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jbirds1210 wrote:

stevie_d_64 wrote:big bore and simple...

+1 Sometimes we all need to shoot something with a little spirit

454, 44, 45/70.......a day of shooting this stuff can make you feel plain good (and broke)!
Jason

Yeah, my uncle who lives about 400 yards away from where Wife Unit and I were shooting, had to get up and see what we were doing...

The big bore got his attention...I let him and my cousin loft a few downrange as well...I'm such a giving person...

They were impressed...And when I told him how much the ammo was he kinda winced... I saw him try to do the math in his head...I told him to stop...

All in all we had a great time this weekend...Moved a lot of dirt, and shot a lot...

I need more weekends like that...We all do...

Update...Range report...

Got a chance to finally shoot this thing...

Shot two loads...One was the 300 grain Winchester factory stuff...Very nice, accuracy was pretty good to 200 yards...

The same was for the Remington 405 grain soft nose load...

I happened to have a B-27 CHL qualifier target set up on a cardboard box and "Wife Unit" got her 50 rounds of practice for her CHL renewal, before we backed off to about 150-175 yards...

My Dad had put a couple downrange the day before, and it appeared that this rifle came out of the box, with the (bolt-on) "Williams" firesights pretty much dead on at the ranges we shot at...

I am impressed as all get out with this rifle...The wieght and balance feel better than my evil black rifle...And with the open sights, I feel I am getting back to basics and am suprised at how much fun I have been missing with this type of shooting...

This is exactly what the doctor ordered, and I find myself very relaxed and confident in all aspects of my shooting after this weekend...

Considering how much money we put into the pistols and other firearms we buy from time to time...I highly recommend going back to old school, and keep it simple, big bore and simple...

It really is a joy...

Tom wrote:

stevie_d_64 wrote: You must have developed some loads that were a little hotter than the factory stuff I found...I may do some experimenting later on down the road with that...Got to shoot some of this to get a collection of brass to reload...

I have a box of Winchester 300gr. "train-stoppers" that are supposed to put out at about 1300fps...Which is what I thought was about an average velocity for this caliber...

The energy into the target is what impresses me...Obviously a heavy punch...

I have seen some pics of a 405gr. punching holes (groups) of about 5" at 200 yards...That over at leverguns.com

Almost brought a tear to muh eye...

Steve,

The 1884fps average was the starting load from a Speer datasheet.

I have found, in a couple of load manuals, that there are three levels of
loads for the 45/70.
Our Marlins fall into the middle group with max pressures at about 28,000 psi.
Factory loads may be accomodating the lower group with a max of 21,000psi.
The top group goes up to the 35,000psi level.
Given the thumping that I get from my starting load I am not interested in testing the higher limits.

Yours should be quite comfortable to shoot at 1300fps.

Kind Regards,

Tom

The more I'm reading up on this thing I have to wonder what I have gotten myself into...(personal joke)...

At first when I was looking into this class of firearms, I was thinking 30-30...

But that just seems so cliche'd...I had no doubt that any caliber I chose was going to work for me regardless...

Cost was not a factor, but keeping it simple was...

I was also partly motivated by some of the political tea leaves I was seeing at the time, so I figured I'd better get in on this while I can...

Bottom line, this is going to be fun and painful at the same time, like I have said before, and I look forward to learning and applying that knowledge like I have done in the past with every firearm I have purchased...

I summize that you just can't go wrong with a design that has been kicking around for 120 some odd years, and been improved almost only in manufacturing practices...

Tom wrote:

stevie_d_64 wrote:Fine...Here ya go...


Imagine a sling, no scope, maybe a high-vis iron sight system and a bandolier full of those cannon cartridges...

That be about it for this one...

Steve,

It is in 45/70 isn't it? At one time you were talking about the "M" version.

I have the larger (heavier) version, the 1895CB. It is a great shooter.
If you want some load info let me know. One load with 300gr HP's had an
SD of 8 for the first 5 shot group I tested. I went no further in load
development. The average velocity was 1884fps.
I scoped mine however as I just cannot pick up that tiny rear sight.
But I gave it a long eye relief, as you could imagine.
Oh, and I changed out the trigger to a much crisper (how could it not be) after market.
Edit: The trigger came from Wild West Guns of Anchorage, AK.
wildwestguns.com
Highly recommended.

Kind Regards,

Tom

You must have developed some loads that were a little hotter than the factory stuff I found...I may do some experimenting later on down the road with that...Got to shoot some of this to get a collection of brass to reload...

I have a box of Winchester 300gr. "train-stoppers" that are supposed to put out at about 1300fps...Which is what I thought was about an average velocity for this caliber...

The energy into the target is what impresses me...Obviously a heavy punch...

I have seen some pics of a 405gr. punching holes (groups) of about 5" at 200 yards...That over at leverguns.com

Almost brought a tear to muh eye...

Nope, its the plain jane 45/70...Just like the picture...

For fun I've been carrying a cartridge in my pocket today...

I plan on not doing too much to the rifle in regards to optics...I want to keep it to this configuration for a while...

I did buy a Williams "Firesight" combo set to replace the iron sights on it now...I expect those to be in today, or tomorrow...

I believe that will fix the quick target aquisition issue...

Now all I have to do is get used to getting punched in the shoulder (real hard) again...

I can take it!

Fine...Here ya go...



Imagine a sling, no scope, maybe a high-vis iron sight system and a bandolier full of those cannon cartridges...

That be about it for this one...

Ok,

Its a dun deal...Purchased the 1895 (plain jane) at my dealer...He even knocked off $40...

So I walked with one for $479.00 minus TTL...NIB...

You know, I am pretty comfortable around rifles and the like...But this ones going to be a pleasure and painful at the same time...

I am pretty much not going to let Wife Unit even touch this one without some legal paperwork handy...

This may also be the last rifle I buy for many years, unless I have a wind fall so I can get the .50 Barrett...

I know...sucker for abuse...

I've been doing some research, I got the bug recently to start looking into these types of rifles for various reasons...

My choices are between: (in no particular order)

Marlin Model 1895M (this is the 450 Marlin cartridge)

Marlin Model 1895 (the 45/70 version)

Marlin Model 1895 "Cowboy" (the 45/70, 9 shot capacity version)

Any recomendation, preferences, opinion between these three???

And I'm looking to make a deal, if its a used, NIB, or any shop that deals with them, I would be willing to take a trip to visit to do this deal...

Have a new intern who came in to the office this week, and we talked about some stuff...He bought a Marlin (used, in excellent condition) for about $300...I have no reason to doubt his account at all, but that seems like a pretty good price, except that I have seen suggested MSRP's in the $700-$800 range...

Thanks a bunch folks!