Big Bore Regret..?

[northmn]

First I will discuss old eyes and iron sights. Receiver sights are a good way to go as they both increase radius and offer better focus. For your type of shooting I would also look at a brass bead no smaller than 3/32. The front sight is 1/2 the sighting system. For regular iron sights another very good option is to switch to an "Express" sight. I did so on my flintlocks as receiver sights don't fit. An express sight does not have a notch to settle the bead into but is a shallow V and you settle the bead into the bottom of the V but see the whole V. They got their name from use on the big double express rifles used in Africa for quick shooting. Another option is to get a round needle file and open up the U in the rear sight so you get more light around the bead. You will also need some touch up bluing.

As to the 45-70. I traded off my 45-70 for a 38-55 and never looked back. Its more than needed for anything I will hunt.


DEP

[FergusonTO35]

I've already decided I am going to sell my current 1895, the standard 22" barrel model. If I can swing it, I want to replace it with an 1895CBA. The plan is to feed it mild loads equivalent to .44 Magnum power level. I'm not worried about velocity or long range because it's just going to be for walking in the deep woods, I can't imagine a better rifle for that purpose.

[beltfed]

I found the RCBS 300 gr FPGC with a modest load of Re7 to be mild and effective
for deer in my 1895G .
beltfed/arnie

[FergusonTO35]

Sounds like a winner. What charge are you using?

[LandSurveyor]

Serendipity led me to buy an H&R Shikari when I was a young man back in the 70s. I liked it so well that in the 80s, I bought an 1895 with the straight stock and micro-groove rifling - and the crescent buttplate. I thought I wanted the 300-grain "hot" loads but nowadays I am thinking of returning to something akin to the the Winchester 405 grain soft points I bought with the H&R. I hate recoil but those old Trapdoor Springfield loads were quite tolerable. Tried a scope for a while but hated the look and feel. It now wears a Williams receiver peep sight with the twilight aperture which works well with the factory brass bead front.

if you find the Cowboy loads uncomfortable, I agree with others here and suggest an 1894. If you go with light loads in the 45-70, you will have a lot of powder space to fill up and, well, going to a 44 mag will just make life simpler.

If you go that route, I might add that I have found the Ruger lever carbine seems to have markedly less felt recoil than the Winchester 44 carbine I once had. I presume the Marlin and the Winchester would be similar.

[Char-Gar]

Fantasy drives more gun purchases than reality. Sooner or later, most of us grow up and realize we have some guns for which we have no real need or purpose. That is the time to get rid of the excess baggage and use the proceedes to buy guns that better suit us.

Me? I go for the 30-06 every time. It can be loaded up or down and will do all things reasonable men want a rifle to do.

[Tom W.]

I bought a 444 Marlin and shot a few boxes of shells through it. Someone wanted it worse than I did, so I traded it. I had an Encore pistol originally w/ a 30-06 barrel. I kept it a few years, traded for a 22-250, kept it a year and found a .454 barrel. THAT was waaaaaay too much for me. I kept it a few years and sold the whole 9 yards,complete pistol, ,scope and dies.

Since my cancer treatments the doctors left a Power Port in my left shoulder (I requested the left side in case I survived and I'd be able to shoot my firearms ) but I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk so the most violent thing I shoot from my shoulder is my 30-06 a.i. now. And I'm hoping I don't tear anything loose,

[LandSurveyor]

[QUOTE=Char-Gar;4467408]Fantasy drives more gun purchases than reality. Sooner or later, most of us grow up and realize we have some guns for which we have no real need or purpose. That is the time to get rid of the excess baggage and use the proceedes to buy guns that better suit us.....

AMEN. I have recently come to this exact understanding. My dad died 3 years ago and I inherited some guns he bought but seldom shot and a heckuva lot of ammo. I intend to go through all of his and mine and all of my components and lead before I die.

Tom W., I've got one of those little cancer souvenirs in my shoulder as well. I see you live in PC. I used to work there and don't live too far away. Hope you are doing well.

[Remmy4477]

I traded into a Marlin 1895CB in 45-70 a few months ago.
It came with some custom made ammo, jacketed and lead 405grn in the 1800fps range.
Took it for a spin and after 10 rounds my shoulder was screaming!
I put the thing in the back of the safe, a bad trade I though.

After some research and weeks later, tried a few low recoil loads, 4198, Bullseye, Unique and trailboss.
Settled on 11grns unique with lymans 292grn (casts at 305), velocities about 1100fps, recoil is delightful and the punch at the other end is non debatable.

Very happy with my marlin now!

[Drm50]

I got a Marlin 1895 on a trade back in 70s. The guy had bought it and decided it was to much gun
for him to shoot. I had no real interest in it and had never shot a Marlin. I had extensive experience
with original Trap doors, RBs, ect. I don't keep rifles unless they are accurate, I kept the Marlin 95
and still have it. Having said that, 45/70 is a lot more gun than required for most hunting and a poor
choice for a fun gun. I have seen this time and time again here in Ohio. Due to Hollywood BS the 95
Guide Guns are top sellers for our limited rifle season. A lot of guys buying these have very little rifle
experience. They have been hunting with slugs since Ohio had deer season. They don't complain about recoil as much as the ballistics of 45/70. For deer hunting purposes here in the East the 45/70
hasnt much gain over a slug. Why buy a 45/70 and load it down to 44 mag levels? Why not buy 44
or 45 in 1894 Marlin CB. Then you will have a rifle that is pleasant to shoot, a good 100 yd range toy
and a good woods deer rifle. This is not to say a 45/70 won't kill a deer, it will as matter of fact with
full power loads it's overkill. With reduced loads there is no reason to use a 45/70 over a 44 or 45.

[beltfed]

FergusonTO35
My load is 1 grain above the starting charge of Re7 in the Lyman CBH #4,
50 gr . RCBS 300 gr FPGC, cast of my 9+1 ww/lino. Have had groups
of 1" or so at 50 yards. Also, 52 gr 3031 shot well under this bullet in my 1895G
Oh, my classic load for my(8 1/4# M86 LW Win is also lyman's suggested: 48 gr 3031/ 457483- 385 gr.
Shot lots of deer with them. One shot one kill.
beltfed/arnie

[jmort]

Many/most people buy all sorts of things they do not need. I like to shoot 500 grain bullets out of the 45-70 at 1,000 FPS +/-
Don't need it or need to, but for now, I like it.
I also shoot .22 LR, I like that
But the hot 45-70 is a no-go for me.

[500Linebaughbuck]

I don't like recoil, so I have stayed away from most of the big boomers.

I did get bit by the Handi rifle bug, and bought a .444marlin single shot.

This one was intimidating to the max. I still have not dropped the hammer on a factory round.

13 gr of Red Dot under a 310 gr .430 gas checked bullet gave me the accuracy I wanted. But I was noticing that after about 10 rounds I was starting to flinch.

So I tried a moderate .44mag load. 200 gr cast boolit, no gas check, 6.5 grains of Red Dot.
Those I can shoot all day.


As for the iron sights and old eyes, either scope it, or put on a Red Dot sight.
I really like the Truglo 2x sight. Brings those 100 yard targets into 50. Quick on target. Not as big or as heavy as a full scope. Its sort of a comprimise.

i love my 444 in tc encore and a 24" MGM barrel. but i don't like the recoil. i am using a 300gr fn gc(saeco) and 25.5gr of 2400 with a tuft of dacron(going 1600-1700fps, still have to chrony). i used trail boss and unique with 280gr wfn gc and i found it accurate out to 50 yards.

i have a 500L in a tc encore with a 24" MGM barrel. it uses a 460gr lfn gc with 16.5gr of hs-6(i have to chrony it,but it should go 1200-1300fps). this one recoils like a 30-06 with a 180gr factory bullet. i know it can go further, but since i don't like recoil, i am happy with the 1200-1300fps.

the 30-06 with 180gr factory rounds is basically my recoil "cut off point". when the 30-06 recoil comes to too stout fer me, then unique, red dot, 2400 and trail boss are there.

i used to do in the 444 marlin with 265gr hornady fn and a stout charge(2300+fps) of h4198 would be a 3/4" at 100 yards(5 shots, benched). about 6 or 7 years ago, the "flinch" came to me. the 3/4" group went to 4 or 5" group, i decided that someone(Dad) would watch me shoot. i shot the 444 and almost instantly my dad said "you close your eyes and you pull the trigger." it took me about a year to make sure my eyes were open and i squeezed the trigger. also, i have gone to cast boolits almost exclusively and downloaded the powder.

[beltfed]

It is noted that my 1895 G is ported...
beltfed/arnie

[FergusonTO35]

FergusonTO35
My load is 1 grain above the starting charge of Re7 in the Lyman CBH #4,
50 gr . RCBS 300 gr FPGC, cast of my 9+1 ww/lino. Have had groups
of 1" or so at 50 yards. Also, 52 gr 3031 shot well under this bullet in my 1895G
Oh, my classic load for my(8 1/4# M86 LW Win is also lyman's suggested: 48 gr 3031/ 457483- 385 gr.
Shot lots of deer with them. One shot one kill.
beltfed/arnie

Thanks!

[beemer]

I have been on a search for a lighter load for my 1895SS for a while now. I have the Lyman that was designed for the Marlin, 410 grs. or so and the Lee 340. Never found a load that shot well with the 340 but the Lyman does well. I have been working with 2400 and a dacron filler. I have found that 15.5 - 16.5 does around 1000 fps, shoots well and doesn't beat me up from a bench. I don't seem to have any luck with Unique or Trail Boss.

I bought this rifle 18-19 years, didn't shoot it much for the last 10 years or so. When I got it out a while back it kicked more than it used to or is it just me. Went from tang to receiver mounted peep and now a scope, doesn't look right but that's where we are.

Looking back I wouldn't have bought it, still haven't made up my mind if I'll keep it or not. It is a nice rifle but time sure changes things. Seems I have more fun with my 30-30 and the 25-20.

As far as needing any rifle, I past that a while back and it's not even a consideration. I shoot what I enjoy shooting.

[Hanshi]

I've never been a fan of using light loads in a big gun for small game or targets. I've owned a couple of .375H&H, a .338 Win mag and a .458 Win mag. I still own and shoot my M700 Remington .358mag I ordered back in the mid 1980s.. I've killed a lot of deer with that fine rifle. I'm use to recoil and the worst one, IMHO, was the .338 with "below max" handloads of 200 grain bullets at 3200 fps; yes, it killed deer.

I bought a Marlin 1894 .44mag and a Marlin 1895 45/70 back in the 1970s. Both have taken deer but the .45/70 has taken many deer. If I need a gun for little stuff, plinking and such, I use a small gun. The 1895 came with a crescent butt plate designed to kill. I had a shotgun recoil pad installed. Only one load for each; a 400 grain sp over enough 3031 to give 1800 fps. Pleasant to shoot except off a bench and shooting more than 15 to 20 rounds at a time. The 1894 wears a 3X power scope while the 45/70 wears a Lyman receiver sight (for the shooter's safety). I finally gave up on cast bullets for both, none of which gave the kind of accuracy I wanted; my 30/30 and .308 kid, however. A 22" tube mounts the 45/70 and I feel that's just perfect.

[GoodOlBoy]

.457-.458 round ball (from mold, or just bought). Averages 144 grain in weight. Runs around $15 per hundred mail ordered from Hornady.
Lube it up with some homemade beeswax lube, or LLA or 45-45-10
Dunno what to tell you on starting loads.

Anyway everybody calls it a 45-70 parlor load, or a gallery load. They are amazingly accurate in alot of guns, and have virtually no recoil, and very little drop. Should be more than a few posts on here about them from what I remember.

God Bless, and One Love.

GoodOlBoy

[indian joe]

[QUOTE=Char-Gar;4467408]Fantasy drives more gun purchases than reality. Sooner or later, most of us grow up and realize we have some guns for which we have no real need or purpose.

WHAT !?......... If I did that .....I end up with a beat up Single Shot 22 .........there be nuthin left in my gun locker......."real need or purpose" is part of the fantasy

[45-70 Chevroner]

For general plinking, paper and steel clanging, out to a hundred yards, I have a single cavity Lyman 457191 292gr mold. I love this boolit and it shoots great at a hundred. I load it with 13gr of Unique and if my memory serves me right it's running at about 1200 fps. There is no kick, it's more like a push. I call it my big 22.
I am shooting this in a Sharps original with a new barrel. I can shoot this load for several hours and not be fatigued other than the fact that I'm 77.