Question for Contender Man
C-Man, In the past you have had some good info. I don't know if you have any experience with .45-70 . I recently bought a Gibbs .45-70 bolt action and rolled up a few rounds for it yesterday. I used 50 gr. of IMR3031 w/ a 300 gr. Rem.HP. I tried them yesterday and they grouped well. My question is, what is a reasonable range for this cartridge? I have heard 150-175 yds. and I read in another article 250 yds. was possible with a 12" holdover (if you dial in 3" high at 100 yds.) I also hunt with a .444 using 240 gr softpoints and it drops hard around 175. I will be mainly using this for whitetail and black bear.
"They call me Don. Dr. Jason Donald Dalinger."
"They call me Don. Dr. Jason Donald Dalinger."
0
-
I have no first hand experience w/ a Gibbs, but I can offer some general info on 45-70 as I have used that cartridge in both Contender, Encore ... and a Marlin Guide lever gun setup.
The latter configuration being used when I was part of the designated backup to another shooter (primary hunter) using a Contender or Encore on bear hunts.
So, back to your question. All rifles have a loading that will bring out their best performance, so you will need to experiment a little. As for performance you can take thin skin game out to 500 yards, but that's not something I recommend. And, you can punch paper to 1,000 yards. You just need sights or optics that will let you work those ranges with the holdover needed, which (think rainbow) is considerable.
However with regards to the 12 inch holdover with a rifle setup for 3 inches high at 100 yards, that's good at around 200 yards, but at 250 yards you'll need to double your holdover as the drop is between 28 and 30 inches at 250 yds. (for 300 gr. HP typical powder load).
Ballistic wise with either 300 or 405 grain bullets over typical powder loads (or commercial ammo) your energy will drop to under a 1,000 ft. lbs. just a little past 200 yards, and I suggest that energy level as the cutoff to assure a humane kill.
As for bear I prefer heavier, solids, for penetration. In factory bullets the 405 gr. soft points are something you may want to try, and there are several small shop/custom solids if your going after Western Grizley or Alaskan Browns. Regardless, I've never seen a long shot on a bear (black or brown). All I have seen have been around 70-75 yds. (maximum) to less than 25 yards. My preferred setup for bear is to zero at 50 yards, and use 405 or heavier bullet loads. By doing that you are looking at a typical drop of 4 to 6 inches at 100 yards, which is fine for me because I won't take a bear shot at that range and for deer or elk, if I use that caliber I work at 100 yards or less. Worst case with that setup your looking at 33 to 34 inches of drop at 200.
45-70 is a "fun" cartridge ... lot's of history, and forces you to shoot like they did "back in the day" rather than table top flat shoots with the "mini-rockets" that they have today. Whole different world. Hope this helps you.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
C-Man, Thanks for the input. You are right, the .45-70 is a "fun" cartridge. I am a big bore fan anyway, so the .45-70 fits the bill.I have been contemplating buying one for several years and my older brother in Tenn. bought a .45-70 Marlin last year and he is just getting into reloading (mainly because the factory stuff is over $20 a box). I will be going to visit in a couple weeks to get him set up. I have plenty of time from now until November to get this thing fine tuned. The majority of my shots on whitetails here in Va. are within 100yds, so I should be good to go.
"They call me Don. Dr. Jason Donald Dalinger."0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
2 comments