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Bolt Action 45-70's

fd-ems-emt
I found a link to a bolt action 45-70,, Was wondering if they are any good??
The one i'm looking at is at the bottom of the page on the web site below,,,

http://www.gibbsrifle.com/sport.html
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • trstone
    I have no idea how good they are, but I certainly don't like how short-barrelled and stubby they are. I guess a person is better off going the "Siamese Mauser" route if he wants a bolt-action .45-70---at least, that's the impression I've gotten from other posters.
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  • HAIRY
    The barrel length is about the same as the Trapdoor carbine. Just got thru firing my Trapdoor carbine and recoil was not bad (8mm Mausers are worse, IMHO).



    "It is fortunate for governments that the people do not think. ADOLPH HITLER"
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  • Iroquois Scout
    I agree with Trstone, I think that the Gibbs Enfield's are to short and stubby and don't handle well. I have E-Mailed Gibbs and asked if they planed to offer a longer barreled model, but, they said no. I think a longer barreled rifle would "hang" better for offhand shooting. Recoil doesn't really enter into the equation.
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  • I.Shute
    If you're serious about a bolt, don't even consider the Gibbs.
    Find one or build one on a Siamese or a P-14 Enfield.
    They will stand heavier loads than you can and no problem loading them down to Trapdoor or Gibbs recommended loads.
    I've seen a couple built on the P-14, but haven't built one yet.
    The action is longer and is perfect for a 45-90,- still can shoot 45-70 in them.
    If you can't do it yourself, find an action, send it to Shaw and in about 4 months they'll send you back a barreled action, matte finished, blued, bolt handle changed, altered for the bigger round, drilled for scope mounts, etc. You buy a semi-finished stock and finish it yourself,- if you want to and you'll have a rifle that you'll never sell!
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  • maximat
    I must agree with I.Shute. The P-14/1917 Enfield or Siamese Mauser are much better choices for .45/70 chambering. I have owned a Mauser and fired some HEAVY loads (near .458 Mag.) with no problem. Don't try this in ANY SMLE unless you want to wear the bolt in your forehead. The conversion from either is pretty straight foreward for any competant gunsmith. The '17 will require boltface modification as would any k98 Mauser (non-Siamese).
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  • maximat
    The .45-70 is a great round. That is why I shoot a Remington Rolling Block .45-70 with cast lead bullets and black powder loads only for everything except varmints. (My eyes are getting old for those wee targets.)
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  • I.Shute
    Saxon-
    Yea, you have a point, - - kinda.
    But I wouldn't call the 45-70 in standard form a great round. It's about as exciting as taking your sister to the prom, or tossing a concrete block over the fence.
    There's a happy medium. You can boost it up to 50 %. Yes, fifty percent, and then you have a great round. I can enjoy shooting 40 or 50 rounds of it, but 3 rounds with my 458 is enough.
    I just don't see why you'd buy a rifle that's limited to 1873 era 100 yard standards when you can put in another $100 and have a rifle with modern exciting ballistics.
    Those things are ugly, too.
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  • nononsense
    fd-ems-emt,

    If you really want a 45-70 bolt action rifle, then I think that the Gibbs will provide you with everything that that the cartridge should allow. The barrel length is near ideal for the cartridge even if it isn't ideal for 'perfect' balance.

    The gunwriter and gunsmith that came up with the idea of converting bolt actions to handle 45-70 cartridges at higher velocities and energies, should have been laughed out of print in the first place. What a stupendous waste of time, energy and materials! No matter what has been printed in the gun rags, it is not just a straight forward conversion of a Siamese Mauser let alone a 98 Mauser with a standard box magazine. Yes, the Siamese has a slant box magazine, but that doesn't mean that it is ready to go for the 45-70. It is merely one element of many that has to be overcome to allow this cartridge to feed correctly. Why do you think that there are so many 45-70 conversions, that the owners are trying to sell, that are failures? Competent gunsmiths, as a rule, won't touch this conversion anymore. It is just plain too expensive and ridiculous to even bother with, for what you get out of it. If you truly desire a 'magnum' 45-70, then get a real rifle that is chambered for the .458 Win. Mag. It won't cost nearly as much as the conversion and it will perform reliably each and every time. If you require still more velocity and energy then jump up to the 458 Lott or even better for some of the anti-belted snobs, the non-belted 450 Dakota or the 458 UltraMag. It doesn't get much bigger or badder than that without going to larger calibers.

    Let Gibbs convert the Enfield rifles to 45-70 and leave the Siamese and the P-14/17's alone. This conversion idea is one that should have been ignored in the first place.
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