45/70

Rossi's latest and past big game rifle based on the 336 frame!
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Re: 45/70

Post by Ranch Dog »

Pb2au wrote:In terms of accuracy, I've been curious to see how the Rio's in 45/70 do. The barrels look a little light for the venerable 45/70 gov, but it looks like I'm happily mistaken.
I hold my RG4570 to the same standard above, in practice the rifle has always been a 2 MOA rifle with my 310, 360, and 425-grain bullets. Not much left in a 2.2" hole at 100 yards when five .458" holes have been cut through it!
Pb2au wrote:The only exception is for small game like ground hogs, but that is a different story.
I have four lever varmint rifles, all Marlins; the 39A (22RF) and a full brace of the 1894CL (218 Bee, 25-20 Win, and 32-20 Win). I hold them to a higher standard, less than 1 1/2 MOA. These are not long range rifles, no long range shots here but when calling in tight brush they have to be tight enough to get through any hole in the brush when it is time to contact hide.
Pb2au wrote:I am seriously on the fence about a Rio in 45/70 or another M92 in 357 for the Misses. These threads are not helping. :D
I think the key word in this statement is "another". Sounds like a M92 357 Mag is already in play so I see a RG4570 in your future.
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Re: separating hard fact from fantasy

Post by pricedo »

Ranch Dog wrote:
pricedo wrote:May sound sacreligeous but accuracy is overplayed in most deer hunting discussions.
You're hunting a fairly large game animal at ranges usually much less than 100 yards.
Being from Ohio and a hunter you are no doubt aware that many deer are taken with shotgun buckshot, slugs and archery equipment yet when you read some posts on gun forums you'd think that 1/2 MOA was critical and shooters are slugging barrels, measuring bullet diameters for micrometer accuracy and goodness knows what other exotic and elaborate processes to achieve that theoretical standard.
If your gun can hit an aluminum 6" diameter mini pie plate at 50 yards consistently it's a deer hunter.
In that most of the prep for deer hunting is done from a bench, what I want to see at 100 yards is 2.5 MOA. This Minute of Angle translate to 2.62" at 100 yards. I use MOA as it translates no matter the distance used to test a load. I hold all the hunters that pass through my place to this standard.

If it can't be done, we figure it out and correct it. Sometimes it is simply the hunter that isn't capable of it. In that case I close the distance, until they can and then will match that distance in the hunting setup. I had a fellow shoot a very nice six year old trophy at 35-yards with a 300 Win Mag because he wasn't capable of shooting it any further and he insisted on shooting his rifle. Through the following year, this fellow worked at his shooting (much of the issue was induced by the Win Mag) and he took a similar trophy with a very difficult shot at close to 200 yards. He made the rifle and cartridge proud with hard work on his behalf.

The only hunter that I haven't let hunt on account of this standard was my ex-brother-in-law. I told him to bring a lot of ammo for his rifle as I knew his shooting was weak and I had not seen him shoot the rifle in a decade. He brought six rounds and with three out the barrel, I knew it was not going to work out. You cannot find 300 Savage ammo within 100 miles of this place, I told him that. I offered to let him use any rifle from the dozens that I have but he threw a temper tantrum. I put him in time out and he spent the weekend not hunting. Suited me fine.
I'd rather see a hunter enter the field carrying a 270 Win, 30-30, 308 Winchester or 30-06 Sprng rifle that he/she can shoot well rather than a something-or-other super ultra magnum rifle where you can see the barrel drop a foot from flinch whenever he/she pulls the trigger.

Talked a slight statured 5' 7" (vertically challenged ;) ) friend into dumping an ill fitting 300 Weatherby Magnum Mark V bolt action rifle that he was deathly afraid of to the point where he'd close his eyes whenever he squeezed the trigger because of the pounding it gave him.

He bought a scoped Remington model 700 in 270 Winchester from me (I added a recoil pad and shortened the LOP for him) and now he has no problem achieving consistent < 2", 3-shot groups from the bench (not "internet" or "talk" groups.....REAL groups because I was standing beside him when he shot them). Every hunting season when we get together he has thanked me for convincing him to sell "Big Bertha" (which is what he called the 300 Weatherby bolt action) and buy a gun that was more suitable for him.

At the end of the day he had a gun he could shoot comfortably & accurately as well as $800 more "jingly" in his pocket. That Mark V cost as much as 3 model 700s at the time.
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Re: separating hard fact from fantasy

Post by Knightmare »

pricedo wrote:Talked a slight statured 5' 7" (vertically challenged ;) ) friend into dumping an ill fitting 300 Weatherby Magnum Mark V bolt action rifle that he was deathly afraid of to the point where he'd close his eyes whenever he squeezed the trigger because of the pounding it gave him.
Never had a problem with recoil...course, I enjoy it (I'm young and stupid). But another thing is that the gun needs to be proportional to the cartridge. Those fools who think you can cram a .458 Lott into a four pound gun...well, I have shot big-bore African rifles (.375 H&H and .505 Gibbs) and if the gun is weighted right, recoil is not an issue. Lugging the gun around becomes a chore, but the recoil of that .505 Gibbs (which weighed close to 14 pounds) wasn't any worse than my .30-06.

My 3 criteria for buying a gun boil down to:

Can I carry it, Can I hit anything with it, and Can I afford it?

Luckily, the Rio Grande fit all three!
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Re: separating hard fact from fantasy

Post by pricedo »

Knightmare wrote:
pricedo wrote:Talked a slight statured 5' 7" (vertically challenged ;) ) friend into dumping an ill fitting 300 Weatherby Magnum Mark V bolt action rifle that he was deathly afraid of to the point where he'd close his eyes whenever he squeezed the trigger because of the pounding it gave him.
Never had a problem with recoil...course, I enjoy it (I'm young and stupid). But another thing is that the gun needs to be proportional to the cartridge. Those fools who think you can cram a .458 Lott into a four pound gun...well, I have shot big-bore African rifles (.375 H&H and .505 Gibbs) and if the gun is weighted right, recoil is not an issue. Lugging the gun around becomes a chore, but the recoil of that .505 Gibbs (which weighed close to 14 pounds) wasn't any worse than my .30-06.

My 3 criteria for buying a gun boil down to:

Can I carry it, Can I hit anything with it, and Can I afford it?

Luckily, the Rio Grande fit all three!
Well, I'm old and stupid.
I have a "chopped" (20" bbl, 8 pounds) Rem 700 in 416 Rem Mag and a Savage 116 Alaskan Brush Hunter (18" bbl, 7.5 pounds) in 375 Ruger that pack a good wallop but I don't find them too uncomfortable to shoot.
The Savage is the only heavy magnum I'd ever think of carrying all day in the bush.
The thing with the Rio Grande 45-70 version is that it is such a light gun even lighter than my Winchester 1886 (7 pounds). The heavy Buffalo Bore ammo I shoot in the 1886 EL would be quite "sassy" fired from the RG 45-70.
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Re: 45/70

Post by Bibletotingunslinger »

Just curious,,,,,I kinda think I might be too old to move to Alaska, but just say I was younger, would one of these be good grizzly bear equalizer? I realize no one gun is perfect for everythng,,,?????? +corn
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Re: 45/70

Post by G8R8U2 »

Bibletotingunslinger wrote:Just curious,,,,,I kinda think I might be too old to move to Alaska, but just say I was younger, would one of these be good grizzly bear equalizer? I realize no one gun is perfect for everythng,,,?????? +corn
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l ... ist&c=62#9
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Re: 45/70

Post by plinky56 »

Since moving to SE PA(ML or shotgun) area from the State College area(rifles allowed), i've harvested many deer with a TC Hawken flintlock in .50 cal. My load is 70gr FFG and its patched ball with my old eyes give me about 3" at 50 yds. Plenty accurate for 75yds and closer and I don't think i'll ever get a 100yd shot in these thick woods--and if I did I probably couldn't see the deer/sights well enough to feel good about pulling the trigger on it. An ethical humane kill is most important to me, especially in my later years.

Right on about recoil too. I have a .243 ruger M77 that I used as a dual purpose groundhog/deer gun when in college and I just harvested a big doe back upstate at about 175 yds, but with a scope and bipod, that was a clean shot. Gotta feel good and match the gun and circumstances with your ability when afield, especially since my eyes/abilities are depreciating lately.

Pop had a gun shop from the 50's to 1999, and i've set up many a lighter recoiling .257 robert or .243 or 7mm Mauser for guys who bought the heavy recoiling bruisers to hunt deer with and simply couldn't hit anything due to flinch and recoil. So, knowing your limitations, and loading to that goal is the ticket.
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Re: 45/70

Post by Ranch Dog »

plinky56 wrote:Pop had a gun shop from the 50's to 1999, and i've set up many a lighter recoiling .257 robert or .243 or 7mm Mauser for guys who bought the heavy recoiling bruisers to hunt deer with and simply couldn't hit anything due to flinch and recoil. So, knowing your limitations, and loading to that goal is the ticket.
What I would give to have a chance at some of the rifles now that passed through "Pop's" shop then!
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Re: 45/70

Post by donhuff »

The only hunter that I haven't let hunt on account of this standard was my ex-brother-in-law. I told him to bring a lot of ammo for his rifle as I knew his shooting was weak and I had not seen him shoot the rifle in a decade. He brought six rounds and with three out the barrel, I knew it was not going to work out. You cannot find 300 Savage ammo within 100 miles of this place, I told him that. I offered to let him use any rifle from the dozens that I have but he threw a temper tantrum. I put him in time out and he spent the weekend not hunting. Suited me fine.




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Re: 45/70

Post by craiginct »

OK... so, this levergun thing is a bit addictive... OH! you know that already, well, sorry for the reiteration of the well known fact, but there it is, staring me in the face... again. I already bought and shot the 16" and 24" Rossi 92s, in 357cal, after a few tweaks. Gotta love'm!

A friend of mine was yacking me up about his Spanish War Springfield 45-70 trapdoor gun, but who in their right gun-buying mind can afford one that's worth shooting?! I can't... which brings me back to Rossi and the Rio Grande, since that's far more affordable than the Remington Guide Gun or the Henry. If I get the Rossi Rio Grande 45-70, am I going to have to go through it as I did the 357s, cleaning/softening all the edges, shortening the spring, ordering another magazine follower, and installing a rear target/ghost sight? After all, who has time to throw the cross-hairs of a scope onto a charging rhinoceros or bear, when you're in the woods or brush?! hey! it's not called action shooting for nothing!

Talk to me folks!
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