The niche of the Marlin .45-70?

[Njal Thorgeirsson]

Hello,

Late this summer I may end up in texas visiting some friends. While I'm there, I figure I might try to do a bit of boar hunting, as some of my acquaintences are familiar with it and will try to help me out. I collect WWII firearms, but I don't really have anything particularly suitable for hunting. I was considering a Savage or Stevens 200, but recently the Marlin .45-70 (classic 1895) has caught my eye.

So how does this rifle perform at ranges of (up to) 300 or so yards? What kind of accuracy could I expect at say, 100 yards? Will the bullet drop be significant at those ranges? Would this rifle be suitable for deer as well, and is there an advantage to using a more standard bottleneck cardridge [.25-06 or .270] (for deer and boar) over the .45-70 at ranges <300 yds?

Essentially, will it perform as well as a .25-06 or .270 for my purposes or is there some limiting factor that I may want to consider?

Thank you for the help!

 

[Dr.Rob]

A 45/70 is a slow moving heavy bullet that has a considerable drop at 200 and 300 yards compared to a .270 or .25-06.

You can certainly kill deer and boar with it. Realisticly I consider the 45-70 a 'short range' rifle. You can take long shots with one but you really need to practice with it. A good rifle with modern ammunition should easily place 3 shots in a 2 inch circle or better at 100 yards off the bench.



A .270 or .30-06 is far better suited to ,long range 300 yard open country shots.

 

[memphisjim]

im curious what ww2 firearms you have that you dont think suitable?
pretty much any of the main infantry rifles would be more than adequate

 

[Old judge creek]

Man, where do I start. There's a reason the 45-70 is still around around and going strong after 139 years. In general, it is a short range round... BUT

The only bullet I shoot anymore is a lead 405 grain loaded to 1450 fps. It has a trajectory like a rainbow but is boringly consistent in all three of my 45-70s. My Marlin Guide gun has long since replaced my 30-30 as my all round general purpose totin' rifle. It'll take anything in North America.

That said, the boar I became familiar with when I lived in Texas were much smaller than the boar in California. So, it's possible you'll find the 45-70 to be kinda like swatting a fly with a 1957 Buick... But maybe not.

Until you get lots of practice with the 45-70, you'll probably find your 270 or 25-06 to be more effective for you. My favorite bolt calibers usta be 243 & 270, these days it's 243 & 308. Each offers pluses and minuses and some simply are more fun to shoot than others.

My Shiloh is a tack driver at 650 yards and after I dial it in, literally everyone can regularly hit Paiute Rock with it from around 1000 yards on my ranch.

The 45-70 is simply my favorite rifle caliber. When i do my part, Most critters I've hunted with the 45-70 have dropped as if hit with the Hammer of Thor. It's a stopper! And I'd not want to be without one in my battery.

 

[JShirley]

I had an 1895G. It would shoot just over minute-of-angle with GA Arms 300-grain HPs.

Any WWII rifle will work fine- some better than others. Mausers, for instance, just need to have a peep sight put on (Mojo makes an economical one) to be ready to go.

 

[Red Tornado]

I'm with Memphisjim, what WWII rifle won't work? The only WWII caliber that I can think of that would be inadequate is the .30 carbine. Most of the others are around 30-06 power.
I don't have a 45-70, so that makes me an "internet expert" and I think they're awesome.
RT

 

[StrawHat]

I have owned and fired a lot of 45-70s and for a while it was my favorite cartridge. If you are not familiar with the ballistics of the 45-70, I would suggest one of the smaller flatter shooting cartridges, ie 30-06 or similar.

The flatter trajectory will make range estimation less critical. I am happy to hunt with any cartridge/rifle combination that holds 3 MOA from field positions. Even at 400 yards, you are going to hit within 6 inches of where you aim. I prefer to hunt closer but that is a self imposed limit.

 

[snakeman]

If you are shooting out to 300 yards there are more suitable cartridges. That said, the 45-70 is one of my all-time favorites and will take any boar you come across.

 

[snakeman]

If you happen to have a 6.5x55 you have a cartridge for your needs right there. That said, you could get a howa or tikka chambered for 6.5x55 and share the ammo between you swede mauser and your deer rifle.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

I owned an 1895 Cowboy up until a about a year ago. I found that depending on what bullets I was using, the stock sights ran out of elevation adjustment to make shots much over 300 yards. The Classic may have different sights, though.

 

[Redlg155]

I have a 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun in stainless topped with a Nikon 2x7 scope that will consistently group under an inch at 100 yards. 50 yard groups are cloverleafs with Hornady LeveRevolution 300 grain ammo.

Hogs don't stand a chance. I think it would be interesting to shoot a Javalena with Garrets 500 Grain bullets at 1500 fps.

 

[adelbridge]

I am in South Texas and around here the .45-70 has a reputation as a round that doesnt cause a lot of meat damage due to is slower velocity. It will certainly put hogs down and they are good to about 200 yards or so and with lever evolution ammo maybe a bit more. In texas shot distances are very predictable with feeders and baiting so shots over 200 yards are not the norm but you cant tell hogs where to come from. Also most of the hogs I shoot are nocturnal and my longest night shots are 80-100 yards. For night nunting a scope with illuminated reticle makes a huge difference and open sights are worthless. the Marlin 1895 is an incredible gun that leaves a big blood hole for easy tracking if they dont drop in their tracks.

 

[natman]

The first thing to realize about the 45-70 in the Marlin is that it's really two different cartridges. SAAMI spec factory ammo is loaded rather softly in deference to older black powder rifles that are still around. At this level it's a 100 yard cartridge at best, old tales of buffalo hunters and Billy Dixon notwithstanding.

If you handload or buy custom ammo to the levels the Marlin can stand it becomes a much more powerful cartridge, suitable for elk or bear at reasonable distances. Loaded with Hornady LeveRevolution cartridges it's good out to maybe 250 yards. Recoil with these is pretty stout and if you really want to shoot out to 300 yards you would be better off with a 30-06.

 

[Njal Thorgeirsson]

Thanks all for the input!

I definitely won't be hunting at 300 yards with this rifle for the time being (probably 100-150 at most), I was just curious as to how it might perform at that range, if I become very familiar with the gun. Also, I will handload.

Its not insufficient power that makes me want to avoid my WWII rifles, its just that each is not suitable for one reason or another. My M1 can't quite group well enough without some work (~5 moa), I don't feel as comfortable hunting without scopes on my nagants and my SVT-40 (and I don't really want to modify any of them to accept scopes), my M1 carbine isn't really powerful enough, and I guess I'm just a bit too afraid to take my K98 out in the field. It is in practically perfect condition, matching serial numbers, has the nicest stock I've ever seen on a surplus rifle, mirror bore with no signs of use, and almost no visible signs of wear. Perhaps I could just get a used stock for it (to prevent damage to the existing one), and get the aformentioned peep sight.

 

[Dr. Sandman]

I'll bet WWII was tougher on you K98 than your pig hunting trip will be. Don't be a weenie, take it to the field!

 

[SwissArmyDad]

I'll bet WWII was tougher on you K98 than your pig hunting trip will be. Don't be a weenie, take it to the field!

I have to concur with this statement, in the friendliest, bromantic way, sir.

My mauser was a brute. That 8mm round would do nicely for most hunting chores. A bit heavy for toting in the field, but you'd be glad to have it if the time came to harvest something...

Honestly, an older Marlin in .30-30 with a good set of peep sights from XS, etc would be on my short list, too. Love those rifles.

Good luck deciding!

 

[cpt-t]

The Niche Of The Marlin 45/70

Njal Thorgeirsson: My Son and I both are 45/70 Marlin fans and we both bought 1895 CW`S to Cowboy shoot with. But really fell for the 45/70 we have a light load for cowboy shooting 405 gr rnfp hard cast bullet at about 1250 to 1350 fps that you can shoot all day. When we decided to take them pig hunting in north east Texas we bought some of the COR-BON , GARRET, And Hornaday Leverevoultion and they were not real pleasent to shoot. I packed every thing and I packed the light Cowboy loads instead of the heavy loads and we could not find any replacements in the little town where we were. But the first day we both killed 2 Hogs each, and one is the largest hog I have ever taken just over 300 lbs. All 4 hogs dropped at the first shot and all were under 100 yds. You can`t beat a Marlin 45/70 my Son likes the short barrel and I prefer the long barrel rifle. and the light ammo worked just fine. If I were to go out to West Texas or back to the mtns in Calf to hunt hogs my old 30/06 with 180 grain bullets would be my first choice, but you can belive my Marlin 45/70 would go along to. I think you can hunt about anything in North America with a 45/70 and I belive the lever action Marlin is faster than the bolt acton rifle for most people, I know it is for me. GOOD LUCK TO YOU: ken

 

[jeepnik]

I'm not sure where you intend to hunt pigs, but out my way, 200 to 300 yd shots just don't happen. Still, from a good rest I can certainly get minute of pig shots at that distance. But, it would require adjusting the scope as the drop from my normal 100 yd zero would be considerable.

But think about this, folks do shoot 1000 yd matches with the 45-70. And, I for one would not want to be hit with one at 1000 yds.

 

[ZombieHorde]

The .45-70 seems like it was made for hog hunting. My buddy dropped a 200+ pounder with one shot.

 

[X-Rap]

I have shot a handful of elk and deer out to 150 yds with my 95G and love its performance. I have never had a scope on it but it will hold within 2" at a hundred with the Ghost Ring.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

I just bought a ghost ring: want to see what it will do. With the 325 Leverevolution I expect up to 200 yards (based on ballistic charts) it will be quite good. Just shooting logs at about 100 it proved devestating!

 

[dprice3844444]

hi-luxoptics.com toby bridges scope is bdc for the 45/70

 

[natman]

Thanks all for the input!

I definitely won't be hunting at 300 yards with this rifle for the time being (probably 100-150 at most), I was just curious as to how it might perform at that range, if I become very familiar with the gun. Also, I will handload.

Its not insufficient power that makes me want to avoid my WWII rifles, its just that each is not suitable for one reason or another. My M1 can't quite group well enough without some work (~5 moa), I don't feel as comfortable hunting without scopes on my nagants and my SVT-40 (and I don't really want to modify any of them to accept scopes), my M1 carbine isn't really powerful enough, and I guess I'm just a bit too afraid to take my K98 out in the field. It is in practically perfect condition, matching serial numbers, has the nicest stock I've ever seen on a surplus rifle, mirror bore with no signs of use, and almost no visible signs of wear. Perhaps I could just get a used stock for it (to prevent damage to the existing one), and get the aformentioned peep sight.

Just buy a Marlin XS7 in 308, put a Leupold on it and go hunting. Leave your milsurps alone.

 

[Njal Thorgeirsson]

Thanks again for all the input!

I think I've settled on purchasing a Marlin... But I'm having trouble deciding between an 1895 XLR (24" barrel) and the 1895 SBL (18.5" barrel). Do you think I'd see any noticeable difference in accuracy between the two?

 

[beatledog7]

If you're toting this around and maneuvering through cover, you'll be better off with the shorter barrel. Accuracy difference, if there is any, will be indiscernible at 100 yards.