Author Topic: 45-70 Carbine Question (Read 450 times)

powhs · « **on:** September 25, 2004, 05:00:58 PM »

Was thinking of a 45-70 t/c carbine. Can you tell me how bad the recoil is?

Thebear_78 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 25, 2004, 05:35:47 PM »

I have an encore barrel in 45/70. It was a 24" barrel but I have since sent it to be cut down to 18". Recoil with the synthetic stock and heavy loads were fairly brutal. Standing offhand it wasn't that bad but from the bench 350gr JFN @ 2100fps were very stout. I put a boyds laminated stock on it and the added weight helped with recoil quite a bit. Factory loads of 300gr at 1880fps were not bad at all. Its still not something that you want to shoot off a bench all day. If you are looking for a short, handy carbine for big game under 150-200 yards then you can't go wrong with the 45/70 carbine. You can use the 300gr Barnes X bullet out of it since it is a single shot. The BC of this bullet is much better than RN or FN bullets normally used in the 45/70 and really help out at longer ranges.
This is my encore before I sent it out to get cut down. It has a 1.5-5x20 leupold VX-III on it. Its a great combination.

Lone Star · « **Reply #2 on:** September 26, 2004, 05:08:14 AM »

My Contender carbine (16") was pretty brutal until I put on laminated stocks...the added weight really helped. Still, it can be tough - as mentioned above - to shoot much off the bench. The Contender can't handle the really heavy loads that the Encore can, but that's a good thing as the Contender's lighter weight makes the recoil worse.

Factory 300-grain factory ammo seems to recoil worse than the 400-grain stuff. I handload with 300s and AA2015 for around 1600 fps and 2.5 moa accuracy. This works great on deer out to 150 yards at least - that's the longest shot I've taken with this load. I've taken deer out past 200 with my M98 .45-70, but that was loaded quite a bit hotter. I have a 2.5X Leupold on mine...a light, handy and potent carbine.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 26, 2004, 05:32:21 AM »

I was shooting a 45-70 in my Encore with a synthetic stock and heavy loads also and it was a killer on my shoulder. :eek: If you plan on shooting heavy loads you should seriously consider a wooden stock.

Hopalong7 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 27, 2004, 12:34:26 AM »

Having a 16 1/4" Contender barrel, I had to try it as a carbine. At the time I only had synthetic stocks. Once was enough. Even with light/medium 300gr loads it was BRUTAL!!! :twisted:
GOOD SHOOTIN', Walt

Reloader · « **Reply #5 on:** September 29, 2004, 05:54:17 PM »

I shot mine today off the bench for the first time.
Federal ammo and the 300 grain Sierra bullet.
16 !/4" Barrel and synthetic stock.

It jumped a bit to say the least but the recoil wasn't bad on the shoulder.

I took my 458 up this afternoon to compare and the 45-70 wasn't even close. I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a hunting situation but probably wouldn't want to shoot varmints with it all day long.

I've shot this barrel with a pistol grip and I would much rather go with the carbine configuration.

Put three shots into 1 9/16" center to center with a 4 power scope. Not bad for a first try.