I went to look for an adult sized Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas – ( yes – I know – be careful or I’ll shoot my eye out!! ) and this followed me home. One of several nice things about being an adult is having a favorite burner on the stove – another is buying your own Christmas gift. And you don’t have to wrap it up if you don’t want to be bothered with worrying about making it look good and you’re not too worried if it doesn’t – LOL
The furniture on this is real nice – the pictures don’t do it justice.
As soon as I saw the wood I told the guy “Here – take my money” a real good looker!!
And in a real caliber . . .
A variety of ammunition is available for the 45-70 , HSM makes “original” loads – using smokeless powder they essentially duplicate the 70 grain black powder loads and sure makes clean up a lot easier. This loading will work for just about anything you care to shoot – this is roughly the same load the buffalo hunters used. A 45 caliber 405 grain bullet moving 1300 FPS with 1520 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy with good shot placement will work for any game animal on the North American continent. You can shoot these rounds in just about any 45-70 as long as it is in shooting condition. Old trapdoor Springfields – old highwalls – minimal recoil in a light weight rifle like the Henry and almost none in an old trapdoor.
HSM also makes a “bear load” which takes the energy level up quite a bit – A hard cast bullet with a gas check weighing 430 grain moving at 1801 FPS with 3098 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy. Not too shabby – a bear is something different than most other game – really large, mean, plumb full of teeth and claws and considers you a food source.
Why that pistol is a real hand full – 46-70 the cartridge is damn near a hand full !! – Gotta love it . . .
Another good source of factory ammo for the 45-70 is Buffalo Bore – Their take on the 430 grain hard cast really steps out – 1925 FPS and a real impressive 3537 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy.
Factory loads for the 45-70 pretty much covers the whole spectrum = 250 through 430 grains – light through hell for stout loadings.
Well Bruce that’s all nice but what if I’m attacked by something really large and dangerous – say a rabid oak tree? Well then you can just roll your own . . .
You can get some incredible stuff – Beartooth Bullets has their 525 grain pile driver bullet – “The absolute last word in EXTREME penetration for the 45-70 Gov’t. – I foresee some future posts about reloading using the Lee manual reloading kit coming !!
Between schedules and weather will more than likely be spring before I get a chance to wring this out – 25 yards on an indoor range – Meh – 50 to 100 yards outside – Sweet!
Look out Bambi !!
Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!
Guns, Fun, Food and More 