45-70 Reamed to 45-90, 45-100, 45-110, 45-120

[northkid]

Anyone shoot the 45-90, 45-100, 45-110, 45-120?
They would seem like a hoot to shoot an how is the recoil an do they get close
to the .458 Win Mag.

[Jason F]

There are a few of us that have 45-120. You can load it just like anything else, from plinking loads on up. It definately turns heads at range when you are shooting it.

[stimpylu32]

There are a few of us that have 45-120. You can load it just like anything else, from plinking loads on up. It definately turns heads at range when you are shooting it.

Boy , you said a mouthful there , something about that " Thump " as the round is dropped into the chamber , you can hear it all the way down the firing line and heads just turn and go - O MY 
 
stimpy

[Plenty Coups]

Mnay have shot my BC with full loads ONCE with the steel butt and a Speer 350 grainer. A second try at it was quickly declined. I cannot imagine a 45/120 in that light of a gun loaded up to the top. It would be closer to a gun for ancient dinosaurs and take a cave man to shoot it. I am not recoil shy but I would have to think about it!.

[northkid]

What is the recoil like 12ga 3" slug in an 870, .416 Rigby  an be better doing it in a BC or a standard 45-70? Are they accurate an do they knock ya into next week.
Any of ya use them for hunting. I bet ya could shoot through  10 deer at once an not even slow down.
 

[Jason F]

i dont think the recoil is bad . the 32" barrel is pretty heavy and i have a weight in the buttstock. i am not shooting heavy loads in mine , 300 grain hornady hollow point and 80 grains of i3031. there is still alot of room left in case for more powder.

[gcrank1]

Load up half a box of top lever-gun 45-70 loads and give 'em a go in your BC.
We eagerly await your report  .

[bikerbeans]

northkid,
 
A 45-120 has a lot more case capacity than a 458 WM, but the winchester round is a magnum meant to handle higher chamber pressure.  You can launch bullets at or near 458WM velocities with the 45-120 but at lower chamber pressures and at the expensive of a lot more powder.  If all you do is ream your BC to 45-120 and no other modifications I am fairly certain you will stop way short of 458WM velocity.  IF you don't plan to modify your BC to handle more recoil (add weight, recoil pads, different stock set etc.)  then just do as gcrank1 has suggested and I think you will forget about trying to copycat a 458WM.  FWIW, I have launched many hundred very hot 45-120 loads from my gun, modified to weigh about 11 pounds, and I happy to say that i lived through it and have now moved on to loads that are a touch less insane.
 
BB

[knight0334]

My .45-120 loads are well into the .458Win's area, and are only touching the 40K to 42K PSI range.   The brass and gun appears to be able to handle quite a bit more, but to preserve both(and my shoulder) the .458mag range is good enough.

I use a couple different duplex loads.   One uses a faster burning power to push the slower burning down the bore, and the other is just the opposite.    I've also diddled with a triplex load using two different burn rate rifle powders and a pistol powder using gun paper to separate certain powders until it burns through.   (I will not give recipes out because they are experimental.)

From 24" to 32" inches within the barrel the pressure drops off pretty fast, so you don't gain all that much with that extra 8 inches of barrel.   You need to use a bunch of slower burning powder or a duplex of some sort to take advantage of the whole 32 inches.

[gcrank1]

You are apparently skilled and knowledgeable in this approach, most of us mortals shouldnt go there....... .

[knight0334]

You are apparently skilled and knowledgeable in this approach, most of us mortals shouldnt go there....... .

I don't know about skilled or knowledgeable - probably more brave and cautiously stupid.  lol

I also have some uncles that have experimented in the past with duplex and triplex loads that I ran things by.

[Shu]

Recoil is a function of weight coming out the barrel (burned powder and bullet) and velocity mitigated by gun weight, gun shape and recoil pad.
 
The lower pressure of the 45-120 just makes people feel good about the stomping they recieve.
A 500 grain bullet at 2200 fps recoils the same out of a 45-120 and 458 WM.

[Jimbo47]

I can take some heavy recoil, but what I hate is the scope being driven back into my forehead, and then the  numbing feeling with the warm blood then trickling down the full length of my nose.