45-70

[radke22]

Is a 45-70 over kill for whitetails?

[Gissert]

In the the eyes of some, sure.

If you are comfortable with the gun and shoot it well, then that's what you should use.

I used to use my 30-06 742 semi-auto, but grew to just hate the trigger pull.

Once I started chasing elk, I bought a Savage 111 in .338 win mag. I shoot the gun well, so it is my whitetail rifle now. Overkill for the job at hand, but I have shot four deer with it now and none have them have looked any worse than deer shot with smaller rifles.

[BIG ISLAND DUDE]

I use a 45-70 Marlin and I love it. I hunt near Blackduck and the area where I go can be thick with brush at times. I am very confident in my ability to get through the thick stuff with that gun. I have shot two deer with it and both were down with one shot. It is not what I use if I am going for a longer range shot. I have had some trouble getting it sighted in. Has anyone else had issues sighting this gun in? If so any tips, It seems to shoot 1-2-3 inches right at times, I am not the greatest shot in the world, but I dont think that is the problem.?.

Oh yeah...
Ammo Aint cheap for that puppy either.

------------------
Ice fishin SUCKS...
But I do it anyway.

[Bogsucker]

A 400 gr 45-70 has about the same "power" as a 20 gauge slug, though due to it's its ballistics coefficient and sectional density has a bit more range and effective killing power.

[Bogsucker]

Big island Dude,
If your shooting to the right, I'd say you have too much finger on the trigger, or you may be flinching a bit. And that may not be a reflection of you ability to shoot, just your hand placement on the stock or some other change in grip or stance.

[This message has been edited by Bogsucker (edited 03-30-2004).]

[EXTREME]

I shot a deer a few years back with a 45-70. I used a 465 gr cast bullet. Good lung shot and the deer only went about 20 yards. The good thing about using a cast bullet is that you don't wreck that much meat. I do have one beef about using that punkin' tosser. The same day I shot that small buck, a nice 8 pointer snuck up on me. To make a long story short, he spotted me and stopped behind a cedar tree. My only shot was at his head....well dad said it was right on at 100 yards...2 inches high at 50 yards. Guess what; the deer was at 40 yards. He had a heck of a mohawk...LOL!

[Perch Jerker]

I used a .416 Rigby (350gr bullet) for deer last year in MN, a .577 Tyrannosaur (650gr bullet) in MN for bear, and a .500 A-Square (600gr bullet) for deer in AL. So do I think that a 45-70 is overkill for deer, no. Shoot the gun you can shoot well. If you flinch like heck even the biggest bullet won't kill quickly if placed incorrectly on the animal.

PJ

ps. The last bear I shot was with a bow and it went 20yds and piled up. I use big bores because I like to, not because I have to.

[TUMBLEWEED]

JEEEZZZZ PerchGuy, Maybe you should swap
poster name to Master Blaster!!!