is the 45-70 that much better than the 44 mag?

[jeff223]

i would think the 45-70 would be a real wrist breaker shot from the Contender.i could shoot some mild handloads out of it but would i be better off with the 45-70 over the 44 mag for deer hunting?i will be handloading for whatever i get

i still dont have a deer barrel for my Contender and i am just thinking about all my options here.357max??44mag??45-70??375Win??its getting to late for this years deer season but i will have a barrel or two for next years.i need straight walled cases for hunting here in Michigan in the shotgun zone.

i do know that my Contender 223 is one good shooter  

[btracker1]

I have an Encore but it depends on what cartridges are allowed by your state DNR,here in Illinois I went with a .44mag its very accurate when I am :lol: .More fun to shoot than I thought it would be  :gun4:

[Pie-bald]

A 45/70 with a good brake isn't as bad as you would think. Mine is more enjoyable to shoot than full-house rounds out ot a 10" 44mag. The 14' barrel in a 44 makes all the difference in the world if you go 44. I shoot my 45/70 with 350gr bullets one-handed all the time. Recoil is straight back. The 10' 44 that I was loading and developing loads for leaped out of my hands if you didn't hang on. The 14'' barrel was alot more enjoyable. The 357Max is a real sweetheart and a 100yd deer stopper. Mine is also 14'. But you loose very little to a 10'' barrel. Shot both and very little difference use horsepower loads. The 375Win falls in between the 44 and 45/70 and enjoyable also. Everybody is impressed when they drop the hammer on this one. It's 15" and ported. Looking forward to this during deer season. Now for the hammer-load. Been shooting 405gr loads near max out of a 450Marlin (15'') and this one you better hang on too! Makes the 44 seem like childs play!!. Now to honestly answer you question, if I had to rid all of these straight walls and keep one it would be the 45/70. Load it light for plinking or hot for anything that walks. 300gr HP's do the number on deer with little or no tracking involved! As JD Jones says it's a 100yd SLEDGE-HAMMER!!

[poncaguy]

I'm 63 and have bad wrist due to "arthur", have no problem shooting my 45-70 at all.  :-D

[crawfish]

For a first time pistol shooter/hunter I’d recommend something a bit less hard on the hand. I’m sure you realize that this is really a close in venture with 100 yards being beyond the doable range of 75% of those who do it. I have been doing this exclusively for 14 years and I limit my shots to 30 yards or less, not because I can’t hit further out (I shoot handgun silhouette) it is because I’m absolutely certain that I can kill at that range. I know that the deer in IL can run rather large but even so I’d look real hard at .357Maxunm, 375Win, and .41RemMag as a first handgun hunter. Now I have in my safe numerous .41s’, a .375Win, a .44RemMag, a .45LC, and a .45-70Govnerment all 14 inch Contenders. They all kill deer very well out to practical handgun range but I like the .41 because it will do everything I need done with authority and doesn’t beat up my hand. Of the two you asked about go with a 14 inch .44RemMag and keep shots within 100 yards.

[Special Ed]

Jeff, If you look at the case dim's for the 45-70 you will find it's not a straight wall case, but slightly tapered. I would get verification that it's a legal cartridge for our "shotgun" zone.

[Redhawk1]

Special Ed make's a good point. It is always good to check your local laws. But I think most places consider it a straight wall cartridge.
But if given the choice of 44 MAG or 45-70, I would go with the 45-70. You would have such an option with bullet weights and loads. The 45-70 can be as mild or brutal as you want it to be.   I had a 45-70 contender barrel a while back and sold it, (What a mistake) but I just purchased another one recently and am glad I did. I get a kick out of it when people see that round go into a pistol. :-D

[Ranger413]

I'll make another vote for the .44 Mag.  I've owned two in the revolver variety and find them very fun to shoot with light loads.  When you step up to a good hunting round they bite a little bit but not real bad.  I've never had the opportunity to shoot a 45/70 out of a handgun.  I would imagine that it would be impressive and I'll take the word of the other posters here that have shot it that it probably isn't all that bad.  I have an Encore pistol in .308 and it is kinda fun to shoot.  Naw, I don't sit down and shoot 50 rounds at a sitting, but it isn't intolerable.  

I'd go with the .44 for several reasons.  First is the lighter recoil.  Second is the availability of the round in both factory loads and components.  I feel that the .44 is a good performer out to about 100 yards if you can do your part.  I believe it's killed most animals that have walked at one time or another so it obviously has the power, especially for deer.  The question is how dead do you want your deer.  Dead is dead and the .44 will do it.

I'd opt for the 45/70 if you feel that you can handle the recoil and want a gun that can do more.  But, I still feel you'd be better off with the .44 first.  Besides, if you're getting or already have an contender/encore, you'll have a "library" of barrels in a short time anyway.  Buy the .44 now and graduate to the 45/70 later.  That would be my plan.

Ranger413

[Hawkeye]

Spec Ed, the 45-70 is a straight wall case. It is tapered but it is straight wall according to the regs in a couple of states that I wanted to hunt that required straightwall cases. Most states just say it cannot be bottleneck.

I would go with the 45-70 like some others said, the available bullets and range you can load up or down. I have the TC Hunter barrel which is 12" with a 2" break from the factory. I shoot 300grn Sierra JHP's and it has taken several whitetail in OK. They did not go more than 5 steps and I think that was just stumbling. A good 2 to 4x scope and some ear plugs and your set up.

Mike

[LMM]

.45-70 would be the pick.  If it is to your liking it can be loaded down to .44 mag performance.

[poncaguy]

I'm 63 with "arthur" in my wrists :lol:  and I really don't mind hunting with my Contender 45-70, 17" with brake. I wouldn't want to shoot  it at the range all day, but for hunting, recoil is not that bad...I have rubber grips on it.