doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 45-70 and big game?

Wow, Leo, how you imagine yourself people hunt bears at den? That's funny!
Bear jump out from his den trying to run away. Shooting distance usually 10-30 yards and it doesn't really matter how your DR been regulated as soon as crossing point of any DR is beyond these distances

Geno,
Get a Winchester 1886 with a full magazine in 45-70 that way you would have several follow up shots. A standard 45-70 with a 405 gr. bullet is dam powerful. I watched a long range black powder shoot at Whittington Center in New Mexico. They were hitting targets a 1000 yards ever shot. The old round is no slouch.

Regards
M.L.
Oklahoma Panhandle

The ol'pumkin roller can make the trip....never heard it referred to as a close range stopping rifle.

The gun Josey Wales used to give the Redlegs a Misssora boat ride was a 45-70...or so I think!

Geno, that was just my point. Near the den, regulation doesn't matter, but, unless you have the gun built and regulated for the hot load, you won't have much versatility for other uses. And I wouldn't recommend using the hot loads in a gun built for the standard loads. I'd still take a 450-class double as a more general solution.

GregSY: I don't think the .45-70 was introduced until 1873 (for the Army's Trapdoor Springfield). I can't picture the rifle you're talking about, but since The Outlaw Josey Wales takes place during the Civil War, and since it seems to be a pretty accurate movie from a firearms standpoint, I'm guessing Josey used something else. TT

Crawling in a den to hunt bear. Wow!! I just watched a show on TV tonight and heard that they can run up to 35 miles and hour, or as fast as a race horse. I'd hate to have them come out of a cave chasing me at that speed. Of course you don't really have to out run the bear- you only have to out run the guy who is with you......... Here in Ohio, I don't believe we are allowed to shoot a rifle .30 caliber+ anymore. When hunting deer, you are supposed to use a slug gun. So a .45-70 is completely useless to me. But when a salesman told me that a .45-70 would easily stop a water buffalo, I was sold. So I snatched up the Marlin Guide gun in .45-70 that he had on sale. Maybe some day I'll be able to use it.......Denny Crane

All I really know is it is a single shot with one of those long brass scopes/sight that runs the length of the barrel. I'm sure a guy familiar with single shots could ID it.

It's the gun he uses to shoot the rope that is used to draw the ferry from one side of the river to the other.

'The Outlaw Josey Wales' should be required viewing for anyone wishing to graduate from high school.

Joe, a short distance gun is why they made the "Guide Gun" in such a big caliber. I have seen them use it on TV with their bear hunts as a stopper/back up for a charging bear for guys who hunt with bows or S&W large caliber handguns. Short barrel. Light weight. Good gun for a guide to carry through the brush in places like Alaska. This is also where they say, "A gun in the hand is worth a push in the bush." I'd like to hunt there someday. But I'll have to make it soon. Mad Cow, you know............Denny Crane

Most anything in 45 cal is a good stopper - from the 45 Colt & 45 ACP on up. My deer rifle is a new model Winchester '92 in 45 Colt, and it plays hell with stumps!