H&R 45-70 or Rossi 44 mag single shot rifle?

[vmathias]

Narrowed it down to these two with but have no experience with either.

[Doc Highwall]

What are you planning to use it for?

[NSP64]

^^^^^^what he said

[John Boy]

What are you planning to use it for?
And shoot smokeless or black powder?

[RPRNY]

I have both several H&R rifles and shotguns, not all of which have been sunshine and light, and currently one Rossi, having rid myself of several others. Based on my experience, Rossis are very hit or miss, and with their single shots, are more miss than hit. While I have not had an H&R 45/70, that, the 30-30, and the 357 (reamed to 357 Max) are among the most popular and consistently satisfying to consumers. The H&R SB2 receiver is rated to 65k psi, so if you're a recoil junkie, that's the way to go ;-)

[Steve E]

That's easy, 45/70.

Steve E........

[Rattus58]

Narrowed it down to these two with but have no experience with either. My question as well.... what are you using it for. A 45-70 can be loaded with all manner of bullet and probably power loadings as well. Will it be more expensive.. probably.. but it comes down to mission. The 44 pretty much will take anything you might be hunting here in America as long as you're not trying to do it at 500 yards.

I've friends that shoot the 45-70 and my White Muzzleloader pretty much duplicates the performance of the 45-70 with Black Powder. With Smokeless, it's in an entirely different realm. The 44 can't keep up to the 45-70 in any manner that I'm aware, but doesn't diminish its effectiveness for hunting.

Much Aloha... :cool:

[randyrat]

Ahh that is a tough question......... I have 44s so i would go 44 mag. Ahhhh maybe a 45-70 because of the versatility and down right massive projectiles they can throw, slow or fast and hard.
Flip a coin

[vmathias]

What are you planning to use it for?

Deer and bear with cast out to 100 yards.

[303Guy]

I know which I'd choose. Bear are kinda big and can bite back. But I have no experience with either cartridges in a rifle nor do I have any experience with bear (possibly why I'd be scared of them). My limited experience with red deer makes me lean heavily to the bigger cartridge.

[Lead Fred]

The 44 mag has always been known as the over penetrator, and the 45/70 will kill anything on the planet.
You can use smokeless or holy black in either, they both kick like mules.
I have a Handi in 45/70, it is my favorite blaster

Ive shot against my buds 44 mag handi, and the 45/70 beats it hands down in everything.
Id say the major difference is the rainbow trajectory of the 45/70, the 44 is flatter inside of 200 yards, but cant reach out and touch at distance.

On the TKO scale, the 44 mag comes in at 23, the 45/70 at 45 @ 100 yards. The scale goes from 22 rimfire or 1, and a 12 gauge slug at 10 feet is 53.
When I first started shooting my Handi, I had 405 grain slugs doing 1750fps, which was 50 on the TKO scale, but after a few, you were flinching like a big dog, so I slowed them to 1500fps, and switched to a Ranch Dog 425gr.

My 45/70 blows 3/4 inch holes thru 20 inch fir trees. I dont think the 44 mag can come close.

[Doc Highwall]

For hunting deer and bear I favor the 45/70. I have a Marlin 1895 the I shortened the barrel to 16.5" just for that purpose.

[45-70 Chevroner]

The 44 is a lot of fun to shoot, there are a lot of bear killed with the 44 also. The 45-70 is a lot of fun to shoot also, I have both and like both of them. I really think the 44 will do what you are asking but the 45-70 will do it better. Over all the 44 will do it cheaper.

[oldfart1956]

Vmathias howdy from a fellow Pennsylvanian...from the south-central region. Now go snatch up a .44 catridge and a 45/70 catridge and lay em' both in your palm an roll them around a second. Look at em'. Which one makes ya smile? Choosing a caliber isn't always about efficiency is it? I have rifles in both calibers. The .44 is gatherin' dust. It doesn't really cost any more to shoot the 45/70 as I'm using about the same load of 2400 in both. The 45/70 uses a smidge more lead but I reclaim most of mine so it's a wash. Loads are available from roundball gallery loads to detatched retina loads. That Gibson feller even has shot loads available. Take a peek at his post in Single Shot Rifles....the Trapdoor loads & Techniques post. So much you can do with the 45/70. I use mine for groundhog hunting&paper punchin'. Audie..the Oldfart..