Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 45-70 lever guns.

My only .45-70 levergun experience is with a Marlin Guide Gun I bought new around 25 years ago. I put a 1 - 4 Leupold shotgun/muzzleloader scope on it (coarse crosswires and parallax free at 75 yards), worked up a very boisterous load with 400 grain Speer flat noses and gave it to a buddy of mine to use that fall. He killed a couple of deer with it and was so impressed he went out and bought one just like it. After that, I started using it when hunting in the woods. It's killed a bunch of deer for me, very decisively. It's not a lot of fun to shoot with those 400 grain bullets and a hefty load of Varget, but it will keep them all within and inch and a half or so. It's been a slick, good working rifle for me and is on the short list of 4 or 5 rifles I always make sure are ready to go every year.

Had much the same experience with a straight stock model Marlin 1895GS that I had. The curved pistol grip and lever of the 1895GBL that I now have is a little easier on the hand when using the hotter loads with heavier bullets in 45-70 the Marlin is capeable of handling.