The Rebirth of the .45/70, According to Carmichel

This column, “Rebirth of the .45/70,” appeared in the September 1972 issue of Outdoor Life.

The life span of rifle cartridges is hard to predict because shooters have the fickle habit of tossing them asunder at one stage and then voting for a resurrection decades or even generations later.

Two examples of this phenomenon are the 7 x 57 Mauser and .250/3000 Savage. After years of banishment, at least in the U.S., the 7mm. Mauser (7.57) was recently offered in the Ruger Model 77 bolt-action rifle and the .250/3000 Savage is now happily reunited with the Model 99 Savage lever gun.

According to reliable gossip, other vintage rounds that may get plucked from the grave include the .257 Roberts, .22 Hornet, .220 Swift, and .30 /40 Krag.

The most remarkable comeback ever staged, however, is that of the venerable .45/70. A veteran of the Spanish-American and Indian wars plus countless sporting campaigns all over the globe, the .45/70, or .45 Government, is hard on to the century mark. In fact, we can celebrate its 100th birthday in only a few months. Yet, by actual finger count, the .45/70 is currently being chambered by four manufacturers in no fewer than six distinct models and several more variations.

With its stovepipe case and thumb-size bullet, the .45/70 is indeed a ghost from the past. Currently factory loaded to 1,330 f.p.s. (feet per second) with a 405-grain soft-point jacketed bullet, the .45/70 has proven its efficiency on every variety of North American game. Yet the rainbow- game. Yet the rainbow-like trajectory of the big lumbering slug would seem to have less than what it takes to warm the hearts of modern-day ballistic bugs and magnum-happy shooters.

What then accounts for the current popularity of the .45/70 after a dormant period of nearly four decades? This question can probably be better answered by sociologists and other such observers of the contemporary scene. But, as I understand it, it has something to do with the urge that makes us want to buy tiffany lamps, hand-crank Victrolas, and electronic versions of old-fashioned wood-burning cook stoves. Sort of a vicarious returning to a supposedly better day when life moved more slowly and everybody had a more secure notion of what the next day might bring. Whatever the reason, there is no getting around the fact that the .45/70 is enjoying a rebirth unprecedented in cartridge history.

My first experiences with the .45/70 date from my boyhood days in the hills of East Tennessee. In our rural community there lived a veteran of the Indian campaigns who, according to his accounts, had pursued Indians from the Snake River to the Platte to the Rio Grande and back again. With such fine tales as these to break up the humdrum of farm life, a band of shoeless lads often sat on his front porch listening to how he supplemented his monthly pay by $2 for being the best shot in his company.

Whenever a band of marauding Indians was in close pursuit, he had the job of dismounting to pour a withering barrage of rifle fire into the attackers while his companions hightailed it to the fort. At the last instant he would jump on his pony, the fastest in the troop, and make good his own getaway.

Related: .45-70 Cartridge Overview: The Immortal Big Game Round

As a fitting climax to these hair-raising accounts he would display the rifle he used in these scrapes, an 1873 Springfield Carbine in .45/70 caliber. This model is better known as the “trapdoor” Springfield because of the hinged breeching mechanism that is raised like a trapdoor to load the piece.

On special occasions he would bring out a handful of old government-issue ammunition and we would have a go at firing the fabled gun. About eight out of 10 of these old cartridges would fail to fire. Nevertheless, the hapless would be shooters, with feet braced, eyes closed, and teeth clinched, would invariably display a terrific flinch when the hammer fell. The rest of us would whoop with delight. But such joys as these were the substance of boyhood in those days.

The official designation of the .45/70 meant that the round was loaded with a .45-caliber bullet and 70 grains of black powder. However, it has not been factory loaded with black powder for over half a century. The original charge of 70 grains of powder developed excessive recoil for horse-mounted troops firing the light 7-pound carbine version of the trapdoor, so a special carbine load with 55 grains of powder was issued. You may occasionally see the round listed as .45/70/ 405 or .45/70/500, with the last group of digits referring to bullet weight.

By 1889, the government had settled on the 500-grain bullet, but the 405-grain became the more popular commercial load, probably because of the lighter recoil and somewhat higher velocity.

Velocity for the 500 was listed at 1,260 f.p.s. and for the 405-grain bullet 1,330 f.p.s. Velocity of the carbine load with its 55-grain powder charge was about 1,125 f.p.s. with the 405-grain bullet. Toward the end of the century the .45/70 was being loaded with a variety of bullet weights, some as light as 200 grains.

An interesting series of tests conducted in 1872 showed that the .45/70/405 round would penetrate 8.8 inches of pine from a range of 500 yards. The results of these tests were largely responsible for the ultimate selection of the .45/70 as the standard service round over some half-dozen other contenders.

In 1892 the .45/70 was “officially” replaced by the .30/40 Krag cartridge. Nonetheless the .45/70 saw plenty of service in the Spanish-American War and some state militiamen were still equipped with trapdoor Springfields even after World War I. Though I’m only second-guessing, I believe that the .45/70 was regarded by the sportsmen of a century ago about the way the 7 mm. Remington Magnum is regarded by today’s sportsmen. Accordingly, just as with the 7 mm. Remington Magnum, many makes and models of rifles chambered for the .45/70 were offered to shooters. These rifles included repeaters as well as single-shots by Winchester, Marlin, Remington, Sharps, and a few lesser firms. Those that apparently stood the test of time were the Remington rolling-block and Winchester High Side Wall single-shots, the superbly made 1881 Marlin lever-action and, best known of all, the 1886 Winchester lever-action.

The introduction of the Model 1886 by Winchester was, in fact, a direct result of the .45/70 cartridge. Winchester’s Model 1876 rifle, an attempt to market a lever-action rifle for large, hard-hitting cartridges, proved unequal to the pressures generated by the .45/70. So, faced with public demand for a lever-action in .45/70, Winchester bought the manufacturing rights to a superior new lever-action system from no less a designer than John M. Browning. This became the Model 1886, which was manufactured until 1935. Winchester’s records indicate that nearly 160,000 of these rifles were sold, a good share of them in .45/70.

Though it is not widely known among non-collectors, Winchester also took a stab at marketing a bolt-action rifle for the .45/70. Known as the Hotchkiss Repeater, this bolt rifle had some success as a military arm but failed to catch on as a sporter. Introduced in 1879, the Hotchkiss was discontinued in 1899 after failing to compete successfully with the more popular lever rifle.

Some writers of fact and fiction have described the .45/70 as the cartridge most responsible for the decimation of the buffalo. Since the .45/70 arrived on the scene during the peak of the slaughter, this view may seem logical but it just isn’t true. There can be no doubt that the .45/70 accounted for a fair number of buffalo, but professional hunters preferred rifles with more zap, such as the .50 /90 Sharps. Speaking of Sharps, by the way, the so-called .45/75 Sharps case is identical to the .45/70 case.

Though I have hunted elk, deer, and boar with the .45/70, I cannot claim to be an expert on it’s game-stopping ability, because I never got a shot while hunting with the cartridge. However, during my tenure as an information officer for the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission, I inspected the carcasses of a dozen or so whitetail deer that had been bagged with .45/70’s. Without exception these were one-shot kills with deep penetration. There was also a notable lack of “bloodshot” tissue in the wound area, making it possible, as old-timers like to say, “to eat right up to the hole.”

Current factory loads from both Remington and Winchester list the 405-grain bullet (the only bullet weight offered) at 1,330 f.p.s. for a calculated muzzle energy of 1,570 ft.-lb. (foot-pounds) at the muzzle. This is rather unimpressive when compared to the standard .30/30 170-grain bullet load, which gives 1,860 ft.-lb. at the muzzle. Actual field performance of the .45/70, however, provides high-quality grist for the mills of those who insist that energy figures based on mathematical formulas do not tell the whole story. During the heyday of the 1886 Winchester, for example, the Winchester ’86-.45 Government combo was considered excellent fare for elk, moose, and grizzly bear.

According to first-hand accounts I’ve recorded, “mathematically superior” cartridges were given short shrift by hunters who doted on the .45/70. At any rate, a century of “wringing out” has given the .45/70 a position of well-earned respect as a brush-busting load for short-range to medium-range (150 yards) shots at deer, elk, and small to medium-size bear. Before using the .45/70 for larger bear, I would be inclined to give the matter considerable thought unless I could pick and choose my rifle and handloads.

Because of the vintage .45/70 rifles still in wide-spread use, commercial ammunition loaders are obliged to keep velocities and pressures down to traditional levels. The handloader however, provided he is armed with a modern rifle capable of withstanding increased pressures, such as the Ru er No. 1 or No. 3 Single Shots, the new 1895 Marlin, or even the ’86 Winchester, can build a surprising amount of zap into his custom loads.

With Winchester or Remington 405- grain bullets and 50 grains of Dupont IMR 3031 powder, the velocity is close to 1,800 f.p.s. This, obviously, is a considerable improvement over factory loads. With the 300-grain Hornady short-jacket bullet and 52 grains of Dupont IMR 3031, velocity is close to the 1,900-f.p.s. mark. This is a splendid load for plinking and informal shooting.

If you plan to load for rifles of the Springfield-trapdoor class and other such antiques, loads must be kept considerably milder than those listed above. With 405-grain bullets, for example, 38 grains of Dupont IMR 3031 is about as hot as you want to go. This load gives 1,320 f .p.s. and is virtually identical with the Winchester and Remington factory loads. With the 300-grain Hornady short-jacket bullet, you can go as high as 43 grains of No. 3031 for a velocity of 1,575 f .p.s. A good plinking load with this same bullet is 38 grains of No. 3031 for a velocity of 1,430 f.p.s.

If you cast your own lead-alloy bullets, this is where the .45/70 really comes into its own. Virtually all of my handloads for the .45/70 are with alloy bullets. I even carried cast bullets on the hunting trips mentioned earlier. This, of course, is no novelty as lead bullets were the standard military and commercial loads during the heyday of the .45/70. The late Colonel Townsend Whelen was an enthusiastic user of the cartridge for many years and used it for various big game. I believe he used lead-alloy bullets most, if not all, of the time.

Molds that cast .45-caliber rifle bullets are available from Lyman, Ohaus, and Saeco in different designs and weights ranging from 300 to more than 500 grains. A very popular bullet is the 370- grain Lyman No. 457483, which can be used with or without a gas check, depending on the velocity levels. This bullet will give a velocity of 1,750 f.p.s. with 48 grains of No. 3031. Or, for a pleasant plinking load try 22 grains of Hercules No. 2400 powder. This load gives 1,230 f.p.s. and is especially recommended for older rifles of questionable strength. The cost per round is practically nil, so you can plink to your heart’s content. All cast bullets for the .45/70 should be sized to .457 or .458 inches in diameter.

Recoil of these lighter loads is mild and pleasant, hardly more than a nudge. With the hotter loads and heavier bullets, recoil is not unpleasant but is distinctly noticeable. With factory loads in my 7-pound Ruger Single Shot, recoil is approximately that of the .30/06 cartridge in a medium-weight sporter. Older rifles with narrow, crescent-shaped, steel butt-plates have a way of getting on a tender spot, however, so recoil seems much greater.

When Bill Ruger threw a coming-out party for his No. 3 Single Shot a few months back, several of those in attendance shot upwards of a box of factory loads apiece. I don’t recall anyone’s commenting unfavorably on the recoil despite the rifle’s 6-pound weight and steel butt-plate. The butt-plate is rather wide with a shallow curve, and the recoil is transmitted over a relatively wide area.

Rifles currently chambered for the .45/70 include the Ruger No. 1 and No. 3 Single Shots, copies of the Remington “rolling block” by Navy Arms Company, and Marlin’s 1895 lever-action rifle, the only .45/70 repeater currently available. Harrington & Richardson offers various single-shot models ranging from a break-down model to a silver-plated reproduction of the Springfield Officer’s Model trapdoor.

Most of these H. & R. trapdoor reproductions are of the so-called “limited issue” variety, and only a pre-determined number of each variation is to be issued. Whether the current interest in the .45/70 is just a flash in the pan remains to be seen. In terms of percentage sales, rifles chambered for this old cartridge are only a small part of the total. Not nearly enough, I imagine, for the major firms to tool up for a new rifle to handle the cartridge.

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Marlin’s “1895” lever is simply its .444 lever model altered to accept the .45/70. Thus its “new” rifle did not involve a major tooling effort. Neither Winchester, Remington, nor Savage has a basic model that could reasonably undergo the transition. So, foreign imports notwithstanding, the only thing new in the way of additional .45/70’s we can expect will be variations of existing models.

The numbers of these new .45/70’s being sold, however, combined with the thousands of old rifles still in use is a pretty firm guarantee that .45/70 cartridge will be with us for a long time.