Effective range for 45/70?

[Big Boomer]

What effective range could I get out of any bullet/powder combo for a Marlin 1895 45/70 Cowboy?

I have read that back in the late 1800's of people taking arced shots at 1000+ yards.

give me some distances for target/hunting with some ranges on the light side of say 300gr or less and heavy of 500?

Just bought it so haven't shot this caliber at all and have no clue to how useful it could be...not that I didn't have a clue before I bought it and very high expectations!

 

[blitzen]

for target shooing the sky's the limit. For game animals I would say 100 yards. The 45/70 is a heck of a stopper round, but I would say it's a short range hunting round. Let's keep it real.

 

[dmftoy1]

Well I think you'll enjoy shooting your 45/70. I absolutely love shooting my 1895 Cowboy, especially with the lower power rounds. It's cool to hear the "thwack" as the rounds hit the berm after your shot.

In terms of distance, I guess if you were a really good shot you could shoot something at 150-200 yards, especially with the new Hornady Leverevolution ammo. I'm with the poster above in sayins that I wouldn't shoot at an animal past 100 yards but that's more in line with my ability than anything else.

For punching paper, mount a tang sight on it and bang away at 1000 yards. I've found that my Marlin is much more accurate than I'm capable of holding/seeing. (I shoot iron sights . .never tried it with a scope)

I would caution you to hold it tight to your shoulder if you decide to shoot some of the souped up 45/70 loads. You can get complacent shooting the cowboy loads. It's nothing for me to put 100 through the tube in a setting . . .I won't do that with the stuff from Buffalo Bore.

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[MMCSRET]

A friend uses his CB 1895 and Winchester Supreme ammo and has taken mule deer at 200 yds, but he is a very deliberate shooter and only takes standing shots.

 

[JustsayMo]

The round is as effective for as far as you can put it on the target. The heavy bullets have plenty of energy to do what it needs to once it arrives.

I like shooting mine long range. In misty weather you can hear the bullet hiss as it jogs downrange. It really smacks the rams with authority.

 

[Jim Watson]

As a hunting rifle, I would say about 150 yards unless you were very, VERY good at estimating longer ranges and holding or resetting the sight for the trajectory.

As a target rifle, I don't know the limit. A guy tried to take one of those Miroku-Browning-Winchester 1886 repros out to 440 yards yesterday and was not too successful. I'll be watching to see what happens as he improves his sights and loads.

JustsayMo, are you shooting a single shot or repeater? Are your rams at 200 or 500 metres? I note that lever action metallic silhouette is run as a separate event with targets at shorter ranges than for single shot BPCRs.

 

[skinewmexico]

I would think if you had Army experience in artillery or mortars you'd be worlds ahead at lobbing one of those long distance.

 

[Nolo]

Wasn't there a .45/70 shot at something like 4 miles back in the day?
The guy fired it like a little piece of artillery.
Obviously not for hunting purposes, but still impressive.

 

[Shawnee]

The "point blank range" of the 325gr. is about 170-75 yds. That is; the bullet can be sighted "on" at 150yds. and never be more than 4" above or below the line of sight between zero and 170-75 yds. That 8-inch vertical range is good enough for stationary deer.
So the real question is; how good are you with the iron sights ?

 

[CBS220]

I don't know about 4 miles, but there were army tests out to absolutely extreme distances- at least if you consider two miles to be extreme. Which I do.

http://www.researchpress.co.uk/targets/ballistics/sandyhook.htm

Shooting at 6-foot bullseyes, there was reasonable success... and I suppose that it wouldn't be unreasonable for a group of soldiers to try some long range volley fire back in the day.

 

[Harve Curry]

The 45-70 is kinda like the 44 special in this way; you won't realize it's accuracy or velocity you want unless you handload it to the firearm your shooting.

I shoot my old 1881 Marlin 45-70 with Lyman/Gould mould of 330gr and some smokeless at 1580fps. It can make heart lung shots regularly at 200yards.

Use a laser range finder now, no need or guessing anymore. Knowing the range and your sight settings is critical. I tape mine to the side of the stock.

The Marlin Cowboy is a strong rifle with good rifling. Low intensity reloads(read pressure) will be more accurate then barn burners.

If you reload for accuracy first in mind, sub MOA, then see what you get for velocity. You'll probably be about 1500 FPS MV depending on the bullet weight your rifle likes. There are plenty of good commercial cast bullets from the light 300 gr to 500gr, my guess you'll appreciate 350 to 405gr.
Depending on your eyes ranges past 200-400 yards you will need a tang sight. Match your target to your sights. Keep notes.
There's the book 40 YEARS WITH THE 45-70, that is helpful.

 

[Nolo]

Yah, two miles, right.
I just knew they measured it in miles, not feet or yards.

 

[Harve Curry]

Didn't Mike Venturino take a 45-70 to the Yuma Proving Grounds and the Army techs tested/tracked it's flight path? They were surprised by it. It was with the traditional 500gr black powder loads.

 

[Big Boomer]

So just where do I get one of these "tang" sights and do they fit on a 1895 cowboy?...found them, nice but not exactly what I was looking for...

Edit:

Actually after looking a little more I found these:

Davide Pedersoli Rear Soule Sights

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...=Google&cm_pla=lyman tang sight&cm_ite=netcon

do they make these for a 1895 cowboy? I am VERY interested in picking some of these up. The reviews seem amazing.

 

[Harve Curry]

I don't use a tang sight. I've gotten by with a SMITH ENT. ladder sight with full buckhorn when folded down.
It fits the original barrel dovetail.

Ther's lots of tang sight versions now, research them and get one that has windage adjustments.

 

[JustsayMo]

Jim, Leveraction rams are at 200 yards. All shots fired offhand.