45-70 Gut Check

[Rick R]

Well this thread (and a few adult beverages) cost me money



Surfing the Internet on New Years eve and discovered a listing for a #1 in .44 Magnum at a Cabela’s in my state.
After a bit of negotiation and paying a bunch of bucks I am once again a #1 owner. 36” long and 7# it’s like an adorable puppy of a rifle.

[john c]

That's a great looking rifle! I think .44 magnum is probably a more user-friendly round than .45-70. It's easier to load up or down, depending. Of course, the top end is lower than .45-70, but there's only so much thump you can put into a 7 lb rifle.

[SCCY Marshal]

Please tell me a 44 Special roundball handload is going to be worked up and at least shot for group and chronographed out of the pretty magnum.

I own a Ruger No. 1 in .45-70 and it's one of my favorite rifles. Dunno that I'd recommend that platform for a young person, though, unless they had already demonstrated a high degree of equanimity towards recoil. The big Ruger kicks.

I'd also dispense with the notion of trying to conjure any kind of quick follow-up shot, whether that be a couple of rounds held in the off hand, African-double-rifle-on-dangerous-game style, or one of those quirky mittens that slips on or Velcro's to the stock. If your boy takes to the big Ruger, it being a single-shot will teach him things that nothing else will. No sleight to those legions of men carrying Remington 700's and Winchester Model 70's and Ruger 77's and such like - that being the way of the world, after all - but hunting with a single-shot changes you. If your boy carries that No. 1 for a few years, he'll be a profoundly different hunter.

Given his love of buckshot and slugs through his flyweight 20 gauge and grin as he runs 74R through my No. 1, think it'll be fine.

As for singles, his deer rifle is already a single-shot 243 Winchester so I hope he's already on the right track. Be hard to put aside the classic cartridge between the support hand fingers, though. I've personally spent too much time in prime bear country with a slug or buckshot in my fingers in case I flush something more belligerent than a partridge. Or just another birdshot shell the rest of the time. Fowling pieces may be different than rifles but habit all the same.

[Rick R]

Please tell me a 44 Special roundball handload is going to be worked up and at least shot for group and chronographed out of the pretty magnum.

I repurposed the 2.5x Leupold Ultralight scope off of the Encore and took the mini safari rifle to the range today. The Rick-spec .44 load that I shoot in my S&W Mountain Gun, Ruger 4 5/8” SBH and 20” 1894 Marlin is a 270gr NOE WFN bullet over enough 2400 to hit nearly 1200fps in the revolvers and 1600fps in the Marlin. From the #1 at 50 yards off sandbags:



And it basically shot that same group three times while dialing the scope in.

I also shot a 320gr SWC over a generous dose of W296 and Hornady 240gr XTPs over 2400. All three loads hit virtually the same POA/POI at 50 yards, it was too cold/damp to move out to 100 yards today. Recoil is like a 3” .410 shotgun load in a Remington 870.
I’ll for sure be trying either a round ball or very light cast bullet plinking load in this gun.

Edited to add,
Have you thought about casting the 185ish grain “Collar Button” style bullet for your son to practice with?

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop...b-2-cavity-pb/

[Toonces]

Gun: Ruger No. 1 with slightly shortened barrel and stock by a previous owner.

1. I had a No 1 .45-70 and thought it was a hard kicker even for its weight.

The big Ruger kicks.

SCCY, I hope the previous owner installed a good 1" recoil pad. Ruger recoil pads suck. My assumption is that none of Ruger's top management shoots the large bore rifles they make, or they would come with better recoil pads. I've replaced the original Ruger recoil pads on my two 416 Rigby's and my 45-70 No. 1, all with 1" Pachmayr Decelerators. Absolutely changes the character of the rifles.

Well this thread (and a few adult beverages) cost me money



Surfing the Internet on New Years eve and discovered a listing for a #1 in .44 Magnum at a Cabela’s in my state.
After a bit of negotiation and paying a bunch of bucks I am once again a #1 owner. 36” long and 7# it’s like an adorable puppy of a rifle.

That is beautiful, and will be an absolute joy to shoot. I load my 45-70 down with Trailboss, but it still takes a bunch of powder. .44 Magnum will be even easier than the easy 45-70 for reloading.

That's a great looking rifle! I think .44 magnum is probably a more user-friendly round than .45-70. It's easier to load up or down, depending. Of course, the top end is lower than .45-70, but there's only so much thump you can put into a 7 lb rifle.

I've loaded the highest velocity loads with the 250 and 300 gr TSX FN bullets, and the 300 gr TSX FB. Pushing 2,600 fps with a 300 gr bullet is a lot of thump.
https://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-con...70RugerNo1.pdf

[Hambo]

Well this thread (and a few adult beverages) cost me money



Surfing the Internet on New Years eve and discovered a listing for a #1 in .44 Magnum at a Cabela’s in my state.
After a bit of negotiation and paying a bunch of bucks I am once again a #1 owner. 36” long and 7# it’s like an adorable puppy of a rifle.

Wow. I am insanely jealous.

[SCCY Marshal]

Have you thought about casting the 185ish grain “Collar Button” style bullet for your son to practice with?

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop...b-2-cavity-pb/

If I did something like that, he is my son. The day would come he'd try to headshot a squirrel with it. Or I would borrow his gun and try it myself. So, yes, I am now considering it!