Marlin 45-70

[Windwalker]

I am considering a Marlin 1895 Cowboy 45-70 w/26" bbl. 9 shot mag. Does anyone own or has shot one of these? How does the recoil compare to a 12 ga. with 00 buckshot? How is the accuracy at 100 yds? At200 yds?
Any information will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[melensdad]

10 shot? I've never seen that. I'd bet that with a 45-70 the most you'd get in a tubular magazine would be 6 or maybe 7 rounds, even with a long barrel. I certainly could be wrong but I don't think you'll find a gun with that capacity in that caliber. Maybe in the 45LC?

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I am considering a Marlin 1895 Cowboy 45-70 w/26" bbl. 10 shot mag. Does anyone own or has shot one of these? How does the recoil compare to a 12 ga. with 00 buckshot? How is the accuracy at 100 yds? At200 yds?
Any information will be appreciated. Thanks.

I've shot the .45-70 cartridge, but it's been a LONG time, before I was really "in" to firearms.

The rifle I shot was a repro. Sharps-type rifle...single shot, peep sights, long bbl...etc etc.

I remember it being fairly pleasant to shoot, almost a pleasure, actually. And for me, despite my being a rather large feller, I'm somewhat recoil sensitive when it comes to long arms.

I don't like shooting 12ga. shotguns (or higher), nor am I a big fan of most 30 caliber rifles (7.62 x 39 doesn't count).

The recoil on the .45-70 felt, to me, more like a hard "whumping" push in the shoulder, not an extremely sharp and fast kick from a shotgun or a .308 rifle.

Since the rifle I shot wasn't in a configuration like you're considering, I can't give you much more on how it'll feel. A 26" bbl, though, with a fully loaded long mag. tube will definitely have mass on its side. Recoil might not be all that bad...

Should also be able to reach out and touch the targets at beyond 200 yards, too, with the proper cartridge and practice.

-J-

 

[Windwalker]

I appreciate the replies and the information given. Thanks.

Melensdad, it has a 9 shot mag. 9+1 total capacity. Sorry for the error.

 

[Claddagh]

My '95 is an older 'G' model with the ported 18.5" barrel and vented recoil pad. With 300 gr. Federal factory loads it's actually a good deal easier on my shoulder than factory 200 gr. .35 Rem. loads are in my old 336. Nowhere near the level of 2 3/4" buckshot or even low brass target loads in a fixed breech 12 ga. shotgun.

With a Williams FP receiver sight and FO front bead my '95G will group 3 rds. of Federal Premium 300 gr. inside of 2" at 100 yds. from a solid bench and sandbags. Using a scope or someone with better eyes could no doubt cut that a bit. On a couple of exceptionally good days I've managed to come fairly close to MOA with my handloads.

I've never tried it past 100 yds. Our club's range doesn't allow for more, and as I wouldn't venture a shot at game with irons and an 18 1/2" carbine much past 125 yds anyway I haven't felt the need to go anywhere else and see.

With factory or handloads at pressure levels within SAAMI spec for Trapdoor or Rolling Block actions I doubt that you'd be bothered by the recoil in a 9 lb.+ rifle. With "boutique" factory stuff loaded to the considerably higher pressures that the modern Marlin or 1886 Winchester repros can handle it might be a different story.

 

[melensdad]

I appreciate the replies and the information given. Thanks.

Melensdad, it has a 9 shot mag. 9+1 total capacity. Sorry for the error.

No need to be sorry, we both learned something!

 

[epsylum]

I have only shot my dad's .45-70 Guide Gun with his handloads. It wasn't pleasant even with the nice aftermarket recoil pad. They do have some nice light loads for it out there though it is just that my dad didn't buy a .45-70 to shoot light loads out of. There are plenty of cheaper to load/shoot rounds out there for that.

 

[Windwalker]

Thank you all for the info.

 

[Barry in IN]

I've never had an 1895 Cowboy, but have one of the standard 22" barreled models, and had another before that. Yeah-I traded off the first one, missed it, and got another.

I used the same Lyman 66LA peep sight on each.

Looking at my records:
I only have data with 300 grain bullets in the first one. Groups ran from 1.9" to 3.7" for five shots at 100 yards, and averaged 2.65".

I've shot the second one more, using 300 and 405 grain jacketed, and a little bit of 425 grain cast. All of these groups are at 50 yards.
First time with 300 grain bullets: 1-1/8" to 2-1/8" (More about the 300s in a minute).
The 405s ran a little larger groups- from 1.5 to 2.5".
I haven't shot many of the 425 cast (Beartooth Bullets' Long Nose Gas Check.460 dia) but they shot pretty well- 1.5-2" (pretty stiff load).

There was a postal match for lever actions last year (actually, each of the last four or five years) so I loaded up a bunch of the best 300 grain load, went out again and tried my very best. They judged on group size and distance from center. I had a lot of groups around one inch, plus ONE group of just under 3/4".
So yes, they can shoot really well if you try hard. They don't do too bad if you try only half-hard.

Something nice about the .45-70 is that a sloppy group looks good. You can shoot a 2" group and if the holes are spaced right- it's one ragged hole!

Recoil.
I would say the 300s at factory equivalent speeds feel about like a 20 ga semi-auto. The stout loaded 425s are more like a 12 ga. The 405s fall somewhere between, according to the velocity. The heavier weight of the Cowboy should help reduce the felt recoil.
I use a Limbsaver slip-on recoil pad AND a PAST shoulder pad.

 

[Windwalker]

Good information folks. I believe that both the accuracy and recoil levels will be acceptable. My thanks to all of you.

 

[jimbo-indy]

The loads epsylum was referrng to were max hand loads. We're talking 300 gr. Hornaday's over a lot of H335 at around 2200 FPS out of the 18 1/5" barrel. Yes, on the bench they feel like a 12 ga, 3" slug load. Your shoulder will remind you of your outing the next day. I understand from a friend, that the same load except with a same weight Nosler Partition is hell on boar.

 

[Texas-M4]

Marlin .450 may be another option for you to check out.

 

[teddy12b]

I've owned two marlin 45-70's. My first one was the regular 1895 with a 22" barrel. For the life of me, I couldn't get the thing to group anything close to 2" or better at 100 yards so I ended up selling it. My second marlin 45-70 was a 1895G with shorter guide barrel. The accuracy was just as bad and it didn't seem to matter what load I used. I love the look of the marlin 45/70 and I love the history of the round, but if I can't get it to shoot well then I just can't live with it.

As far as recoil goes, there's such a wide range of options out there for a 45/70. I used to shoot the Remington 405gr loads and they were so much fun to shoot and such soft shooters, but I also wanted to work up for loads for hunting black bear and a 460gr hard cast with a gas check at near max charge will make anyone's shoulder hurt a lot. There's a huge range of power that the 45/70 can handle and it's a great caliber, IF you get a gun that can shoot straight. I never did.