Uberti 45-70 Q's

[bravo2]

Any uberti 45-70 or longer cased highwall owners on here? I like to know what you got and which chamberings everyone likes? I know they make the 45-70,45-90,45-120. I like there special sporting 32" barrel setup with the pistol grip stock. I looked at there 45-70 sporting model today. Its a 30" straight stock model. It is a good price and I am thinking about getting it and then later get the one I really want when I can afford it. I have handled the browning highwalls and always wanted one, but this uberti - man i love the case hardening on it and the action is very smooth and tight. It has a nice trigger pull also. I don't know if I could make the chamber longer or not. I would probably leave it like it is and order the one I want later in either a 45-90 or 45-120, most likely 45-120. I would like to put a creedmore style sight on it also. I would like some input from those who own highwalls. How strong are the actions? Is it as strong or stronger then the ruger #1's?

[NickSS]

I do not own one but several of my friends do. Theirs are in smaller calibers (i.e. 38-55 and 40-65) but the rifles are available in larger calibers. They shoot well if the ones I have seen are any indication. The only one I have seen available locally have crescent butt plates and are in 45-70. I shoot 45-70 a lot and of fairly beefy proportions. So crescent butt plates are literally a pain. I have been thinking about buying one in a smaller caliber for several years now but have not got around to it. This rifle is available in 30-40 Krag which is a 40000 psi round so should be OK with marlin type ballistics but I would not go to ruger #1 ballistics. However, from personal experience a 400 g slug at 1800 fps in a Marlin 95 will do in anything you will find on this continent and a lot of what you will find world wide. It is also uncomfortable to shoot more than a few shots from a bench rest from with accuracy (they give me whiplash) and a head ache with 20 rounds down range). As for the longer rounds with black powder you gain velocity and power with black powder. If you are talking smokeless you will not gain anything over what you can do with a 45-70 (I have tried them all)

[Southern Son]

Bravo2, I bought a Uberti Hiwall in about 2002. The barrel that came on it was about a 1/20 twist (I think that this has changed). It did OK out to 500 yards with the Lyman Postell (457132), but beyond 500 I could not hit anything with it. I got it rebarrelled with a Green Mountain Barrell that is 1/18 twist and could not be happier. I had the same plan as you (get the Uberti for now, then get something better later on), but after the Green Mountain Barrell, I will not let it go or replace it (would like a rolling block, though). You would have no trouble getting a gunsmith to ream the chamber out to 45/90, 45/120 or any of the straight walled 45s. The hiwall action is stronger that you will ever need if you are loading black powder. With the trigger pull and Creedmore sight, be careful. I bought a Pedersolli Creedmore, and one of the screws that holds the sight base on went through and pushed on a leaf spring that is part of the trigger group. The end result was a trigger pull of about 25 pounds.

[calaloo]

Bravo2, be careful what you wish for. A .45-70 with a crescent butt plate is painful after only a few rounds. A .45-120 is painful with any kind of butt plate. .45-120s are fairly common used as no one keeps them long.

I have a Uberti Highwall in .38-55 that I couldn't get to shoot well no matter what I tried. After rebarreling with a Green Mountain barrel it is very accurate. I understand that Uberti targets the CAS crowd so real accuracy is not required.

The action functions very well and the double set triggers are nice.

[iron mule]

bravo2 as stated above the uberti high wall has the cresant but plate i have one in 38-55 and unlike calaoo i got a good one it shoots very good a friend of mine has one in 45-70 and we shoot a lot together though his shoots very good the recoil does get to him after a while where i con shot all day with no ill effects // if you are looking for one for target shooting the 38-55 is good for 500 yards with no problem if for hunting it will be good for anything you may go after except large bear or buffaloo
mule

[August]

I understand that Uberti targets the CAS crowd so real accuracy is not required.

Oh, yeah, "those people" don't bathe, they spit on your shoes, and I've heard they have low intelligence. Pathetic !

[Southern Son]

Bravo2, they are right about the crescent butt plate. I made a boot out of leather that covers the butt. I then cut a peice of foam to fit in the crescent so that the butt now has a flat profile. The foam stops me getting the snot beat out of me and the boot holds it in place. Still, I think that haveing the chamber reamed to 45/120 would be too much fun. At most a 45/90 would be my choice, but with my Brooks Mould, I can stuff 85+ grains of FFg in a Winchester 45/70 case.

[littlejack]

B2,
I bought the Uberti Hiwall 45-70 in the summer of 2008. My first black powder rifle. I started out with the Lyman 457132 cast of 20-1 alloy. I couldn't get it to shoot well so I bought the Lyman 457125 mould. This bullets drops out at 522 grains with the 20-1 alloy. This shoots a lot better for me. I size to .459 and lube with the Emmerts recipe. I have shot a lot of 2" 100 yard groups, and a few 1.5 " groups, and a couple of 1" 4 shot groups with a
5th flier or pulled shot. I have the Pedersoli Mid range sight on the rifle.
I load 67 grains of Goex ctg. drop tubed and compressed about .150. I use Winchester cases, and WLR primers. I punch my own wads from dense card at .050.
The bullet is a bore rider and the bore section fits just touching the lands around the parimeter of the bullet. My groove diameter is .457.
I hear a lot about the cresent butt plate, and I have never shot in competition. I shoot at the local gun club and have several times shot 50 rounds in a setting with no ill effects. I do imagine though, that If one was to shoot more than that, the recoil would take its toll.
I find nothing wrong with the rifle, except the trigger pull is a little heavy. I would like the double set triggers. Hope this helps.
I too really like the case hardening.
Jack

[bravo2]

What I want is 356016 Special Sporting .45/90 32" Case-Hardened Frame and Lever, Checkered Pistol-Grip Stock $1219 or 356018 Special Sporting .45/120 32" Case-Hardened Frame and Lever, Checkered Pistol-Grip Stock. So i take it 45-90 be the one to get.
The one I found was a 30" sporter with straight stock for 650.00 used in real good shape, not shot much, but the guy who owned it had it on consignment and did not want to do a 60 day layway which the store normally does 30 and longer if they want to but the guy did not want to do a layway at all it turned out. I really liked it but I like the pistol grip style myself. It sure was sweet looking. It was chambered 45-70. I am normally not a big fan of cresent stocks. Sounds like they very from rifle to rifle like person to person but I would say the odds are against me on finding one with no pain from a cresent stock,lol. I will be looking for a 45-90 then. I will look at the browning on cdnn also. I wonder if the pistol grip makes a difference in the recoil feel? I don't mind used one longs not abused and in great shape. For the money other brands I should get instead? I looked at a couple winchesters on cdnn sports. I am not crazy about half rd and half oct barrels, I like all octigan barrels but thats not a bad price I guess on the 30" pistol grip 45-90,reg buttstock creedmore.

[littlejack]

B2.
Mine has the full length octogon barrel and I do like it very much. I wanted a pistol grip stock also but the store where I bought it did not have any and I hadn't seen one locally while I was looking. The store did have four to choose from and I picked the Cimmaron. It was the best of the four. I would not buy a rifle that I could not handle first. If I wanted to, I could and you could have the 45-70 bored to the 45-90 with little trouble. I just do not have a need for the extra fps at this time. I could also get a pistol grip stock and replace the straight one. This would be my choice at this time if I was to do some changing of the rifle.
Jack

[boommer]

45-70 would be my suggestion. The one thing you can buy factory rounds and lots of smokeless loads that a larger case wont make a difference in performance in smokeless , in the most part more difficult to get any accuracy. 45-90 and larger with BP rounds with a crescent butt stock will wear on you. the highwall action is not as strong as the no.1, but in smokeless loads it's not far behind, but full loads in a 9 pound gun it WILL rattle your brain. I have a winny in 45-90 crescent stock and at 25 rounds with bp 535gr slug I'm having hard time focusing the next shot. Starter gun 45-70 go from there!

[NickSS]

I did forget the fact that I have a Uberti Sharps 1874 rifle in 45-70. I have heard that Pedersoli makes them for Uberti but I do not know for sure. I do know that this rifle shoots superbly but the slightly crescent military but plate hurts a bit with heavy bullets and full charges of black powder. I use a sissy pad for anything over 400 gr bullets or any bullet fired at velocities past 1400 fps. This makes my shooting fun and not a trial of pain over accuracy.

[montana_charlie]

When making the choice between the three cartridges you are looking at, it's useful to base the choice on what you want the rifle for.

If you want a hiwall 'just because', that's a good enough reason to go for that action.
If you want the 45/120 'just because', that's also good enough reason.
But, there is no practical reason to choose it over the other two.

If you go for that cartridge 'just because', you probably won't shoot it much. You (and your friends) will do some blasting with it...just to try it out...but you probably won't think of it as a fun gun to shoot. There are lots of 45/120 rifles on the market being sold ('offered' is a better term) by guys who didn't have access to advice...or ignored it.

When faced with a choice between 45/70 and 45/90, I took the long one because I wanted the extra capacity for 1000 yard shooting. But, that is in a twelve pound Sharps rifle. I shoot only BP in it, but nevertheless I was surprised by how much recoil it generates with that much weight helping me to absorb it. A nine pounder would wake you up from a two-year coma.

45/70 will do a creditable job at 1000 yards as it is, and there are some (excellent) bullet designs that allow you to pack in enough powder to duplicate 45/90 performance.

If you were to take a 45/70 now, you might find that you are completely satisfied.
If you still hankered for a longer cartridge after gaining some expertise, cutting it deeper is a simple job for any qualified gunsmith.
Then, if you really-really-really want a 'looooong' cartridge for 1000 yard work...the 45/110 is an authentic LR cartridge with proven capability.

If you plan to burn smokeless powder, the 45/70 is the only 'reasonable' choice, actually.

CM

[Gunlaker]

I don't have an Uberti high wall but I do have a C. Sharps and a Browning (non-BCPR), both in .45-70. The C. Sharps is far heavier (30" heavy octagon barrel) and has a shotgun butt. The Browning is quite light and has a crescent butt.

I can shoot 548gr bullets over 67gr of Goex Cartridge all day long in the C. Sharps, but after a half dozen of the same rounds in the Browning (which I bought mostly as a smokeless gun) I was starting to feel the recoil.

I think that the crescent butt might be a factor, although I think it has a lot to do with the Browning's light weight. I don't know what it weighs, just guessing, but maybe 7.5 lbs or so.

From the web site, the Uberti weighs about 10 lbs, so that would make it more pleasant to shoot. (Weight has a lot to do with it. For instance I have a .45-70 1874 Pedersoli with a light weight round barrel that has a lot more felt recoil than my .45-110 C. Sharps with a 32" heavy barrel.

If you want to go bigger than .45-70, the .45-90 is a good thing to consider due to the fact that anything bigger requires much more expensive brass. You guys in the U.S. have it a bit better, but my .45-70 brass costs about $0.80 apiece, and my .45-110 brass is about $4.50 apiece.

Just my $0.02.

Chris.

[Bullshop]

I see the general consensus is that the 45/120 is too much, Hmmm, interesting.
I also see many many here owning and shooting 458 win mags and even 458 Lotts, Hmmm, interesting.
Fact, big bore powerful guns are interesting.
Fact, a 45 cal 3 1/4" case holds more powder than the 458 win mag or the Lott.
Fact, in an action of equal strength at equal pressure the 3 1/4" case will out perform either the 458 win mag or the Lott.
I can make no claim about the Italian Hi Wall as to strength but have seen all manner of high pressure cartridges chambered on the Browning and Winchesters.
Now why would a powerful big bore in 45/120 on a hi wall action be any less interesting
than a powerful big bore 45 cal on any other action?
Another thing to consider about the bigger case is that if using smokeless powder the bigger case can equal the smaller case in velocity at a lower pressure.
Since pressure even more than velocity is so important to accuracy with boolits wouldn't it seem that at a given velocity that the cartridge that gets there with the lowest pressure may potentially be the most accurate? Also getting the velocity at lower pressure allows a softer alloy to be used and still be within the strength limits of the alloy.
I am not trying to say the bigger case is better, we all know what the 2.1" case will do.
What I am saying is that there are several different ways to view the pro's and con's of either. We tend to view things from our own narrow application or use but most often there are others. For a cowboy shooter or a BPCR target shooter the shorter cases may seem more appealing but what if a chap on the dark continent were to have his pick of all the straight 45 cal cases for his hunting hi wall.
Think about it!
BIC/BS

[Gunlaker]

For a cowboy shooter or a BPCR target shooter the shorter cases may seem more appealing but what if a chap on the dark continent were to have his pick of all the straight 45 cal cases for his hunting hi wall.
Think about it!
BIC/BS

Well sir, in that case I'd bring my .50-140 instead of my .45's

Chris.

[bravo2]

Can the cresent stock be recut and a pad put on? I would think so. After the holidays if they got that uberti I probably will get it. I can use it to plink with and to hunt if I wanted to. I might can restock it and mayve rebarrel it if need be. I like shooting long ranges and have done so with other rifles. I may want to get into 1000 yrd matches later. I love owning and shooting long range guns and the exotics. I have always been intrigued with the sharps and the highwall. I just like the lighter weight of the highwall and the looks best. I would like to own both but will take some time though. I can always by another highwall later or if this one is gone. I will order what I really want if it comes to that.
Looking at the uberti's the straight stock has a tang that is straight on bottom while the pistol grip one curves so it could be a issue swapping them out unless that part is screwed on and swaps out but if not then looks like I would have to order a rifle the way i would want it. I read the uberti are around 10 lbs but it did not feel that heavy when I held it though.
My other option is to just hold out for a winchester when I can afford it. I hate passing this one up on the price even though its a straight stock due to the holidays. I will have to wait and see in january if its still there. Does anyone need a rancho lift kit 4" for a ford 81-96 4x4 or 4x2 ford 150 and full size bronco,lol?
Do the pistol grip stocked ones recoil wise feel any better than the straight stock ones? Is there a common opinion on which style to get? whats the best brass to get?

[Bullshop]

Right on Chris!!! You got the idea.
BIC/BS

[littlejack]

Chris:
Do you know what the velocity is of the 67 grain Goex loads?
I shoot the same Goex ctg load in my hiwall with the 457125 government bullet weighing 522 grains. I would like to know what the estimated velocity is. I ran mine through my Chrony but only got 1069 fps. I was told that the velocity sounded slow. Maybe my battery is low.
Thanks
Jack

[montana_charlie]

I ran mine through my Chrony but only got 1069 fps. I was told that the velocity sounded slow.

I'd guess that's pretty close, actually. I'd really be surprised if it was as high as 1150 fps.
CM