I fired the single shot 45-70

[Yornoc3]

It finally warmed up enough to go out and fire off a few rounds. This is not a range report, I wasn't checking for accuracy using the original equipment sights (but did hit the pretty big target ), I just wanted to see how everything felt, particularly recoil. I shot offhand at 50 yards, wearing a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, no PAST pad, etc. I would rank the recoil as about like a high base 20 ga. load in a SxS of about the same weight. Recoil feels very much like a shotgun as far as sharpness and muzzle jump, to me. The load was WInchester Super X 300 grain hollow point at 1880 fps per their published chart numbers. Not something I'll plink much with, but it'll be fine for hunting.

[JEBar]

thanks for the report, must say I'm a bit surprised .... I would have guessed that the felt recoil would have been much stronger

[Squatch]

Thanks for the update. Was this the brass or steel version?

The Winchesters are nice loads for factory stuff.

[Yornoc3]

This is the steel version, with that nice soft recoil pad. I have no doubt it helps. I have a 30-06 in a synthetic stock that weighs 7 lbs 4 oz with scope and sling, and a 9.3 x 62 that's about 8 lbs, both of them feel like they kick more than this rifle. I do shoot a lot of 3" duck loads out of a 7 lb Franchi Intensity, so maybe I'm already so recoil addled I really can't tell . I will be using a PAST pad when I mount the scope and get serious about sighting it in from the bench, though.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks for the update. Can't wait to even see one, but nice to know they're out there. I DO like that recoil pad on the steel.

[ditto1958]

thanks for the report, must say I'm a bit surprised .... I would have guessed that the felt recoil would have been much stronger

A 45-70, similar to a 45 acp handgun, tends to have more of a “push” to it. The felt recoil is definitely there, but tends to not be unpleasant.

[JEBar]

A 45-70, similar to a 45 acp handgun, tends to have more of a “push” to it. The felt recoil is definitely there, but tends to not be unpleasant.

felt recoil is very subjective .... one person's mild recoil may be perceived a harsh recoil to someone else .... I once was told by a fellow at a range that if a person can sit at a bench and fire a box shells (20 rounds) from a rifle on sandbags, without any extra padding, the rifle has a mild recoil .... he said the lower the number of rounds one can fire at a single setting, the harsher the recoil .... that made sense to me .... I know that with of CCH 45-70 as it came out of the box, I could comfortably fire a bunch of Cowboy Action rounds .... not so much, with dangerous game loads .... I also know that when I was in my 20's I could tolerate a whole lot harsher recoil than I can now that I'm in my 70's

[Yornoc3]

Exactly! The effect of recoil is cumulative, which is why I always use a PAST pad, good muffs, and limit how many rifles I'm shooting in a session when sighting in rifles prior to hunting season, changing scopes, etc. Hunting rarely involves enough shooting to affect a person, though I've had a sore shoulder after a good duck shoot in warm (wearing less padding) weather. Funny how we never notice at the time, though .

[Yornoc3]

A small drift here, or maybe a bump . I saw that the Hornady 250 grain Monoflex ammunition is back in stock at Sportsmans guide. They had a promotion for free shipping on orders over $50.00, so I picked up a couple of boxes. It's not cheap at $33.50/box (but no shipping, no tax, and no 45-70 ammo is cheap, anyway); that price is $7.50 cheaper/box than Cabelas, for example,though. I've read reports recoil is about 25% less than the 325 grain FTX loads, which makes sense since it's about that much lighter. I also like the idea of no lead fragmentation in game, from a meat hunter standpoint. They should be plenty as a deer bullet. Now to see how it shoots .

[Squatch]

Not sure about that load. But I've shot a bit of the Hornady 325gr Leverloution stuff in 45/70. It shoots well but I don't care for it. In my H010B it is the definition of "sharp" recoil in a 45/70.

[Yornoc3]

Now that some warmer weather is in our future - should be, it's the middle of February - I decided to quit vacillating on peep sights and scope rings and get the 45-70 ready to go for when the weather's nice enough to shoot for real. I used the Warne 981M base, and Weaver top mount medium rings, to mount a Burris 2.75X scope. I used the old school Weaver rings for a couple reasons: they have good holding ability, are readily detachable with repeatable zero for a rifle that could be taken down for travel, and their gloss finish nicely matched that old scope (I have a similar Weaver and Redfield, they're both gloss, too). The setup weighs in at exactly 8 lbs without a sling, so it'll be reasonable to carry around, and that extra pound+ will calm down the recoil a little more. Now I'll be champing at the bit if it warms up this weekend .

[JCN]

Any chance you can post some pics? I'd love to see it in your current configuration. These are still pretty rare!

[Yornoc3]

Pics are not my strong suit. I'll see what I can do when I get it out to shoot, but the weather's not cooperating at the moment. You're right that 45-70 versions don't turn up often. I haven't seen more than one or two listed for sale.

[JCN]

I think I actually ran across some of your pics posted by someone else in a different thread. Love the rifle. Please do post more when you can! Enjoy shooting as the weather cooperates.