It's too bad. The regulations, in an attempt to promote safety or fair chase or something seem to have some backwards guidelines. What also works is allowing people to make their own decisions and holding them accountable. Wait, that is the only thing that works.
Sorry you're between a rock and a hard place with the regs. I take it you asked about the Contender rather than the Encore because you have a Contender? Is the Encore not chambered in 460?
No experience with the 45-70, but I have a lot of experience with the .44 Magnum. I've hunted many years with a Super Redhawk.
This year will be my first hunting for deer and bear with a T/C Contender. I'll be using a scoped, 14" T/C chambered in 7-30 Waters . My hunting load prints under 1" at 100 yards.
If you are getting the G2, I'd get something other than the 45-70. That cartridge can be a beast to shoot!
George, I have an TC Encore with the 14" barrel 45/70. I also had an Encore 460S&W with ported barrel. My intention was to hunt with the 460 but the recoil was so bad that after 3-5 shots my hand hurt so bad I couldn't shoot it anymore. It wasn't long and that one went down the road. The 45/70 is on the G2 Frame with composite grip and forearm. I also have a Bushnell Elite 2-6x scope mounted on it. I handload using 300gr LSWC. This load will give me 2-3" groups at 100 yards using sand bag rest. I would feel confident using it deer hunting but I wouldn't want to take a shot much past 125 yards. I like the Encore because of the composite grip which helps deaden the recoil and it is heavier than the Contender. Don't get me wrong, when you touch it off you know it. There is something about the trigger guards on the TC pistols that seem to come back and bite your knuckles I shot my first whitetail with a handgun last year. My handgun of choice is a S&W 460 magnum, 14 1/2" barrel with a leupold 2-8x scope, and a harris bipod. I have this gun sighted in at 200 yards. Compared to the TC 460 this is a joy to shoot. Recoil is not as heavy as a 44 magnum. I use Hornady 200 gr Flex Tip SST with 48.7 gr of Win 296. With this load I get groups of 1.5-2" at 200 yards. I would think something like this would work for the range and conditions you are talking about.
To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last--but eat you he will. Ronald Regan.
I kill a lot of hogs with a .44 mag Contender with a 14" barrel. Plenty of power at appropriate ranges. Had a .223 barrel that was accurate, still have a 14" .30-30 barrel and a 16" .45LC/.410 barrel. I watched a friend shoot a 14" .45/70, and it didn't seem all that bad. Contenders are good hunting handguns, as long as the hunter is OK with a single shot.
I carried a 12" .44 mag Encore one season and the experience soured me on hand rifles. I found it to be very unhandy, and after trying to aim it at odds and ends in the woods, unsteady. I didn't carry any kind of support as I was hunting for the most part out of tree stands. From the bench, I could group it pretty well at 100 and I laid waste to a couple of small pumpkins someone left on the 200 yard range after taking a test shot and figuring the drop, but for general deer hunting, the whole process just seemed too unwieldy and slow. Even with all the associated doodads, a good inline seems simpler to me. If you still have the Contender frame, it won't cost too awful much to try out your idea.
Short barrel (10") in 30 & 35 cal, Go for Herrett chamberings. 14" bbl stick to 30-30 & 35 Rem. 375 win is pretty effective in 14". I prefer wildcats tho. 308 Bellm, 375 JDJ, just got into a 358 Alpo, go figure ... They all perform excellently. Can't speak to the Encore, doesn't feel comfortable to me. The contender is the only gun you'll ever need! ...but you'll have to get lots of barrels and furniture, of course.
A .45-70 is a rifle cartridge and needs more barrel. You'll get a lot of muzzle blast and recoil in a 14", but no more killing power than a hot .45 Colt. And the same rainbow trajectory.
I agree with the posters who recommend the .357 maximum. It was specifically designed to do just what you intend to do (for IHMSA competitors) and excellent bullets are readily available. Brass is hard to find, but you can shoot .357 max loads in .357 mag brass by seating the bullets out.
The other reason I like the .357 max is practice loads. You can bang away with .38 specials at tin cans, squirrels, and whatever without ruining your hand with recoil or breaking the bank. Remember, a handgun hunter needs to be a really good shot, which means you need to fire 1,000 rounds in practice for every round at game.
JD Jones of SSK fame used to refer to the 45-70 out of a 14 inch contender as a 150 yard sledgehammer. I had the Contender in severl different calibers and loved it. Tried the Encore in 30-06 and didn,t like it very much. Way heavier ,bigger,sit higher in my hand and didn,t have the sweet trigger of the Contender. I always liked the 10 inch barrels for portability and looks.But for 250 yards you might get by with a 7mm TCU and In a 14 inch barrel for the Contender the 7-30 Waters ought to fine at 250 yards with Factory loads.
No doubt the 45-70 would kill at 250 but trajectory will make it more difficult than the above mentioned cartridges.
I believe that the 45-70 will do about 1800 FPS out of one of JD Jones barrels with a 300 Grain Bullet.
As far as fit ,finish and accuracy,the Contender is a very nice fitting,finished and accurate Handgun. I sot groups of less than a quarter with mine in 10 inch 22 LR and a 4x leupold Handgun scope at 75 yards rested.Factory 44 mag 10 inch bull barrel 2 inch 3 shot groups at a Hundred rested,10 Inch 300 Savage barrel 4x Leupold 3 shots less than 1 inch rested 3 shot group. Overall very accurate,short bull barrels are the main reason,along with tight lockup and a nice trigger. I am thinking you will like one of them.
A .45-70 is a rifle cartridge and needs more barrel. You'll get a lot of muzzle blast and recoil in a 14", but no more killing power than a hot .45 Colt. And the same rainbow trajectory.
I agree with the posters who recommend the .357 maximum. It was specifically designed to do just what you intend to do (for IHMSA competitors) and excellent bullets are readily available. Brass is hard to find, but you can shoot .357 max loads in .357 mag brass by seating the bullets out.
The other reason I like the .357 max is practice loads. You can bang away with .38 specials at tin cans, squirrels, and whatever without ruining your hand with recoil or breaking the bank. Remember, a handgun hunter needs to be a really good shot, which means you need to fire 1,000 rounds in practice for every round at game.
Just my opinion. Good hunting.
Yes, if I'd do it, I think the 357 Max would be the way to go.
T/C could sell a lot of Contenders/G2s if they'd get a little more imaginative with their chambering, particularly for more straight walled cartridges like the 357 Max.
A .45-70 is a rifle cartridge and needs more barrel. You'll get a lot of muzzle blast and recoil in a 14", but no more killing power than a hot .45 Colt. And the same rainbow trajectory.
I agree with the posters who recommend the .357 maximum. It was specifically designed to do just what you intend to do (for IHMSA competitors) and excellent bullets are readily available. Brass is hard to find, but you can shoot .357 max loads in .357 mag brass by seating the bullets out.
The other reason I like the .357 max is practice loads. You can bang away with .38 specials at tin cans, squirrels, and whatever without ruining your hand with recoil or breaking the bank. Remember, a handgun hunter needs to be a really good shot, which means you need to fire 1,000 rounds in practice for every round at game.
Just my opinion. Good hunting.
Good post. I'll add another vote for the .357 max.
I have 10-inch Contender barrels in .357 mag, 44 mag, and 45 colt. I have a 14-inch barrel in 30-30 AI, which is far more capable than I am. Over the years and a handful of deer, I've settled into a 10-inch .357 mag with a scope on it. I shoot mostly 180-grain bullets. The combination suits my self-imposed limit of 125 yards or so. The .357 max would extend that range.
Those SSK barrels from J.D Jones are fine barrels. I like the 10 inch 44 magnum. I cast bullets from a LBT 300+ grain LBT Paper Patched Mold. I used pure lead and computer labels for the patching. Extremely wide(quarter sized holes)and deep penetration due to the ductile qualities of pure lead.No leading due to the Patching.Win Win combo Heavy Percieved recoil due to straight line recoil(compared to Ruger Blackhawk)even with Pachmayers. For a 150 yard and less gun, hard to beat with a straight wall handgun cartridge.
