What specialty ammo will the 45-70 cycle reliably?

[midnightrider]

By specialty I'm talking about some of the heavier rounds offered by Garrett, Buffalo Bore and the like, not necessarily handloads. My reason for asking is that it pretty much takes some of these rounds to put the 45-70 into the dangerous game stopper category (as opposed to just hunting), and if you're gonna have a 45-70 why have not have one that will do it all? Firsthand experience would be great, but failing that I'd be happy to even hear reliable hearsay.

I'm still a bit on the fence, but if I go with a Henry I'm holding out for an All-Weather 45-70 anyway and I still haven't seen one in a store yet. I haven't been to Cabela's in a few weeks so I'm planning to head up there in the morning.

[JEBar]

prior to buying ours I heard some stories of chambering issues with Hornady Lever Revolution ammo .... have run some through ours without any issues .... I've tried about a half dozen different brands/bullet weights and so far, none have presented any problems ....

[Squatch]

The Hornady Leverevolutions can be a little balky feeding in mine. That's the only thing I've had trouble with. I've been told that the guns are strong enough for anything considered to be a 1895 level load(mid range). I would check with Henry before shooting anything labeled Ruger only. I think the biggest issue is OAL. Some of the 500gr and above can be really long cartridges and may not feed or chamber in a lever gun. Again I'm sure HRA will be happy to answer those questions.

My brass 45/70 feeds 300gr and 405 rnfp flawlessly.

[Travlin]

Loads labeled "Ruger Only" are just that.

[midnightrider]

prior to buying ours I heard some stories of chambering issues with Hornady Lever Revolution ammo .... have run some through ours without any issues .... I've tried about a half dozen different brands/bullet weights and so far, none have presented any problems ....

JEBar, if I can ask what all different kinds of ammo brands and weights have you run through yours successfully?

No, I wouldn't try any "Ruger only" stuff, and I've never cared for the Hornady gummy stuff anyway so no problem there.

[Squatch]

I have shot the 300 grain Winchester silver tips through mine. They shoot nice and function fine. Other than Hornady that's the only factory ammo I've shot.

[JEBar]

JEBar, if I can ask what all different kinds of ammo brands and weights have you run through yours successfully?

No, I wouldn't try any "Ruger only" stuff, and I've never cared for the Hornady gummy stuff anyway so no problem there.

half box of 20 Hornady Leverevolution 250 Grain .... won't use again, performed OK but shell casing is an odd size that doesn't lend itself to relaoding

one box of 20 Winchester® Ballistic Silvertip 300 Grain .... OK but seemed to be really be dirty

one box of 20 Remington® Express Core-Lokt 405 Grain .... OK would use again

literally hundreds of HSM Cowboy Action Ammunition 405 Grain .... really like this ammo for general practice shooting

half box of 20 HSM Bear Load 430 Grain (until we get our hand loads perfected, this is the round I would use for dangerous game)

one box of 20 Federal Premium Vital-Shok Ammunition 45-70 Government 300 Grain .... OK, would use again

half box of 20 Barnes VOR-TX Ammunition 45-70 Government 300 Grain .... OK would use again

[midnightrider]

JEBar, if I can ask what all different kinds of ammo brands and weights have you run through yours successfully?

No, I wouldn't try any "Ruger only" stuff, and I've never cared for the Hornady gummy stuff anyway so no problem there.

half box of 20 Hornady Leverevolution 250 Grain .... won't use again, performed OK but shell casing is an odd size that doesn't lend itself to relaoding

one box of 20 Winchester® Ballistic Silvertip 300 Grain .... OK but seemed to be really be dirty

one box of 20 Remington® Express Core-Lokt 405 Grain .... OK would use again

literally hundreds of HSM Cowboy Action Ammunition 405 Grain .... really like this ammo for general practice shooting

half box of 20 HSM Bear Load 430 Grain (until we get our hand loads perfected, this is the round I would use for dangerous game)

one box of 20 Federal Premium Vital-Shok Ammunition 45-70 Government 300 Grain .... OK, would use again

half box of 20 Barnes VOR-TX Ammunition 45-70 Government 300 Grain .... OK would use again

Thanks, JEBar, I appreciate that. It's good to know that the HSM Bear Load runs well in the rifle. I can't imagine needing too much more than that! And actually, their Cowboy loads are deceptively efficient too. They're harder cast than you might think (around 15 BHN I believe) and at around 1300 fps the penetration on those things is excellent. Much more than just a plinking round really. Overall, I've always thought the HSM loads represented a tremendous bargain for the money if you don't handload.

[JEBar]

Thanks, JEBar, I appreciate that. It's good to know that the HSM Bear Load runs well in the rifle. I can't imagine needing too much more than that! And actually, their Cowboy loads are deceptively efficient too. They're harder cast than you might think (around 15 BHN I believe) and at around 1300 fps the penetration on those things is excellent. Much more than just a plinking round really. Overall, I've always thought the HSM loads represented a tremendous bargain for the money if you don't handload.

I'd never heard of HSM until I started looking for ammo for our Henry 45-70 .... later today I hope to run 100 - 200 of their 44 Mag Cowboy Action Rounds through our Henry 44 and our Redhawk .... looking forward to seeing how they perform and how they group as compared to our handloads .... I can't tell any difference in the way their Cowboy and Bear load cycle .... can most certainly tell a difference in the rifle's bark and recoil

[midnightrider]

Well, Cabela's still didn't have an All-Weather 45-70 in stock but the good news is that they did have 6 boxes of HSM 45-70 Cowboy Loads available which I promptly relieved them of. Got to use my Cabela's $20 off a $150 purchase card too, which cut the price down by $3.33 per box!

[JEBar]

so far all HSM's I've bought have been from various Cabela's .... my reality is, I may never hunt dangerous game with our 45-70 .... for that reason I don't see spending the time and effort to come up with our own bear load .... it would be much simpler to pick up another couple of boxes of HSM Bear Loads .... we have little doubt that we will most certainly fire enough target loads to make worthwhile to load our own

[midnightrider]

Well, Cabela's still didn't have an All-Weather 45-70 in stock but the good news is that they did have 6 boxes of HSM 45-70 Cowboy Loads available which I promptly relieved them of. Got to use my Cabela's $20 off a $150 purchase card too, which cut the price down by $3.33 per box!

Well, I MAY finally have a lead on an All-Weather 45-70. A diligent employee at a LGS has kinda gone on a mission to find me one and thinks he may be successful.

If so I'll post some pics in a few days.

[PMC]

If you have no luck, let me know, I know of a LGS who has them in stock, you could buy one and have it shipped to your LGS.

If I wasn't closing on my new house next Monday I would have already bought one! I'll wait till fall......maybe

[JEBar]

I just returned from St Louis Cabela's where I bought 3 (20 round) boxes of .45-70 Government 430 Grain WFN (Wide Flat Nose) GC (Gas Check) ammo .... they will be filed away for the time if/when I should take our 45-70 hunting for large/dangerous game .... no plans to do so but sure would like to

[tx gunrunner]

There is different type of lever guns . Bottleneck cartridge work best in all lever guns . Now straight wall cartridge work best in Elevator type action like 1860 Henry , 1866 and 1873 Winc . When the 92 and 94 Win are ramp feed guns were designed for smokeless powder and bottleneck cartridge . Straight wall ammo like 357 , 44 , 45 LC and 45-70 can be picky in a ramp type feed guns and need some slicking up and chambers open up . A little thing like the crimp can fix most of them or beveling the chamber . My 73 will feed 38 shorts , 38 Colts , 38 spec and 357 mag because it is a elevator feed . The 45-70 has a slight taper brass to help feeding on ramp feed .

[midnightrider]

I just returned from St Louis Cabela's where I bought 3 (20 round) boxes of .45-70 Government 430 Grain WFN (Wide Flat Nose) GC (Gas Check) ammo .... they will be filed away for the time if/when I should take our 45-70 hunting for large/dangerous game .... no plans to do so but sure would like to

JEBar, you're talking about the HSM bear load, correct?

Haven't you run that through your Henry and doesn't it cycle fine?

I'll bet the recoil is pretty stiff.

[JEBar]

JEBar, you're talking about the HSM bear load, correct?

Haven't you run that through your Henry and doesn't it cycle fine?

I'll bet the recoil is pretty stiff.

that is correct .... as noted in a post earlier in this thread, I've fired a half of a box of 20 HSM Bear Load 430 Grain ..... I'd made up my mind that until we get our hand loads perfected, this is the round I would use for dangerous game .... later the reality set in that the chances I will ever get the opportunity to hunt dangerous game with our 45-70 are pretty small .... consequently, I've decided to not worry about coming up with dangerous game load of my own .... its always possible that I might change my mind again but right now I just don't see it .... I'm comfortable with the HSM Bear Loads, they really perform well in our Henry ... the recoil is certainly noticeable but so far, I've never noticed the recoil or muzzle blast from any round I've ever fired at a game animal ....