45-70 Lever Action
Question:
Tom, Actually, The 33 Winchester is a necked down 45-70 but the 348 is a different animal based on a larger case. As for the "old", remark I take exception to being called old and I was born 9 years before the M71 was discontinued in 1957. The only problem with the 348 is that the cases cannot be made from any other available cases without a lot of work. Sam Shannon – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
Hi Big bore lovers. Just a little of my 2 Cents try a 45/70 handgun a Contender is my choice but they do make others. Now that is fun, 350 gr at 1800 ft/sec now that is boredom insurance. Try it you will love it. This is also the 444 Marlin in the Contender. 320gr at 1900 ft/sec what we call a hand cannon out here in Colorado. Recoil What Recoil just like a rabbit gun. C.H.
Response:
>Red, >Seriously, though a fairly close facsimile of the gun I just described >(minus the engraving and carving), is the Winchester M71 in .348 >Winchester caliber. The .348 is a necked down .45-70 case and is >actually more powerful than a factory load in .45-70. (Unless there is >now a "modern" .45-70 load available.) It is quite a bargain as old >Winchesters go. A field grade in about 80+% original condition can be >found for about $650 or even a little less at times. The Deluxe rifle, >(checkered wood), can be had for about $950 in similar condition. >joe
Sorry to nit-pick, but the .348 is not a necked down 45-70 case. Head and rim diameter of the .348 is substantially bigger (as far as cases go) than the 45-70. Just a point of information.. Tom Lafleur I’m the NRA.
Response:
The local gunshop has an original 1886 Winchester in 45-70 nice, but expensive. They just sold a Winchester lever action in 50-110 now that is a big bore cartridge!! MAD
Response:
>>(snip)The .348 is a necked down .45-70 case and is >actually more powerful than a factory load in .45-70. (Unless there is >now a "modern" .45-70 load available.) >joe >Sorry to nit-pick, but the .348 is not a necked down 45-70 case. Head >and rim diameter of the .348 is substantially bigger (as far as cases >go) than the 45-70. >Just a point of information.. >Tom Lafleur >I’m the NRA.
I stand corrected, I shouldn’t have said it is a necked down .45-70, I think the .348Win may actually be longer than the .45-70. But I believe the basis for this cartridge was the .45-70 base. Just as, say a .22-250, is off the .30 cal base. I sadly no longer reload, and don’t even have any .45-70’s around, so I can’t reference a loading manual or compare with a .348Win. I’ll take your word for it, my reloading experience is about 15 years old, at it’s most recent. joe
Response:
What I love about this thread is that it gives devotees of big-bore plodders an excuse to associate with each other. Marlin 1895, Win 86 & 71 lever guns and Handi-Rifles are real life hunting guns that work in darn near every field situation. Minute of deer/elk out to 200yds offhand. May I be permitted to add the .358 when run thru a Savage 99 or BLR(even though it is a high pressure round and not steeped in lore). These gun/cartidges hearken back to a time when life was a bit more uncertain, and we like them because. Chuck McCullough Alvo Nebraska Buzzards gotta eat same as worms, boy
Response:
>For some reason I’ve been feeling the need for a 45-70 lever action. (snip)
nothing crazy about that. >Oh yes, one more thing. If you could have a wife or a 45-70 lever >action, which would you choose? Just kidding. >Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. >— >Red >—
Red, If you were ever put in the position of having to choose between a wife or M1886 Winchester Deluxe Sporting Rifle in .45-70, part round barrell, button magazine, shotgun butt, factory engraved, deluxe carved 4X wood, with case colored receiver in about 90+% original condition…….well, you’re unlikely to find one so your wife is probably never going to have to find out which way you’d choose. Seriously, though a fairly close facsimile of the gun I just described (minus the engraving and carving), is the Winchester M71 in .348 Winchester caliber. The .348 is a necked down .45-70 case and is actually more powerful than a factory load in .45-70. (Unless there is now a "modern" .45-70 load available.) It is quite a bargain as old Winchesters go. A field grade in about 80+% original condition can be found for about $650 or even a little less at times. The Deluxe rifle, (checkered wood), can be had for about $950 in similar condition. Then of course, there is the Japanese-Browning imitation M1886 which is available in several different grades and barrell configurations. The cheapest way would be to get the Marlin, but you owe it to yourself to check out the M1886 repro’s and the M71 Winchester. You can always rebarrell a M71 if you find one with a cut barrell, that makes a sweet handling gun and is not a big job. Common financial sense should be suspended when considering a project like this. > ; >
joe
Response:
I have a Marlin 1895 SS. You won’t have much luck with the cast bullets because of the microgrove barrel. However, mine has never jammed. I use the following load with the listed results: Win Brass Federal 210 M(agnum) primer 58 grains I3031 powder Hornady 300g FPHP bullet With this load I get 1.25 inch groups at 100 yards 1935 fps MV with no pressure signs greater than author Ken Waters describes as acceptable.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> For some reason I’ve been feeling the need for a 45-70 lever action. > Oh yes, one more thing. If you could have a wife or a 45-70 lever > action, which would you choose? Just kidding. > Red, > I’m the proud owner of a newly purchased .45/70 lever action model > 1895SS by Marlin. I don’t know where you live, but the they’re hard to > come by here in New Hampshire. I looked for two years for a used one. > In that time I found one. I was a little short in the $$ department > that day. Went back two days later and it was gone. I finally said the > hell with it and placed a new one on order last April. They were on > back order everywhere and I didn’t receive it until August. In my > humble opinion, my patience paid off. I’ve had several people ask "Why > in the hell would you want that gun?" The only answer I can give is > "Just because." If they don’t understand that, then they never will > understand. Anyway, I absolutely love this firearm! The first thing I > shot it at (er, I mean through) was an old water heater that I haven’t > gotten around to taking to the dump. I held it tight expecting a hell > of a kick and was pleasently surprised and felt that it didn’t really > kick more than my old 30-30. Maybe that was just because of adrenaline, > I don’t know. I was definitely amused at the size of the exit holes > that those 300 grain hollow points created. I probably haven’t given > you much of the advice that you were looking for, but I wish you luck in > getting what you want!! By the way, in answer to your last question, I > was lucky enough to have a wife who didn’t even question the fact that I > wanted a .45/70!! That, I would say, is as close to the perfect answer > as you can get!! Take care and good luck! > Glenn Dixon
I would choose my wife over any gun, and I love shooting sports. Having said that, your urge for a .45-70 lever action is the urge of a red-blooded American. If you can purchase one while maintaining your priorities, I say do it! The Marlin is a good gun. Consider (if you can find it) also the Browning 1886. I own a Browning Model 71 (in .348 rather than .45-70). Ther is just something about that schlack-schlack and those thumb-sized cartridges. regards, CC
Response:
[snippage about Marlin .45-70....] > Seriously, though a fairly close facsimile of the gun I just described > (minus the engraving and carving), is the Winchester M71 in .348 > Winchester caliber. The .348 is a necked down .45-70 case and is > actually more powerful than a factory load in .45-70. (Unless there is > now a "modern" .45-70 load available.) It is quite a bargain as old > Winchesters go. A field grade in about 80+% original condition can be > found for about $650 or even a little less at times. The Deluxe rifle, > (checkered wood), can be had for about $950 in similar condition. > The cheapest way would be to get the Marlin, but you owe it to > yourself to check out the M1886 repro’s and the M71 Winchester. You > can always rebarrell a M71 if you find one with a cut barrell, that > makes a sweet handling gun and is not a big job. Common financial > sense should be suspended when considering a project like this.
I’ve also read that the M71 has been rebarrelled to other wildcat calibers like the .416/348, .450 Alaskan, and .50 Alaskan, which are all supposed to be awe-inspiring stoppers at short-medium ranges. Any rec.hunting readers had any experience with those? Christopher J. P. Murphy
Response:
hello, iI have had the marlin 1895ss 45/70 for about 8 years. I love this gun and have had no problems with it. I live in VA and go to a lot of gun shows and have not ran across many used ones. I bought mine new. They carry them in all the gun stores and shows new around here. there are other makes and models for the 45/70 but not as common to find. as for lever or another action that to me has alwas been personal choice. I own at least one gun in each action and i love each one for the reason i bought it. hope that helps lunatic69
Response:
For some reason I’ve been feeling the need for a 45-70 lever action. But not knowing anything about the beast I had a few questions and I was wondering if there might be some knowledgable sole out there that knew the answers. First, anybody have one and how do you like it? The only one I found in Shooters Bible was a Marlin. Are there any other makes and about how much to they cost? I’m usally pretty patient in this type of thing so I would be hoping to run across a nice used one. If I were looking for some comman chamber in bolt action I would be pretty sure of eventually finding a good deal, but I don’t have any feeling on how comman a 45-70 lever action is in the used gun market. If it were a 30-30 I know I could pick up one in good shape for $200 without any problem. So, how much is a used 45-70 worth? Also, I’m not real familiar with lever actions regarding what to look out for. So besides the regular stuff (all the bells work, no rings or buldges in the barrel, crown dammaged, hasn’t been hauled around in the chain box, etc.) what should I look out for? Oh yes, one more thing. If you could have a wife or a 45-70 lever action, which would you choose? Just kidding. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. — Red —
Response:
> For some reason I’ve been feeling the need for a 45-70 lever action. > Oh yes, one more thing. If you could have a wife or a 45-70 lever > action, which would you choose? Just kidding. > Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. > — > Red > —
Red, I’m the proud owner of a newly purchased .45/70 lever action model 1895SS by Marlin. I don’t know where you live, but the they’re hard to come by here in New Hampshire. I looked for two years for a used one. In that time I found one. I was a little short in the $$ department that day. Went back two days later and it was gone. I finally said the hell with it and placed a new one on order last April. They were on back order everywhere and I didn’t receive it until August. In my humble opinion, my patience paid off. I’ve had several people ask "Why in the hell would you want that gun?" The only answer I can give is "Just because." If they don’t understand that, then they never will understand. Anyway, I absolutely love this firearm! The first thing I shot it at (er, I mean through) was an old water heater that I haven’t gotten around to taking to the dump. I held it tight expecting a hell of a kick and was pleasently surprised and felt that it didn’t really kick more than my old 30-30. Maybe that was just because of adrenaline, I don’t know. I was definitely amused at the size of the exit holes that those 300 grain hollow points created. I probably haven’t given you much of the advice that you were looking for, but I wish you luck in getting what you want!! By the way, in answer to your last question, I was lucky enough to have a wife who didn’t even question the fact that I wanted a .45/70!! That, I would say, is as close to the perfect answer as you can get!! Take care and good luck! Glenn Dixon
