Henry Rifle Forums

owning and using both a 300 Mag and 45-70, I have a keen respect for the capabilities of both .... to be clear, our 300 is a WBY Mag which is a bit more powerful than a 300 Win Mag .... the reality is, they are two very different animals .... the 300 is a long range rifle that can really reach out and forcefully touch something .... our preferred hunting bullet for ours is a Nosler 180 gr Accubond .... the 45-70 is a 200 yard +/- powerhouse capable of taking any critter on the North American Continent in addition to all of Africa's big 6 .... for North American big game my bullet of choice is a 300 gr Nosler Ballistic Silvertip .... I'll never get to Africa but if I did, I'd move up to 400 to 500 gr solid brass bullets .... apples to oranges comparison for sure but the video in the link below does a pretty good job of comparing them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smsfhJ8eCg4

Excellent video. Wow! Two amazing cartridges.

I dont have the 300 win mag or the 300 wby mag. But I have the 45-70 and a 338 win mag. I know I have some of that game covered. The 338 will get right after it. I always liked the WBY mags. Almost bought a 257 WBY mag once but just didnt pull the trigger on it.

BigAl52 wrote:I have the 45-70 and a 338 win mag.

that's most certainly another dynamic duo .. .. I enjoy seeing calibers that are so different in every way go through side-by-side test .... until I started purchasing Henry rifles, I was totally committed to the "speed kills" school of thought .... when it comes to long distances, there isn't a substitute for speed .... that said, at the distances I customarily hunt, heavy bullets traveling at much slower speeds do just fine

I sold my 7mmRM when I got a 45/70, for longer range on medium game I use a 240wby.
If I truly need more power and range than the 45/70 the 30cals get bypassed and I go to a 375H&H.

220 wrote:I sold my 7mmRM when I got a 45/70, for longer range on medium game I use a 240wby.
If I truly need more power and range than the 45/70 the 30cals get bypassed and I go to a 375H&H.

45-70, 7mmRM, 240WBY, & 375H&H are all impressive calibers .... I tend to believe that each of they would have the capability of taking any/all of the critters I know about who inhabit Australia .... I've never fired a 240 or 375 but sure would like to do so ....

240wby is a bit light for buffalo but is quite capable on everything else.
I Have really fallen in love with it, I run 2 different loads a 55gr at 4100fps+ and 100gr nosler partitions at 3200fps+.
The 55gr load is fantastic as a varmint/preditor load +/- 1.5" to 300y. The 100gr load produces similar energy to a 308 150gr load but shoots a fair bit flatter.
The real bonus for me is sighted 1.25" high at 100y with the 55gr load the 100gr load is 1/2" left of point of aim at 100y. For a truck rifle around the farm where I might be taking a shot at a fox at 350y one minute and then a 500lb deer at 100y a few hours later it is perfect. All I need to do is change ammo.
It really is the closest thing I have found to a all round rifle. It will run right along side the likes of 204, 22/250 or swift in a varmiting situation and keep up with the 308 class rounds on medium game.

interesting observations on the 240 .... a 100 gr Nosler Partition at 3,200+ fps should penetrate deep and pack a major wallop

Thanks for the fun video. Couple things stood out for me. One was the importance of bullet design. There is a world of difference, for instance, between the old 405 grain lead bullet in the 45-70 and the modern 325 grain FTX. Another is the range of loads averrable in the 45-70. The old Trapdoor load is a completely different animal than the Ruger No 1 loads. Even in the 300 Win mag, bullet designs have an effect.

The other is bullet speed and trajectory. I'd rate the 325 grain 45-70 FTX as a 200 yard gun from the standpoint of trajectory, yes, but good luck estimating holdover of the old 45-70 405 grain Trapdoor load at 200. (We humans are not good at estimating distance beyond 15 or 20 yards. This has been proven in many scientific studies. If you doubt this, head out to open country with a laser rangefinder and see how good you are at guessing distances. Prepare to be humbled.)

If I have to shoot at what I think (guess) is 200 yards, I know the odds greatly favor me hitting the target with the 300 Win Mag or similar. If you compare the MPBR (maximum point blank range) for the old 45-70 405 grain load on a 6" target, it's 131 yards, meaning that's the max distance you can hold dead center on the target and expect a hit. Any thing beyond that will require some serious hold over. Even the 300 grain at 1800 fps in the 45-70 will still be well under 200 yards at 166 yards for a MPBR. A long distance shooter, the 45-70 is not.

On the other hand, the MPBR for the 150 grain or 180 grain 300 Win mag on a 6" target is way out there at 303 yards. Hold dead on and expect a hit at 300 yards tells me what I want to shoot in open country. Definitely a place for both types of cartridges.

For me the beauty of the 45/70 is as a far handier and more usable package that is more pleasant to shoot than the 300 and up magnums yet delivers similar stopping power under 200y.