My 16 year old son has sort of been drifting away from hunting lately, but out of the blue theh other day he tells me he'd like to have a lever action 45-70. I am thinking about buying him a 45-70 for his 17th birthday in a couple of weeks. I have never owned a lever action other than my BL-22, but am familiar with the popular brands of lever actions, Marlin, Henry, etc. Though I know the names, I can't say I know much about the quality of any of the brands, or maybe which rifle models to stay away from. I have looked at some rifles online and am familiar with the general prices. I'm not looking to break the bank on a birthday present, but would like to find a good quality rifle for him. I don't think he wants the brass receiver on the Henry, but he might like stainless and black or laminated.

I appreciate any advice you might have.

Thanks,

Dan

I'm unable to think of a 45-70 I would avoid

I prefer the Marlins. . In stainless it is the XLR or the GS for me. Both command big money. A straight blued 1895 is tough to beat. The 22" barrel is nice. You can find them is straight or pistol grip stocks.
I just don't like to looks of the Henry. Lots do.

The 250 TSX at 2,500 fps is a killer and a Marlin compatible, mid range, Barnes load. That hollow point looks like an ashtray. Blows lung tissue thru the chest, out the other side, hogs and deer. Leaves a blood trail Ray Charles could follow; short tracking.

Even at that speed, the 250 gr doesn’t kick like heavier bullets. And accuracy is very good. And if that one isn’t destructive enough, check out Hammer offerings. They frag. Never used one in a .45-70, but can testify to the Barnes 250.

DF

I prefer the Marlins but I like rolling block Remingtons for cast and black powder load connection to history.

With the Marlins, I'd avoid the ported barrels because of the noise.

The XLR was great, the SS was good too, the ported Guide gun carried great but was loud, the un-ported Guide gun was nice.

All of mine have been sold and were $1000 + several years ago.

Good luck!

Couple of nice .45-70's from my cowboy action days. I sold the Sharps, the Marlin Cowboy now wears a scope.

Below is a Miroku 1886 Winchester clone, a very strong John Moses Browning designed action. My eyes graduated from peeps and those guns are hard to scope, so I sold it.

DF

DF,

Man, you always have some nice guns to show! I really like that Marlin Cowboy, do all of them have that shiny stock? Do you happen to know the length of pull on that rifle? My son is 6 feet tall so the length won't be a problem for him, but it could be for me .

Thank for the advice on the Barnes, that sounds like an awesome load. I shot a couple of deer late in our season with Hammer bullets last year and I was impressed for a couple of reasons. I shot one deer with a 124 grain .308 and hit the deer near back of the ribs, but she just folded up and didn't twitch. I would normally expect a deer hit a little back like that to run a ways. The other deer I shot with my .264 Win Mag and 117 Hammer. Not a great shot on that deer either as I hit him at the very front of the chest (like in the most forward inch of his body) and he died within about a hundred yards. I hit him so far forward that there was really only about an inch and a half of body thickness there. I was really surprised that it didn't just wound him.

That Marlin Cowboy stock had a work over. I cut the comb back to make it profile more like a vintage Marlin, I refinished it with Tung Oil/Urethane, had it checkered by Errol Case in MO.

Here are pictures of it now with scope. It has a Wild West trigger, which is a big upgrade from factory. IIRC, the LOP is around 14". I'll measure it later and confirm. Of course it has a pad, which can be used to adjust LOP to suit.

I haven't shot any .45-70 Hammer bullets, but judging by what a 178 gr. Shock Hammer did to a WT chest out of my pre-64 FTW, .358 Win, I'm sure a larger diameter version would be as bad if not worse. Hammers frag and the exit wound showed a core exit and satellite wounds from the six frag pieces. I sent the below picture to Hammer HQ and Steve Davis (co-founder/co-owner) texted me back, pointing that out. He knew what he was looking at; I can now see what he saw. Great products, great CS. Don't think a Hammer bullet will kill a hog or WT any deader than the 250 TSX or any quicker. Just an interesting variation on mono bullets.

DF

Edited to add, check out the Cutting Edge Raptor. Here's a link to their site and comment with photo that I contributed. It's the last one, so scroll down. Those are about as good as the Hammer, although I like Hammers a bit better due to their design. https://cuttingedgebullets.com/308-135gr-er-extended-range-raptor

... got a Remlin 1895GS (45-70) sporting all the WWG upgrades (trigger, ejector) and Leupold vx-3i 1.5-5x20 mounted with EGW hardware that I won't be parting with anytime soon ... uncannily accurate with 405 gr woodleigh weldcore bullets over imr-3031 ... the late period Remlins were good guns (always pre-buy check any gun muzzle crown to butt pad) but alas no warranty so make sure the gun is a good one before laying down cash or plastic

The best handling 45-70 I ever had was an old 1886 that had been cut to 22". It went down the road, because money. I'd love to have another but the 1895G is a fair replacement.

I have 3 Marlins one a 41 mag.,45-70 and the latest a CB in 38-55.

They all shoot good for me and the 45-70 is one of the Rem made with out any flaws.

I shoot 325 grain cast in mine and if you wanted to it could kill/wound on both ends,that can be said with heavier bullets as well.

I also own 2 Winchester 94's in 30-30 because one is not enough,but they both have earned a place here.

Good luck.

My Winchester 1886 .45-90 also shoots 45-70 very well.
The 45-90 did well in Africa with mostly one shot kills, even on Ele frontal brain shots.
The choice between tang peep and barrel peep works out well also.

I have a 1886 that is heavy with a 26" heavy octagon barrel and a Remington Marlin 336 that is very light. I shoot the 336 the most and mainly with cast loads. I only shoot Jacketed to test for accuracy and so far cast bullets are as good or better than Jacketed. Heavy loads in the 336 will rap my hand in the lever pretty good. I may put a modified loop in it if I decide to shoot heavier loads. I love the way that 336 handles.

My oldest son has his eyes on the Winchester, so I'm keeping it pristine.

I think the choice for the 45-70 comes down to:

What are you going to use it for?
How sensitive to recoil are you?
How much are you going to carry the rifle? Is weight an issue?
How sensitive to recoil are you? (Did I write that twice??? Hmm.)

If you don't cast bullets, I recommend you buy cast bullets for your 45-70, There's little need for jacketed bullets in a 45-70. The cost is much better and the results are great with cast.

Some people and even some writers say that practicing so as to able to handle recoil just causes more flinching. I agree with Ken Waters who pushed practice with heavier kickers, since people don't just start shooting the 700 NE without practice. If you are going to shoot heavy loads in a light rifle it will kick and you might have to work you way up to that. My Marlin's loads will kill anything I shoot at with my cast loads. The game I'm shooting at doesn't require heavy loads. I'm not taking the 336 to Africa... If I were to take it to shoot bigger and meaner animals, I'd work up to heavier bullets and heavier loads and I'd practice.

... I had one of the new Japchester 1886 short actions in 45-70 ... nice gun ... sold it cause I really need a scope now ... went with a Remlin 1895GS with a Leupy 1.5-5X scope ... it's been serving me well and it helps when you can see what you're aiming at

My Pedersoli Guidemaster 45-70, all SS, with Leupold scout scope has worked well as a whitetail brush gun. The scope is no longer in production and the lever action is the previous model without tang safety. I fitted and finished a factory walnut stock for it, as I detested the camo, but for knocking around in all elements have kept it in the camo - kinda grew on me🦊

45-70 is ridiculously over-priced ammo if you don't reload. Make sure you're happy spending $50/20 for hunting ammo.
And leverguns are way too expensive for what you get.
If you can find a used Marlin 1895, great. Otherwise Henry is the only sub-$1000 option. Ruger was asking $1200.
Easy cartridge to reload, but jacketed bullet choices are few and spendy. You don't need a fancy bullet with 45-70, but guys buy the high priced stuff anyway.

I wouldn't buy a new levergun today as the prices are out of whack for what you get.

I reload and I've put about 3k rounds through my stainless guide gun. Fun gun. Very packable carbine. Great 150yd cartridge. But when I give it away to the grandkids, it will go with as much ammo as I can load up.

Just a reminder the Winchester bolts are much more difficult to remove than the Marlin bolt.

I grabbed one of the last Remlin 1895's 45-70 22 inch
Paid $879 for it
It is a very nice gun to look at and shoots better than I can hold it.
I'd try to find a Marlin or a Henry

Lots of good options out there, all of them are well suited to do what you need it to do. My personal favorite would be either a new(ish) winchester 1886 in 45-70. Should be some plain jane versions out there for around that $1200-$1600 range; or a new production Ruger made Marlin 1895 (I would recommend the blued "Guide Gun" they have" as it can be had for not a lot more than about $1,000). If used is what you're looking for, a "JM" stamped Marlin 1895 would be fantastic (although I would avoid the ported barrel as others have stated above - while it mitigates recoil the noise is downright painful). These older Marlin's will definitely be a great option and will cost $1,300 plus. Even a Rossi has a better and better reputation with every passing year. I've shot the Rossi recently and its not bad, although any of the above options would be preferable in my opinion. The Rossi will be the most cost effective. The Henry rifles are rock solid as far as functionality goes, but the feed tube has been known to be a problem for some. A buddy of mine had his come out while going through the Brush on a bear hunt. The new side gate makes the Henry a little more attractive. I'm just not a fan of their loading tube and I'm not in love with the lines and looks of the Henry rifles. Safest option is likely the new model Rugers (any of the 3, they're all nice. The SBL is a polished stainless, the trapper is a matte stainless, and the Guide Gun is a blued model - they're all fantastic. Depends on which barrel length you prefer.)

What load were you shooting?

What load were you shooting?
\

North Fork solids in Africa. 450 grains with MV of 2150 fps.

More detail this afternoon when I have time to check my load history records.

I really like the Marlin models in 45-70 and now have an SBL version. Most of the Marlin models will be a little high in price at the current time but have no doubt you can find one that doesn't break the bank. My son is soon to be 17 and he likes the SBL and the other Marlin levers too. Likes shooting it, and carrying it and I suspect we will draw cards or rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to hunt with it at times this year.

I would like to have a Ruger #1 in 45-70 too...and that means my son approves of the Ruger #1 in 45-70 too and encourages me to get one of those if I find one.

... mines a late manufactured Remlin 1895GS in 45-70 I got cheap ... I spiffed and smoothed it up and added the WWG trigger and ejector and a Wolff hammer spring ... the trigger breaks crisply at 3 pounds and no misfires or fail to fires in 100s of rounds ... the scope is a Leupold VX-3i 1.5-5x20 mounted on an EGW Picatinny rail ... my hunting load is CCI-200 primer, WW case, Lee 4cc dipper (52.5 grains) of IMR-3031, 405 grain Woodleigh Weldcore SP bullet, case crimped into provided cannelure (using Lee factory crimp die) ... ... using the Lee 4cc dipper (52.5 grains IMR-3031) to measure charges is handy and time saving ... the load is an ass kicker and will group 3 bullets into the same ragged hole at 50 yds ... no signs of pressure in my gun what so ever ... DON'T USE MY LOAD WITHOUT PROPER WORK UP ... IT MAY NOT BE SAFE IN YOUR GUN ... ALWAYS REFER TO MANUFACTURERS OFFICIAL LOADING MANUALS FOR DIRECTIONS IN LOAD DEVELOPMENT ... RELOADING IS DANGEROUS IF NOT DONE PROPERLY

May want to talk your son into a .44 Mag instead of the 45/70 unless you reload, and then even if you do. 45/70 300 grain factory stuff is pretty mild but expensive. Hand loading for the likes of an 1895 Marlin can transform them into something of a brute. Slip on Limbsavers for zeroing at the range are your friend. Scopes are good but a fiber optic front and ghost ring on the back work surprisingly well. Lever guns off sand bags may require a different technique for best groups. Reloading for a straight wall in a tubular magazine requires a rethink if you are accustomed to bolt guns. The Lee factory crimp die is highly recommended. Center punched a pig with a 400 Speer in front of a whole bunch of gunpowder. Pretty soft bullet, you could put your finger in the entrance hole.

I bought a JM stamped Marlin 1895XLR for myself when I turned 19. Best/worst mistake I ever made because now I cant own anything small bore haha.

Scattered thoughts, but take from this what you need:

You can get a lot of great bullets to suit your sons liking of recoil. I shoot magnums out of mine and most of my friends think Im sick in the head for it. Generally speaking a heavy load in these guns will feel much more like a muzzleloader, meaning a firm shove instead of the stiff punch from a smaller, faster load.

I would make the consideration of what and where he is hunting to determine the caliber he needs. I settled on 45-70 because I am an upland bog and green forest hunter, so even if I miss with the first shot, I am going to have a path cleared for the second. Even with the hotter loads I am not thrilled with shots in the 150yd range and wouldnt dream of anything out to 200yd. Those bricks of lead start falling awful fast when they slow down. When I first bought it I shot 405gr corelockts, I was dead on at 100yd, at 200yd I was more than a foot under the target.

Theres a lot of great lever guns on the market, anything JM stamped Marlin would do well, it sounds like the Rugers are holding their own also. I've liked every Browning BLR I've shot. This would also open up more calibers (and greater hunting situation adaptability as I stated above). And Henry has the name they have for a reason.

Do what you want with the above info, but I would highly advise you have him consider your hunting situations/setups above all else before comitting to the beast.

I've a few .45-70s.......Remington Rolling Block, Winchester High Wall, Siamese Mauser, 1874 C. Sharps, T/C Contender, Knight KP1, Ruger No 1, 70's vintage 1895 Marlin and lastly a "Ruglin" 1895 Trapper. I've loaded rompin' stompin' loads in the appropriate action but probably the most enjoyment I've had is running 1000fps loads through the Trapper with a can screwed on.

My son bought a Henry in 45-70 with “case hardened” action. It is a beautiful gun, shoots well and is accurate with Hornady and Winchester factory ammo plus my handloads too. I gave him an old Leupy 2-7 and it is perfect for that rifle. Recoil is noticeable but not worse than a standard Rem700 in 30-06 shooting 180s.