Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 405 win. / 45-70

I,ve been thinking about getting a 45-70 barrel for my encore. A buddy of mine said go for the 405 win., how do they compare ?
This is one of them,don't need it just want one purchases.

I'd go with the 45/70. I've had a 45/70 barrel for my Encore for years. I use alot of black powder loads. Just think of dropping that nice buck with an old metal cartridge black powder load. Really easy to clean with all the new powders on the market today that are sulfer free. Ken

Theres a 405Win. Encore barrel on e-bay now! John

as to how do they compare.............more bullet choices for the 45-70.......alot more

405 WCF!!!!

Actually a stiff loaded 45-70 and a .405 are going to perform about the same. And yes, there are more bullet choices for the 45/70, and yes, the brass is cheaper.

More importantly, why are you doing this?

You can go for a nice Sunday drive in a Cavalier, but it would be so much more interesting in a '66 427 Vette.

The 45/70 is a wonderful cartridge but has become so common today that many shooters have forgotten the heritage. Just mention the .405 and it immediately elicits comments regarding Roosevlet, lions, and the Win '95. Mention the 45/70 and people will ask if you are hot loading a TSX.

If you are being practical get the 45/70, if you want something different, get the .405.

405wcf cant argue to much with your logic why do we scrap both and go with something really interesting.......a 50 Sharps

Have both a 45-70 in a H&R Buffalo Classic (super accurate for low $$) and a 405 Win in a Ruger 1H. Yes, the 45-70 is cheaper to shoot and maybe even lends itself a little nicer to heavy hard cast bullets, but until you try chasing that 300 grain Hornady FP downrange at an easily attainable 2400 fps, ya ain't lived. I giggled for a half an hour after my first few shots with that rifle. 3800 fpe ain't bad for 60 grains of powder. Haven't killed anything but a ton of paper yet, but I got to think that anything closer than 200 yards would be in heavy hurt. And I got a #1 that shoots right outta the box.

The H&R was a lot cheaper rifle, but I am suitable impressed. Both cartridges are great catridges, so you really can't go wrong either way, but if I had to choose . . . . . and I DID, I bought them both. Ya only live once!

My vote is for the 405. I have one in 1885 winchester hugh wall and I almost took it to africa. I wish I had. It shoots such a big hole in MS Whitetails that i am shure it would begreat in AFRICA.

What load do ya use on them MS whitetail? John

I like the idea of both. Maybe a 405 for the encore and a 45-70 in a lever. More is always better ( that's what I tell the wife).

I have both calibers in lever guns. There both fun. But i would have to go with the 405. Because not everyone has one.

I use the Hornaday 300 grain pointed factory load.

Boddington's daughter took the 405 to Africa. It killed em all a dead as anything else. However, some of the costal guides in Alaska liked the 45-70 for close up trouble. Take yer pick.

Wayne

Capt.

Just tell her it's the game of life. The one who dies with the most toys (guns) wins.

I believe it was Australia. Regardless, a water buffalo isn't exactly small.

Bully For The .405
Roosevelt's "big medicine" enjoys a revival.
By Craig Boddington
http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ammunition/bully_041805/index.html


Brittany Boddington's water buffalo had very good horns and weighed close to 2,500 pounds. A single 300-grain Hornady bullet at very close range did the job nicely, making her professional hunter, Peter Harding, very happy.


Brittany Boddington shot an exceptional Australian wild boar with her father's .405 Winchester Ruger No. 1. Performance on big hogs was so outstanding, the Boddingtons had no qualms about using the rifle on buffalo.

"I like the .405 fine just the way it is, and my daughter loves it. But let's keep this in perspective. Killing a very large animal is one thing. Stopping him is another. On wild boars and lions and tigers and bears, the .405 is definitely a stopper. It's not a stopping rifle on thick-skinned dangerous game, certainly not as currently loaded. As Brittany and I certainly learned--and as Teddy Roosevelt learned 95 years ago--it can be used to hunt very large game. But in that role, use it with great care."



Osa Johnson with a Winchester Model 1895 in .405 Winchester in East Africa in the 1920s.
http://www.safarimuseum.com/
From the Boddington article: "Over the next couple of decades the .405 was a fairly standard arm for Africa-bound Americans. Stewart Edward White, noted author of the day, swore by it. So did pioneer cinematographers and naturalists Martin and Osa Johnson."

Cheers!
-Bob F.

I stand corrected. Just remembered the photo of the Buff, not where it was killed. Still, the 405 is more than adequate for any critters, mad or not, that one is likely to run into in this hemisphere.

Wayne

I stand corrected. Just remembered the photo of the Buff, not where it was killed. Still, the 405 is more than adequate for any critters, mad or not, that one is likely to run into in this hemisphere.

Wayne

I'm hoping a moose will testify to just that this fall.

The .405 compares with the 45-70?
Generally speaking, reasonable pressure loads in a 45-70 will launch a 300gr. JSP at around 1800-2200fps, depending on barrel length, whether or not you are using factory loads, and whether or not those loads adhere to SAAMI specs of 28,000psi. The .405 WCF will send a 300gr. JSP about 2200-2300fps. You might get more velocity from the longer bbl. in the tc single shot, but these are typical bullet speeds.
The .405, despite its name, is a .411 diameter bullet, the .45-70 is a .458 in its presant guise.
The .405, born at the time when high velocity small bore rifle rounds were big news was generally considered to be abundantly powerful.
The .45-70, which really made its reputation when powder was still black, was and still is considered to be the penultimate woods rounds round.
When talkin comparison, somebody always wants to know which one is "better". Truth is, both are superior cartridges, capable of performing at the upper limit of what any sane person could ask a sporting cartridge to do.
These days, with bullet technology being as advanced as it is, the old big bore levergun rounds are better than ever. I agree with the one guy who mentioned the .458" components being readily available, but these days with a telephone and a credit card, you can get anything you need in .411 as well. Quality bullets make the bullet weight argument a little pale, as lighter weights are very effective on game.
In the end, when loaded correctly, both will serve quite well.

Mak.........you realize us gun loonies do not like logic applied to these questions.....wheres the fun? i still say get a 50 Sharps