Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 44 mag or 45-70 for Iowa deer

Not silly at all, just difficult and expensive.

Uh oh, sounds like we're talking about women again.

There's a guy making falling block doubles, if you can imagine that, but prices start about eight, thousand that is.

If Henry ever gets in gear, a nice, affordable single will be available, but who knows when that will be. Was due in May.

I saw some pics of that falling block you mention.
FWIW Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing made a rifled 20 ga double that was only 3500.
RBL professional I think they called it.

But a .44 mag double, for in the woods....just seems a great match.
Cheaper to just get a Baikal .45-70.

Thankfully none have been at any gunshows I've visited.

I haven't seen any of the new Henry stuff save for two lever .243 wins.
Think they call it "long range"?

For a cheap gun, I was trying to find a .35 rem CVA Scout 2. Sold out.
The .44 mag version is cool, just wish it had walnut instead of plastic.
Could film dip the plastic I reckon, to look like wood..........but buttstock has stupid swivel deal.

My hunting bud runs the CVA hunter in .35 rem. It shoots very well.

H&R made a .45-70 IIRC.............called it a buffalo rifle or something.
Since they stopped production even the newer plastic .44 mag stuff has jumped a bit in price.
I think the CVA scout 2 about as cheap a rifle I'd go.

Enough of this............I'm heading to the LGS to have a look.
I have a 2-7X Leupold laying around.........it needs a rifle!

44 mag or 45/70? Neither. Get a Rossi model 92 in 454 Casull. As handy as the 44 mag but packs almost the range of a 45/70. 300 grain Freedom Arms factory load chronograph 2085 fps. I never notice recoil when shooting at game especially in cold weather. If you are into semi autos the 44 Ruger is great but they are pricey and hard to find. A mech tech carbine is a ballistic equal in 460 Rowland.

Why I didn't buy a CVA scout 2 in .44 mag.............pops has a minty Ruger auto, fingergroove.
When IN first allowed PCR I popped a deer with it.
Haven't scoped it to see how good it could be.
Ran it w peep. Worked OK to 75 yards (front bead too big for my tastes).
Trigger isn't very good.

this past December in iowa I used a Winchester 1885 in 47-70. single shot rifle. I shot a 12 pt. at 150 yds. I blew 2 ribs out of each side and destroyed literally everything in the body cavity from front to back. lungs and heart jelly. I was shooting the Hornaday leverevolution 325 grain bullet. on my first trip to iowa I shot a 10 pt with tc encore slug barrel 12 gauge using the Remington accu tip 385 grain bullet. feal like the 45-70 is a solid 200 yd gun, and the slug 150 yd gun. either a fine choice.

Another option for you may be the 45 LC. It can be loaded to very effective hunting power as well as cheap plinking. Its available in most levers that offer the 44 Magnum.

SIL lives in Iowa and asked the same question. I mentioned my .375 Win but bullets are hard to come by. The new 350 Legend would be my current recommendation for him - just needs to wait until he can get one.

I never could understand the restrictions against bottleneck cartridges. Can't used a 30-30 but can use an inline with 150 grains of powder that can easily reach 200 yards.

nope i would get a new Ruger # 1 in a 460 s.w. that way you can handload better ammo,plus a 460 s.w. you can use 454 casull and 45 long colt ammo too in this rifle, plus put a decent scope on this rifle.

I think I'd second Pete53's recommendation and hadn't ever thought about the .460 S&W, but I was reading an article in one of the magazines recently where they said that the .454 Casull is one hot round out of a lever action rifle, has the same ballistics as a .45-70 and the advantage of shooting that milder .45 Long Colt cartridge as well. The actual bullet diameter is larger than either the .44 Mag. or the .45-70.

Coyote-, if, IF we get some good rifles in the new 350 L, its what I’ll be looking at. Win has some pictures up but it’s anybody’s guess when there will be hard copies available. It should be a good round without some of the uneeded sound & fury of some of the bigger “straight-walls.”

It be nice to see a lever gun or a semiauto too in the mix.

I've killed blacktailed deer in Oregon with both.

The plus to the .44 is considerably less recoil. (Mine was a Winchester 94 Trapper.) A lot of fuss is made about the 1-38" twist not being suitable for heavy bullets. I guess my gun didn't read the gun rags so it didnt know it wasn't supposed to shoot them well.

The plus to .45-70 is you can go with light-for-caliber bullets that are as heavy as heavy-for-caliber .44s and shoot them faster / flatter.

Out to 75 yards, I'd pick the .44. At 150, I'd pick the .45-70.

If you are buying a new gun, not just using what's already in the closet, I'd go with the 1894 cowboy over the standard 1894. I think rifles with the magazine suspended from a hanger rather than clamped to the barrel via a barrel band near the muzzle shoot better. Every one of the MOA / sub MOA Marlins I've owned had the magazine attached via a hanger. That's 6. The ones with the barrel bands, at least my small sample, have all been 2-3 MOA guns. I like being able to head shoot squirrels at 100+ yards with a lever action. It's a good confidence builder off-season.

Tom