best 45/70 hunting round

[alan]

Assuming acceptable accuracy, which standard hunting cartridge would you use on deer/black bear within 100 yards? 300 grain win/rem, 405 grain win/rem, or hornady leverevolution 325 grain? Thanks, Al

[Bill Gunn]

Although I hunt with a .444, they are pretty much the same. I doubt a deer could tell you which one put his lights out, they are both great rounds...

I shot this bear...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/29379125.jpg

With this gun...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/291397231.jpg

Using this 300 grain Barnes bullet @ 2100 FPS...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/58943817.jpg

The expanded bullet in that picture actually came out of that bear, and being spine shot, the bear dropped like it was hit with a Mack Truck, and never even quivered !!.

What I think is that the 300 grain will certainly do the job. If you don't mind the extra recoil of the 405 gr. there's no reason not to use it either.

[swamp]

the heavier bullet will certainly give you a greater sectional density

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/density.htm

[alan]

Although I hunt with a .444, they are pretty much the same. I doubt a deer could tell you which one put his lights out, they are both great rounds...

I shot this bear...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/29379125.jpg

With this gun...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/291397231.jpg

Using this 300 grain Barnes bullet @ 2100 FPS...

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/13525437/58943817.jpg

The expanded bullet in that picture actually came out of that bear, and being spine shot, the bear dropped like it was hit with a Mack Truck, and never even quivered !!.

What I think is that the 300 grain will certainly do the job. If you don't mind the extra recoil of the 405 gr. there's no reason not to use it either.
Beautiful pelt; I assume you had hide preserved?

[Bill Gunn]

That was in '87. Back then there was no limit on the number of bears you could shoot in Ontario and wolves were "shoot on sight". All you had to do was pay another $25.00 for another bear license if you wanted to shoot another one.

The pelt has been retired to the attic for a while now, but, your right, it is a nice pelt.

[Craig]

Having tried many different 45/70 loads, I think the best one is the traditional 405 grain bullet moving at around 1300fps. The Remington Express load is my favorite; this round tends to mushroom nicely and will shoot through three feet of pine wood! The Hornady stuff is okay and certainly shoots flattest but the cases are cut short to accommodate the longer polymer-tip bullet and thus unsuitable for reloading with other bullet types. Furthermore, if you want a flat shooting rifle the 45/70 is not the one so the Hornady stuff is a bit out of place in that regard. I have tried the BuffaloBore and Grizzly +P loads and honestly am not very impressed with them; they generate too much pressure IMHO and although a newer Marlin rifle will surely contain the pressure safely the accuracy of those rounds leaves a lot to be desired. If you truly need to shoot something with a 500 grain +P solid you'd better pick up a 470NE instead. Let's remember that the 45/70, in original form, fired 405 grain bullets at around 1300fps from a Sharps rifle and that is enough to drop anything in North America. I think the 45/70 is best suited in a long-barreled single shot rifle rather than a short-barreled lever action.

[T2133]

I have a NEF .45-70 with Williams target rear sights and factory front. I can bust 6" river cobbles all day at a hundred yards with a 405 Rem over 33 gr IMR 4198. Chronoed at 1400. On my rifle the rear sight has to be adjusted all the way down.

[Hi Ball]

Beartooth bullets, cast hardened are very good bullets and there is a whole lot of facatual information on both the 45/70 and the .444 calbier on their sight "Beartooth Bullets .com" However, the sight owner is a Hipocrite and I got Banned for my personal opinions it is very interesting reading both these calibers and what they can do with the proper bullet. They will LOCK UP a thread or put you on the carpet for saying Damn or Piss!!! Never disagree with a MODERATOR or you will go down the road.........myself I don't mind the walk A-tall!!!

[Sabre]

Beartooth bullets, cast hardened are very good bullets and there is a whole lot of facatual information on both the 45/70 and the .444 calbier on their sight "Beartooth Bullets .com" However, the sight owner is a Hipocrite and I got Banned for my personal opinions it is very interesting reading both these calibers and what they can do with the proper bullet. They will LOCK UP a thread or put you on the carpet for saying Damn or Piss!!! Never disagree with a MODERATOR or you will go down the road.........myself I don't mind the walk A-tall!!! Same thing happened to me over at the Marlinowners site. Bunch of closed minded, knowitall SUMBISHES over there. Let 'em live and wallow in it like a pig in schitt. I figure they deserve it.

[Hi Ball]

Hey Sabre don't feel bad my forum friend.........I got into a hassle with one of the MOD'S over there too! So I got the BOOT, it didn't matter that I was correct, NO BODY Challenges a moderator and stays period. I told them to go Piss Up a Rope!!! I still love my Marlin Rifles and the 1st & 2nd Ammendment too you betcha!!!

[Hi Ball]

Now getting back to the queston that was asked, I would go with the .405 grain bullet especially on black bears. Number one fact is that one never knows when that 400 or 500 pound bear may happen to your area and number #2 is that thee heavier bullet will indeed penetrate deeper as Swamp has already mentioned.

Now I do use those Beartooth Pile Drivers bullets in both my 45/70 and my .444 Marlin! These are great hardcast bullets and they hit really hard with their wide "metplate area" on the target.