What would this rifle in a carbine, 45 colt be worth? Saw one in a pawn shop this morning for 399.00 it looks like new. Are these good shooters?

Thanks

Thats not out of line too far. Have heard good things. Offer them 300 and see what happens

I dont recall that option. It maybe made up gun. The Buffalo version was a a heavy gun for 45/70 not 45 colt. In a made up carbine, it could be quite nice. H&R had a reputation for surprising people for how well they shot given the low initial expectations. My friend has a 243 that got loose. That is a high pressure round. Keep in mind these guns were low price. I like both the rifle and shotgun line. I am not trying to damn with faint praise here. I only mean you will not see the guarantee consistency as you might from miruko. And back in my day, i could drive to the factory and walk in the door, no security guard. Liked the guns and the company. That is gone now. Anyway, they shot fine. Simple, reliable and fun guns to shoot. Most could be got in a light weight setup. My friends 243 was a youth gun with an adult stock swap. The Buffalo gun was more an exception to the light weight guns we wanted around here. In 45 LC , hmmm, odd.

If I recall the Buffalo Classic is the 45/70 and the Classic Carbine is the 45 LC.

I like the sound of that. H&R made a nice little 44mag. Maybe this is more along those lines with an up scale stock. I would go for that.

Don't know the market value, but it's not a lot of money for something you really want. Better to pay a bit more than lose a really nice one. I recently jumped on a opprtunity for something I'd been wanting for years.

The .45/70 Buffalo Classic is pretty well thought of. Buffalo Arms used to sell those while they lasted.

I have yet to see an H&R 45/70 that wasn't a great shooter. We have three in the family. All of them will touch 3 shots at 100 yards with 50.0 gr RL7 under a Remington 300 gr hp. Recoil is stiff, pushing a tad over 2000 fps over my chrony.

That is the going rate for that rifle if it is in nice shape.

The .45 Colt chambered Buff Classics were only.made for a few years. I.belive they had 22" barrels? They were made for they 100 yard "Long range" side matches at many SASS events.

Is Alabama one of those states that allows straight walled single shot cartridge rifles for "Primitive " Deer seasons?

I had a 45/70 it was very accurate . and I took several nice bucks with it..I sold it because I had too many rifles cant use them all..

Had a heavy barrel NEF in 223 for years. Pretty damn accurate, pretty damn fugly. That thing would shoot bulk Federal 55gr FMJ into a half inch at 100, accounted for quite a few woodchucks over the years. Still have an NEF in 22 Hornet. That one came with a 20ga barrel and a carrying case. .

Friend won a single shot Henry 45-70 at last spring's FNRA banquet. Recall it had some brass trim on it? He said it shoots well, but is a tad hard on his old shoulder.

Well I wouldn't say I have wanted one and been looking for a while but thought it was a cool little rifle. I'm what y'all call a rifle Looney I guess and I am allways looking for something different. Some I keep and some get shot some and moved on down the road. I was asking more or less to see how much it was worth in case I wanted to sell it after I played with it. Thanks for the replies so far.

I've seen more that would shoot,than ones that wouldn't.I have a 26" barreled .280 that will be in my safe till I die...

Is the H & R Action as Strong as a Ruger No1?

No. The #1 is one of the strongest actions ever made.

No but you can load it to the Marlin 1895 specs which are still pretty stout.

^^^This^^^

I remember when CDNN Sports closed them out.

I had an H&R 155 Shikari in 45-70 with a 28" barrel years ago. That one couldn't be loaded up much so I didn't bother handloading for it.
Because of that, I sold it. It had a brass trigger guard and barrel band, very nice. I thought they all came that way. I was wrong.
I really regret selling it but I had a great supply of once fired brass when I bought a Ruger #1.

That old .45-70 used the low pressure receiver. The Buffalo Classic uses the high pressure frame. As stated above, it is weaker than a Ruger #1 and is limited to Marlin lever gun pressures.

Buffalo Classic = 45-70
Classic Carbine = 45 Colt

Both had SB2 rifle receivers, case coloring, and similar stock sets. The Buffalo Classic had a 32" bbl, the Classic Carbine had a 20" bbl.

I've owned a number of both and the limiting factory for pressures is your shoulder, not the receiver.

$399 is a decent price. If you don't buy it please post where I can buy it.

Thanks, Dinny

The buffalo Classic 45-70 had a LONG barrel. I would need to measure mine but I was thinking 28-30 inches. The Buffalo Classic in 38-55 had a slightly shorter barrel. My BC in 45-70 shoots FANTASTIC with 300 grain bullets. With 405's it will rattle the fillings out of your teeth. I haven't drug that 45-70 out in probably 10 years so maybe I need to list it for sale and see if there is any interest.

I have a 3 1/2" 12 ga. NEF. Is that receiver OK for a 45-70 barrel?

I understand may need some fitting. Wondering if I could do that.

Would appreciate info.

DF

Dirtfarmer,

That would be a negative. The shotguns are made with iron frames that are not strong enough for centerfire rifle calibers.

After I retired from my state job I worked at H&R for the engineering department as their test shooter for special projects. One of the last projects I worked on at H&R before Remington bought them was to try the 45-70 on the iron frames. What made it possible was a hardened steel disc inserted in the face of the frame that took the recoil. Five rifles set up like this were used to prove if it would be possible. It was a success. I put five hundred rounds through each of those guns with no cleaning or maintenance. The only failure was a broken firing pin spring on one rifle. The frames held up fine.


The reason for this experiment was to try to make some of the lower pressure cartridges such as the 45-70 and 30-30 able to be fitted to iron frames for cost savings. The iron frames cost $2.00 while the steel frames were $10.00. Might not sound like a big difference but on such a budget priced gun penny's count up.

Unfortunately, with the purchase by Remington many projects that had been developed were cast aside and never put into production.

Gotcha.

Thanks

DF

That 45 Colt could be reamed to 454 or even 460 if you’re feeling chippy. And could still shoot 45 colt...

Offer 300 bucks OTD.

Lots and lots of info over on Graybeards. H&R used to make a 20 gauge-30/30 combo on the SB1 (cast iron) frames. They also made a 45/70 Shakari on that frame. Stick with Trapdoor or Cowboy level loads and you'll be safe.

The factory, as I recall, would not fit a rifle barrel to the shotgun frame. A couple of years before the shutdown they also would not fit barrels to SB2 frames made before a certain serial number. My frame was one they would not do fitting on.

That is correct other than they would fit 357 mag and 44 mag during the NEF days. Back when it was H&R you could do 357 mag, 357 Maxi, 44 mag, 22 Hornet, 30/30, and 45/70 Trapdoor.

I seem to remember reading ads in cdnn newsprint form years ago for 45 Colt NEF/H&R guns for $200-225??? Not a lot of money then. Price of $399 is high, but pawn shops have crazy pricing. If pawned, the gun owner got $50-75 loan with 30 days to repay ("pawned"). Owner didn't repay the loan and now the pawn shop has the rifle. $399? Way too high. I wouldn't be the least bit interested at that price.

Used to have a W&H Buffalo Classic 45-70. Ok gun. Sloppy chamber. Sold it years ago. Nothing magical about it.

FYI NEF no longer supports these guns. Only parts are on the used market. That drops the price significantly. That was the driving factor in selling my 45-70. They (NEF) don't do the replacement barrel option anymore.

Decent guns, but they are not "high end" . I feel they have been overly hyped to wonder guns. They are not. They are simple, utilitarian, low cost manufactured guns. They are not $400 guns.

I think CDNN closed them out at $249, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for adding that 4570fan, I had forgotten. I wanted to put a .30-30 on my sb-2 receiver and was not happy when they would not do it. Wound up selling the rifle (a .45-70 with an extra barrel in .223 Rem.)

Saw a guy at the range last week shooting one of the .45/70s. He loves it, but it was wearing him out a bit. A .38/55 would be more my candy-ass speed now.

I've got a 45-70 buffalo classic gathering dust, what it worth these days?

I had a guy off this thread PM me about buying mine and told me they were available “everywhere” for $300 so I decided to just keep mine. It carries very nice, shoots well and is pleasant to shoot. I believe I gave around $75 just for the globe from sight with inserts. I haven’t looked at it for 10 plus years so maybe I need to dig deep in the safe and drag it out.