45/70 with 9" Brl. ?

[Bob96]

  I always liked the Howada type last chance for charging tiger pistols as used in Africa. Was thinking about a 45/70 in a 9" brl. for just fun use. Was looking at BRF revolver web site and they show about 850fps in one of their revolvers with a 7" brl. using factory 405gr. loads. This sounds like it wouldn't be too painfull to shoot in a T/C?  Is this snub nose type length just stupid or could it work out ok for plinking?  How would recoil and noise levels be in a 9" brl.?

[MePlat]

I've been thinking about having my Encore barrel cut down to 9 inches or so myself.  Of course I want more than 850 fps with a 405 grainer.

[Lone Star]

Recoil would probably be less than in a longer barrel, factory ammo uses a fairly fast powder so blast wouldn't be too terrible at the low .45-70 pressures.  I use 17 grains of BlueDot in my 16.5" T/C barrel for 1052 fps.  That load would probably be above 850 fps in the 9" tube, and the fast powder would keep the report relatively low.  The blast should be well below what a .44 Magnum gives.


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[Ken ONeill]

Bob,
I have had a 12" Hunter .45-70 barrel for about 15 years, and recoil can be tolerable with mild loads, or absolutely all you can stand if you choose to push a 400 gr. Speer @ 1360 fps. I also have a 6 1/2" SSK stub .45-70 barrel ( it was a gift) that can only be comfortable for me if I shoot a 300 gr. @ 1000 fps MAX, or a 400-405 @ about 850 MAX. It's a toy, and fun, but of limited versatility. Both guns are scoped, with Pachmayr grips. The extra weight certainly helps.
In my view, the 9" T/C would also fit into the Toy category, but there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you know it going in. JD has a 10" .45-70 that he's used for many years.