recoil

[redriverhunter]

hello all,
i have been thinking about getting a marlin 45.70 I was wondering how bad the recoil is, 30.06 is the largest gun i have ever shot thanks

[jack19512]

It depends, are you reloading or shooting commercial ammo? I have yet to shoot commercial ammo out of my 45/70 so I can't comment on that but with casting and reloading you can go from mild to wild with the recoil.

[crabo]

You can make it hurt you, or you can make it a lot of fun. Your choice. A good recoil pad makes a lot of difference. I put a slip on recoil pad when shooting from the bench.

[Cheshire Dave]

I 2nd Crabo, a 300 or so at 1600-1800 is a sweetheart, a410gr at 1800 is all I need in the power dept. I like to shoot the heavey loads standing resting on a ladder with a sandbag rest. I shoot out the doorway of my shop leaning aginst the doorway and get good groups at 50yds (that's how far it is to a handy stump). I sure wish Marlin had put a good 1 inch pad on the 1895g. A new one is on my xmas list..Red River you would like the 45-70. I did buy one box of factory 405 loads and at about 1350fps they were easy on the shoulder. Have fun..

[Loudenboomer]

I second and third. My plinker is a lee pb 340 @ 1200 fps very mild. While the NEI 485 gr. FPGC. @ 1700 will Bark! Buy one don't let recoil stop you. The 45-70 is a real Boolit mans rifle. You can indeed taylor loads to do most things at most ranges with silver streamers.

[ReloaderFred]

I can tell you that a 420 grain cast bullet approaching 1,950 fps hurts from a rifle as light as the 1895. I use one for hunting elk and moose, and I dropped the hunting load down to a 405 gr. Remington at about 1,750 fps. I put a really soft recoil pad on mine, and that helps a lot, too.

For my Cowboy 1895, I load light and enjoy shooting it. As stated, you can load from light to heavy, so it depends on what rounds you put through it as to whether or not it's going to hurt you.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[BoolitBill]

A 405 grain boolit, 12 grains of Trail Boss gives approximately 1000fps. My 14 year old son loves this load and can shoot it all day long. It is a plinker but he is getting good at shooting the 1895G. As he gets used to it I will increase the fps. That is the beauty of reloading.

[NickSS]

I load everything from 457 round ball up to 535 gr postels in a 45-70 going from 500 fps up to 2000 fps. So you really have a flexable cartridge in a 45-70. However in a Marlin 95 unless you use a recoil shield or a soft recoil pad on the rifle it will bite you badly if you go over a 400 gr bullet at about 1500 fps. In my marlins except for the occation where I will be in an area where grizzly or Kodiak bear frequent I generally load either a 340 gr pbfp or a 405 gr pbfp to around 14 to 15 hundred fps. These loads can and do take deer and elk cleanly and generally with a broadside shot go clean through the animal. If you know the trajectory of your rifle it will take game out to 200 yards or so. For plinking and smaller game I shoot the 340 gr slug at around 1200 fps. Works really good on wild pig and any similar critter. It will also take deer out to around 125 yards without a problem.

[Tom308]

My .45-70 is a handi-rifle. It used to kick really hard with the hot loads. I removed the butt plate and inserted a tube filled with lead shot into the stock bolt hole. I also used a slip on recoil pad. It's fun to shoot now. I use the Ranch Dog tlc .462 350 RF. I figure it will kill anything I shoot with it.

[two dogs]

just got a 95 cowboy last night,rem factory loads 405 gr kick like a 12 gauge dove load from the benck and i was single loading them.with a full mag tube it is like a 20 gauge.

[MtGun44]

I ran all the way up to 2100 fps with a 405 j-bullet ---- OUCH!!!!! NOT fun.

On the other hand, a 405 at 1750 is a bit of a thumper, but OK and kills very well.

If you load down to 1200 or 1300 they are really fun.

Bill

[rob45]

redriverhunter,

Just caught onto this thread and seen your question; sorry for the late response.
A statement similar to your question was mentioned over in a different thread:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=69462&page=2

I realize you're just trying to get a "feel" for all of it, but maybe that discussion will help provide some direction.

The 45-70 is my favorite rifle cartridge, and as the others here have stated, very versatile. Light bullets, heavy bullets, fast or slow. Your choice to tailor your loads to nearly any need. The beauty of it is the bore size- the large bore diameter allows you to lower velocity to the levels of a pussycat load for very mild recoil, yet still obtain better "punch" than the typical high-powered rifle.

I plan to initiate a thread discussing recoil in general soon; just haven't had time to put it together. Hopefully by next week. In the meantime, Christmas is coming, so rest assured that you won't go wrong with a leveraction 45-70 (hint-hint).:-D

Good Luck.

[badgeredd]

When I first bought mine (many years ago) a friend and I shot up 2 boxes of factory loads so I could load them a bit hotter for hunting (pre cast boolit for Edd). Well the next day we both had sore sholders which convinced me to buy a nice soft recoil pad to replace the skimpy factory rifle pads. Since then I know not to get crazy with shooting full house loads at paper. I now load some for hunting at fairly stiff velocities, and load a bunch more lighter for fun. The hunting loads are ok for 5 rounds, and then I go to the fun loads.

Edd

[e15cap]

Get a gun with a flat shotgun type butt, those nice curved butt plates look great but will really bite you.

[gon2shoot]

As you've been told already, the 45-70 is whatever you want it to be. It can be your sweetheart or your mother-in-law, but the choice is yours.

The 45-70 is a big gun, but dont let that scare you off, the beauty of the beast is that it is very effective at many levels.

My most used load runs about 1550fps, with a 405 gr boolit, I have others that make my eyes water.

[Lead Fred]

My 9lb 06 bolt guns kicks way worse than my 7lb 45/70 Handi.

I shoot 300-500 gr boolits at 1200-1400fps. Ive got a AC sep, and a rebuilt elbow.

I can shoot the 45/70 all day long. I can not my 06.

But then the 06 is firing some nasty 178gr A-Max just under 3000fps.

Use black powder, and its a whole different ball game