Classic single shot day

[North Country Gal]

While hubby was annihilating 50 yard targets with his CZ 453V in 22 LR, I was busy with a couple of fine classic single shots, my favorite type of rifle.

First was my newly acquired Ruger No. 3 in 45-70.


This was my first outing with the newly acquired Ruger, so just wanted to get the Ruger sighted in after having added a red dot and an add-on leather recoil pad. The No. 3 in 45-70 is notorious for its recoil, thanks to its light 6 pound weight, so today I started with the classic first tier power loads with the Remington Core Lokt 405 grainers. Low tier these 405 grain loads may be, but keep in mind, this 45-70 power level was used in the market hunting days by buffalo hunters and later by big game hunters to also take bear, elk and moose. Gotta respect that.

1330 fps


After bore sighting the red dot to be approximately in at 50 yards and then a few shots to adjust, I went to 3" bulls to fine tune. Recoil was there, but not unpleasant. Just a hard push, but no sting or slap. My goal with the red dot setup on the No.3 was to be able to keep all shots in a 3" bull at 50 yards, so looks like this one is a keeper.


I had a few Remington 405s left, so stayed sitting, but took a few shots without using the rest. Love this rifle for offhand work. Points beautifully.


Just happened to have a few of the Hornady 325 grain FTX lever loads, so set the Ruger back on the rest to try one. These FTX are full power 45-70 lever gun hunting loads so I was expecting more recoil but ... whoa! Forgot to anchor the gun as hard as I should have on the rest. Recoil flipped the front end right off the rest and ... ouch. Okay, since I'm just a range rat these days, I'll stay with tier 1 loads in this gun. That was the plan from the beginning.

2050 fps


So bottom line for the Ruger No. 3 in 45-70? Absolute joy to shoot as long as I stay with the right 45-70 loads. Wonderful classic single shot.



Next up, a much, much milder shooter with my beautiful Low Wall Classic 22 LR.


Not the best lighting conditions given shade on the target and getting a bit tired after the workout with the 45-70, so not even close to what I've done with this gun in the past. Still decent using CCI SV, though, and always, always fun with this gun.


To my eyes, nothing more lovely than a classic single shot rifle. Hope you enjoyed this.

[Shakey Jake]

Good shootin' as always!
Jake

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, Jake.

Forgot to mention, the recoil with that shot with the Honorary FTX was actually severe enough to pull the barrel band on the stock out of position and off the stock. I only had it on a little tight for the sake of accuracy, but wow.

[daytime dave]

Excellent reports and shooting on those two NCG. I've never shot a 45/70 and probably won't. It seems like a potent rifle for sure.

[BigAl52]

Im impressed that you take on this caliber and shoot it very well. Im not there anymore and probably won’t be again. But I do love Single Shots. I enjoy shooting my Henry SS all the time. It’s easy on the recoil and the brass comes out in the hand.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, the 45-70 can be a nasty thumper, but it doesn't have to be. Just stay with the power level that is comfortable for you. One of things I like about shooting the 45-70 or, for that matter, the 45 Colt is that it's like stepping into a time machine. You just can't beat either cartridge of history and tradition.

Ditto on the way brass just drops in the hand with a single shot. The Ruger single shots actually come from the factory with an ejector that is adjustable for power, but the whole ejector unit can be removed so that you have just a standard extractor. Otherwise, that ejector unit can throw brass into the next county. I always remove the ejector on Ruger single shots.

[220]

Nice shooting
The leverevolution certainly get your attention. I have a box here with 15 in it one 3 shot group and a couple of bystanders wanted a shot when I got the rifle a dozen years ago
It was purchased to shoot and hunt with cast and that is all it has fired since.
You can certainly taylor loads to just about any power and recoil level. My favourite to shoot are blackpowder loads a massive boom lots of smoke and just a very gentle push

[graywolf]

As always, nice shooting. Don't think I've ever seen a 45-70 much less shoot one. What kind of recoil does it have to say something like a 30-06? Only thing I've kept to shoot now is .22 and 410.

[North Country Gal]

Good question on the 45-70 recoil or for that matter, big bores in general compared to faster modern cartridges with lighter bullets. It's very subjective, of course, but I notice a difference. Oh, you can do all the math and give it numbers, but nothing beats actual hands on experience with a wide variety of guns and cartridges. In my experience, it's mostly bullet weight that makes the difference between say a 30-06 and a 45-70 or other big bore, though velocity also part of the equation, of course.

With big bones and those big heavy bullets, I notice more of a hard push and smack against my shoulder. I get the feeling that I've just sent a big chunk of lead downrange. My whole body rolls with the recoil, all the way down to my feet with the really big stuff. Seems like the recoil pulse goes on forever. With these cartridges, I like to lean forward to counteract that big push.

With something like a 30-06 or one of the modern high velocity magnums, it's a sharper thing, more of a sudden slap with more torquing (twisting). It's very fast and quick, so you better be in a proper shooting position with the right hold or you're going to get hurt. With these cartridges, I'm more likely to get stung and bruised if my head is out of position on the stock or my hold is somehow faulty. Since these cartridges typically run at much higher pressures, concussion becomes more a part of the experience.

That's my take on it Can't say I get along with one type any better than the other. The real challenge of shooting guns with heavy recoil is more than just being careful not to develop a flinch, though that is very important. The real challenge is mental toughness, that being concentrating on all the fundamentals, especially developing good follow through concentration when that shot goes off and the recoil slams you. If you're thinking recoil during any part of the shot sequence, you're going to miss. No shortcuts, here. You gotta get out and shoot the big stuff enough to lean how to deal with the recoil and still be accurate and, make no mistake, some of these hard, nasty kicking cartridges are inherently very accurate, but you'll never get that accuracy until you learn how to manage the recoil. I've got the scars to prove it.

Whew! Sorry about the long post.

[PBSnooker]

I try to shoot weekly sub-gauge sporting clays I'll shoot 12ga when I have to but not as enjoyable. I have a Ruger bolt 22wmr dialed in (100 yards) I like to shoot. It doesn't kick my @ss and is affordable.