The Timeless .45-70
It’s 150 years old, with thumb-size bullets that drop like stones. Only lever rifles want it. Why should your customer?
By Wayne van Zwoll
The dissolution of Remington’s firearms business in the fall of 2020 ended its 13 years under the control of Cerberus Capital Management and the Freedom Group. Marlin, then owned by Remington, was among industry brands sold off. Lever-rifle enthusiasts cheered when Ruger bought Marlin and promised a revival. The template for that crusade’s first rifle: Marlin’s Model 1895 in .45-70. The next two Marlins from Ruger’s shop are also .45-70s. Why, in an era of javelin-length bullets and bipod-propped bolt rifles with scopes as big as rolling pins, would Ruger bet its next project on a cartridge predating the phonograph?
“Marlin’s 336 in .30-30 was by far the brand’s top seller since that rifle’s 1948 debut. But we decided ubiquity might steal some shine from our first Marlin,” says Ruger product manager Eric Lundgren. Ruger product manager Mark Gurney agrees. “The .45-70 is popular again. Nostalgia figures in. But big-bore lever-actions are also more accurate now, and modern loads are more potent, with longer reach.”
Strong sales of new Marlins have borne out Ruger’s bet. Imported Italian-built reproductions of 19th century .45-70 rifles, peddled stateside by Taylor’s, Cimarron, and others, move briskly. Ditto 1886-pattern Winchester .45-70s by Miroku of Japan.
Rifle shoppers mind appearance, handling qualities, performance (reliability and accuracy), and price. But many potential buyers are swayed by the hardware’s history. When did the rifle and cartridge become popular? What events defined those times? Who used the original rifles and loads? How were they employed? Why did they outlive their contemporaries?
The latest hot-rod cartridges—say, the 6.5 PRC—are ballistic champs. But there’s little else about them that begs attention. The .45-70, however, has a long, rich history that can help sell rifles and ammo.
Back When
Credit our Civil War for inspiring the .45-70. Union infantry fought mainly with front-loading .58 rifles named for the government armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. Charging a barrel in the chaos of battle was harrowing. Exposed to ball and bayonet for long seconds, a soldier could fumble the cap, spill the powder, even load the charge backwards. Many recovered rifles were so disabled. Others had multiple charges jammed in the bore by soldiers too terrified and disoriented to cap and fire them.
Breech-loading rifles greatly increased rate of fire. Repeaters promised even more. Limited battle action by Spencer and Henry rifles spurred cartridge development. But the U.S. Army stalled. Scrapping many thousands of muzzleloaders would incur huge costs. An alternative: modify those rifles for breech loading. Springfield Armory’s Erskine Allin got the job. He designed a hinged breech-block with a thumb latch. Drawing the hammer to half-cock and actuating the latch let the block spring up and forward, like a trap door. In its arc, the block activated the extractor, which kicked the case rearward. Allin’s conversion was more complex than it looked. Parts required 56 machining operations. Installed on 1861 Springfields, each unit cost $5. Allin’s improved it for 1863 rifles. Barrels reamed to .64 were fitted with iron sleeves bored for the centerfire .50-70 musket cartridge.
These so-called “Trapdoor Springfields” were battle-tested August 2, 1867, as 26 soldiers and six civilians, firing from behind overturned wagons, drove back hundreds of attacking Sioux near Wyoming’s Fort Kearney. After the Wagon Box Fight, Allin’s breech, further refined, was installed on 55,000 new ‘63 Springfields.
The Army replaced the .50-70-450 (.50 caliber, 70 grains black powder, 450-grain bullet) in 1873 with the .45-70-405. The new bullet left the muzzle at 1,320 fps with 1,570 foot-pounds of energy. A .45-70 load with 55 grains of powder was issued for Trapdoor carbines used on horseback. A Forager cartridge featured a wooden birdshot-filled husk for killing small animals.
Results of long-range trials with 405- and 500-grain bullets in .45-70 Springfields appeared in the Report of the Secretary of War, 1880: The 405-grain service bullet couldn’t match the 500-grain with 70 or 80 grains of black powder. At 3,500 yards, a bridge too far for 405s, 500-grain bullets from both loads spent 21 seconds aloft. Descending nose first, they penetrated three one-inch planks. The Army chose .45-70-500 loads for its improved 1884 Springfield rifle.
Ammo Options
The .45-70’s age can deter hunters who assume its ammo is outdated, inaccurate, and lethal only within Frisbee range. In fact, there are myriad loads for this cartridge, civil to unhinged. You’ll often find them grouped in three classes.
Ammunition mild enough for the 1873 Trapdoor Springfield is safe in any sound .45-70. With a maximum breech pressure of 25,000 CUP, or 28,000 psi, it includes early blackpowder loads and most modern Cowboy Action ammo. A 405-grain bullet must be held to about 1,300 fps. The Barnes 400-grain flat-nose softpoint is a fine pick. Black Hills loads a 405-grain lead flat-nose to 1,250 fps, Winchester has a similar bullet at 1,150, Hornady a sub-sonic Sub-X jacketed 410-grain at 1,075. Lighter bullets can be driven faster, though not necessarily fast enough to ensure the upset needed to match the killing effect of heavier, slower bullets. Hornady’s 300-grain JSP is made to open at low-impact speeds. Such bullets are available from other makers, too.
The second class of .45-70 loads is for rifles built to withstand pressures to 40,000 CUP. Marlin’s modern 1895 action does; the .444 Marlin cartridge is factory loaded to this pressure. A 300-grain .45-70 bullet can be pushed to 2,000 fps, a 350 to 1,850. Barnes lists 400-grain handloads at 1,800. Remington, Winchester, and Federal factory loads start 300-grain bullets at 1,800 to 1,900 fps. Black Hills fuels the deep-driving 325-grain Honey Badger to 1,775. Hornady catalogs a 325-grain FTX at 2,000.
Although the latest Marlin lever rifles are strong, they shouldn’t be asked to brook the highest breech pressures safe in the likes of Ruger’s No. 1 single-shot. Figure a practical ceiling of 50,000 CUP. While the No. 1 handles frothier numbers from other cartridges, high pressures test .45-70 brass as well as they do rifle actions. And hunting bullets designed for .45-70 rifles behave most usefully in game when driven at speeds within the cartridge’s normal range. Nosler has 300-grain handloads clocking 2,200 fps. Swift and Hornady show 350-grain softpoints at over 2,100 fps. Barnes lists data launching 400-grain bullets to 1,900. For heavy beasts, Hornady’s manual includes 500-grain DGX and DGS missiles at 1,700. There are more, from bullet-makers and ammunition firms with smaller shops.
To feed stout rifles, Buffalo Bore catalogs 405- and 350-grain jacketed flat-nose bullets loaded to 2,002 and 2,145 fps, a 300-grain JHP at 2,355. Its 430-grain hard-cast bullets at 1,920 fps and 500-grain Barnes Buster solids at 1,628 are “stopping” loads. Ditto high-voltage offerings from Grizzly Cartridge. A 405-grain bullet at 2,100 fps brings nearly two tons of energy to the muzzle; 420- and 460-grain hard-lead gas-check bullets at 2,000 and 1,850 fps quiet the toughest game. Need speed? Grizzly’s 300-grain JHP load clocks a scorching 2,400 fps. Like Buffalo Bore, Grizzly has Trapdoor and Cowboy Action loads as well. They treat rifles and clavicles gently. Garrett cartridges with hard-cast bullets come in sturdy plastic boxes, with labels that show not just bullet weight and velocity, but breech pressures.
"With bolt-action accuracy and the lineage of saddle guns and traditional deer rifles, a new Marlin—or an affordable Henry or a well-built 1886 clone—should sell itself."
Updating a Legacy
Ruger’s first Marlin-branded rifle, the SBL (stainless, big loop) boldly shows its lineage in profile and function—though it differs in details. The lever loop accepts a mittened hand. There’s a HiViz ghost-ring rear sight, a tritium-ringed fiber-optic rod up front. For scopes, a Picatinny rail crawls 7 inches up the 19-inch barrel. A gray laminate stock cradles the polished stainless steel. The six-shot magazine is dove-tailed to the barrel behind a threaded muzzle; 1:20 rifling is hammer-forged. Short stainless Trapper and blued, brown-laminate Guide Gun versions have followed the SBL.
A sample of the first iteration came my way. The forend is sensibly slimmer than on late Marlins. Comb fluting, lost on Remington-built Marlins, is back, point-pattern checkering evenly cut. New details from Ruger: an “RM” serial prefix, a fluted, nickel-plated bolt and a red center in the traditional Marlin bullseye on the butt-stock’s belly. Instead of a grip cap, there’s a laser-engraved Marlin’s horse-and-rider logo, from Frederick S. Remington’s 1890 painting, “Danger Ahead.” (John M. Marlin was granted use of this image for the cover of Marlin’s 1900 catalog.)
In medium rings, a Meopta Optika5 2-10x42 scope just cleared the SBL’s ghost ring sight (the sight can be easily removed, if so desired). The stock’s comb seems too low even for metallic sights. A cheek pad is an easy fix. After a few shots with mild 405-grain loads, I fed the SBL friskier ammo: Remington 300-grain semi-jacketed hollow-points at 1,900 fps, Black Hills 325-grain Honey Badgers at 1,775, Hornady 325-grain FTXs at 2,000. Three-shot knots averaged just over an inch, the FTXs drilling a 3/4-inch cloverleaf.
With bolt-action accuracy and the lineage of saddle guns and traditional deer rifles, a new Marlin—or an affordable Henry or a well-built 1886 clone—should sell itself. Gun shops with a few anecdotes from the .45-70’s colorful history have let the cartridge and its rifles do just that for 150 years!