison my 1894 SB 24" bbl weighed 7 lbs 6 oz? go figure.
I took my 1895 and put a Gray Coil Recoil reducer in the buttstock and a 1" thick Pachmayer Recoil Pad on the gun and it now weighs just over 8 lbs. My standard load is 325 gr boolits at 1550 fps. I can shoot 40 in one session without I'll effects. (33.0 gr 5744/ RCBS .45-300 FNGC) I basically started at 25 gr of 5744 and worked up until I got a satisfactory Trajectory for that game. 33 gr was the magic number.
This load will easily take down all but the biggest bears in N/A and most game animals in Africa as well. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a big bear in the US if it was necessary. I just wouldn't deliberately hunt with it. I would be carrying a few rounds with 405's at 1800 fps just in case. I can shoot about 3 of those before it starts to rattle my brain.
My point here is that the .45-70 is one of the most versatile cartridges there is ,,,, AS LONG AS YOU LOAD YOUR OWN!
My other point is you need to shoot the gun alot before you Fly half way across the world and pay thousands of $ for the experience. Your PH needs to have the confidence that you can deliver with a Levergun. If you can't hit the target, it doesn't matter what you are shooting, You suck! And that's all there is too it.
Problem is that it will be much harder to hit said target with Arse Kicker Loads from Garrett that are costing you $5 a shot, cuz you won't shoot enough of them to master them!
Also Multiple Loads will definitely have different zeros so you need to have all the different trajectories sussed out and written down so you can make appropriate changes to your sights when switching ammo.
Final point: The only way to get all this down pat is to shoot alot and learn the gun.
Paco Kelly's Rule for Shooting at Distances was: 100 shots of practice for every 100 yards of distance that you intend to shoot. So if shooting at 200 yards, you needed to have shot 200 rounds at that distance in practice to be qualified to take a shot at 200 yards on a game animal.
Probably should bring the Trigger Sticks along for practice as you'll be shooting off sticks on the Continent.
I have seen some .45-70 shooting on TV and have to say I wasn't the least bit impressed with the shooters, none of which had even ran 20 rounds thru their guns before going to Africa. I really don't see how you can justify spending that kind of money to go half way around the world and then perform badly in front of Professionals and on TV to boot?
My .02 but these are the guns I'd be taking with me.
Randy
Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 04-11-2020, 4:18 PM.Rule #1 Liberals screw up everything they touch.
Rule #2 Whatever they accuse you of, they are already doing.
Rule #3 Liberals lie about anything no matter how insignificant.
Rule #4 If all else fails, they call you a Racist!
It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It is how well you do what you don't know how to do.
www.buchananprecisionmachine.comComment
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One of the reasons there are no dangerous game in Tennessee is Hickok45. Here he is shooting the 1877 Sharps repo on safari in Cheatham County, TN.
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^^^^^^Very well said Randy.
I think what we commonly see on T.V. and videos tends to focus on, and show, the successful use of a given product, rather than include EVERYTHING that was done, as that might steer others away into a different direction. I think your comments about practicing with the actual recoil/ballistic performance of what you intend to hunt with are spot on. It would be like me going out to practice with a .44 Magnum revolver prior to a hunt, but only using .44 Specials. It might help with developing presentation, trigger, and movement skill sets, but would be a total fail with regards to rapid recovery during recoil, quick follow-up shots, etc.
With all that said, there is no doubt that some folks have been successful with little amounts of practice, and what practice they did was done while using underpowered ammunition; I have witnessed that more than once. I also however have witnessed a number make bad shots, outright misses, and worse yet, wounding an animal and never recovering it. And it matters not what platform or caliber they used.
As to the .45-70, we all know it has been successfully used to drop everything in the world, and in many cases is more than adequate for the quarry. However you are very sound in limiting its use to within 200 yards, as the rate of missing moving game targets due to poor exterior midrange ballistics is something that most don't engage in adequate practice to overcome. With very light platforms, getting the necessary practice was covered above.
While I like the idea of a .45-70 hunting rifle, and someday hope to have one, that caliber likely won't be in my African hunting plans.Comment
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Years back, J&G Gunsmithing in Roseville, Ca took a Side-by-Side shotgun, and made some 45-70 inserts. They got them set up so they converged at 100 yards.
Reminded me of the H&H rifle cartridge Side-by-Sides.Comment
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I watched an African safari on tv where they tried to use the 45/70 on big game like cape buffalo and it sucked. The whole show was trying to hype it up and they couldn’t make it look effective. I’d pick a better round. Flatter for plains game and stouter for big game.Comment
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I used to shoot at feral pigs at 500 yards with my TC Contender 45/70.The wise man said just find your place
In the eye of the storm
Seek the roses along the way
Just beware of the thorns... K. MeineComment
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The wise man said just find your place
In the eye of the storm
Seek the roses along the way
Just beware of the thorns... K. MeineComment
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Is "ethical" even a consideration with feral pigs? Aren't they basically rodents in many places of the country?Comment
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