[budguy]

What is the best factory ammo for the 45-70. I have a 1895 classic that doesn't seem to like the leverevelutions. The gun will shoot low and to the left at 25yards and high and to the right at 100yards with out changeing anything on the sights. thanks

 

[whitecloud]

Now that's weird...Sounds like there might be something else going on not related to ammo.

 

[Jonny V]

Am having 100 rounds of BVAC lead flat point 400 grain ammo (1600 fps) delivered on saturday. $22 a box ain't bad either. My rifle is one of the new Remlins, but other than the woodwork being really proud in a few spots, seems to function fine. I got my Leatherwood 2-7 scout scope today, and waiting on the Lever Scout mount to arrive. I plan to put up a good review so that we can compare this new rifle to the established Marlin performance level.

I hope to do well, and will try to get this done within the month, building on the house too..... :-\

 

[sowastrong]

Run a batch of Buffalo Bore; it'll get your attention..recoil, accuracy and price!

 

[soldierofchrist]

What is the best factory ammo for the 45-70. I have a 1895ss that doesn't seem to like the leverevelutions. The gun will shoot low and to the left at 25yards and high and to the right at 100yards with out changeing anything on the sights. thanks

Is this what the Leverevolutions are doing? How do they group? Because it could just be as simple as sighting the rifle in properly. Bullets will tend to hit low up close because the sights are above the barrel.

 

[budguy]

Im shooting Hornady's 325gr leverevelution ammo.They are grouping pretty good on the target at 25 yards. They are about 3in low and to the left at 25yrds and about 2in high and 5in to the right at 100yds. Kinda hard to adjust too when it shoots like that with no adjustments in between the ranges. When I got the gun new the sights were off and Ive been making adjustments to the open sights.I had boresighted the open sights and the rounds still seem to be off quit a bit. Had to send back the leupold scope that I had for it. I couldn't adjust the elevation on the scope.

 

[Seabee74]

I have the XLR model and love it. I can get 1 inch groups at 100 yards with the 325gr leverevolution rounds. I also have used the Buffalo Bore 350 JFN rounds with great success. The Buffalo Bore ammo is a little pricey but it took only one round to put down a nice mule deer at 190 yards last fall. Those are the only two different rounds that have gone through my 45/70. I think I would have the rifle checked out if the rounds are flying around like that or if you have a friend with the same rifle have him or her try your rounds in their rifle. Good luck.

 

[T-Bone]

I think there are 2 questions here:

Whitecloud may be on to something. Probably ought to check 2 or 3 different kinds of ammo to see how they shoot. However, (and please don't be offended because we all have to deal with this) first off, make absolutely sure you are not the problem. If this is your first large bore it could be something as simple as a flinch. You could try taking a .22LR rifle along next time and alternate between the large and small bores to help with identifying a flinch. Otherwise, just remember to be very precise in your technique to eliminate that from trying to resolve this issue.

The second thing is that if you truly want the BEST ammo, I think Garrett Cartridges is the best factory ammo made for the 45-70. It is revolutionary. Some of us here try to emulate Randy's ammo in our reloads. Be warned though, the best comes at a price.

http://www.garrettcartridges.com/

Good luck!

 

[Ghostman]

My standard 1895 shoots factory Federal ammo with the 300 grain Speer Hot Core bullets very well. 1" = 1.25" 3 shot groups @100 yards off of a bench rest. It knocks the snot out of deer and black bears.

Anything bigger Buffalo Bore 350 grain ammo will do the job.

 

[findrichard]

LE ammo is the most accurate I have shot from my guide gun but I have only tried Remington, PMC, and Buffalo Bore so farl. When you say "low and to the left" and "high and to the right" you did not say how high, how low, how far right, and how far left. You also did not say at what range you zeroed the rifle. Without answering these questions it is anybody's guess what is going on. Include some more details here and you will likely unlock a wealth of knowledge form the veterans that contribute to this site.

 

[budguy]

Im trying to sight in the rifle starting out at 25yards and then going to 100 yards using the opensights. When I got the gun new the sights weren't lined up right and I have used a boresighter to try and fix that. I have ordered a new scope for it since the one that I had for it was bad. Ive only made adjustments for it at 25yards. The gun shoots about 3in low and 3in to the left at 25 yards. Then without making any adjustments it will shoot about 2in high and 5in to the right at 100 yards. Ive only used the hornaday leverevolution. I may try remington 405 and maybe winchester 300 gr since thats what the local gunshops have. I have a Browning BLR in 300 win mag so the kick doesn't really bother me though I do flinch sometimes but I do well with my 300 mag.Im using a Coldwell Zeromax shooting rest. Not sure how to adjust when the rounds hit in the opposit directions at two diffrent ranges. Though it does group good. Just can't hit the bullseye with it. I want to take the gun bear hunting and would feel better about being able to get the gun closer to the bullseye. Maybe I just need to practice with it some more.

 

[dogjaw]

If it were me, I'd start at the 25 yard target and move to 50 instead of 100. Maybe your seeing the sight picture differently at that distance. It may give you some better clues as to what's going on.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I would get it sighted at 25 and then see where it's shooting at longer distances. You can deal with the problem then as you will have eliminated one variable.

 

[TNWoodsman]

I prefer the Remington 405 grain loading.

 

[findrichard]

If you are getting good groups at 100 yards but they are 5 inches to the right and 2 inches low I would adjust the rear sight to the left in very small increments until the groups move to dead center and 2 inches high at 100 yards. Then I would drop the rear sight one notch to see where that puts the groups. Then I would select the best option of the last two sight settings. I personally prefer to be 1-2 inches high at 100 yards. Once you get zeroed at 100 yards then you can shoot other ranges to see bullet strike. In order for a bullet to hit dead center at 100 yards it must travel along the same center line from your barrel to the the 100 yard target (assuming no wind). Only thing that varies is altitude and speed of the bullet.

 

[dvhel]

The LE ammo is HOT.And it heats my rifles up quickly.After 3 rounds without cooling,I get POI all over the place.In your original post,I didnt read anything about "groups".Here is what I would suggest.......Shoot 3 shot groups at 25 yards.....with at least 30 seconds between rounds.Then move to 50 and 100 respectively.It doesnt sound logical that your rifle would POI low and left at close range and high and right at 100.When I sighted my 450 before a trip to Alaska......I was considering taking a different rifle.I was getting POI all over the place at 100 yards.I laid the rifle aside for about 30 minutes while shooting other guns, thinking I might take one of them.My 338MX was spot on for the first few rounds,and then started to fly on me.The light came on!!!!!THEN....I decided to try the 450 once more.THAT was the one I REALY wanted to take my bear with.After cooling .............I had 3 rounds in a group about 2 inches at 100 yards!!!!! I dint touch it after that and she went to Alaska!One shot well placed and the rifle delivered exactly to the point of aim rolled my bear into bear Heaven.My point being.....the LE factory ammo is as accurate or better than any I have ever shot.....when my barrel is cool.Everything that I have taken with it has beeen one shot DRT.I love the LE ammo.

 

[budguy]

Well I took it out today with two other guns. It was shooting about 4 in to the right with the hornady lever evolutution rounds. I finished the last seven rounds of that ammo. The elevation was good but I couldn't move it over with those rounds. I then started shooting Winchester 300 grain jacketed hollow points and they were dead on at 25 yards. With out making any adjustments between shooting the two types of ammo. Couldn't do much at 100 yards with it though. I got one hit out of about 6 shots at 100 yards. Im waiting for my new scope to come in and see if I can do better with the scope. I was shooting 3 to 4 rounds at a time and rotationg with the other two guns that I brought with me. Trying to let the barrels cool on them before I shot them. Im happy with it now that it seems to do well at 25 yards. Didn't get to try it at 50yards since the range was kinda busy today. I think with some more practice with the winchesters and maybe some remingtons I should be able to get better with it. I had made adjustments to the rear sites before I left. The rear site is alot harder to move than the rear site on my marlin 308mx that I just recently got back from Marlin. I was suprised by how much diffrence there was between the Hornady rounds and the Winchester rounds. Ive never had that much diffrence between diffrent types when shooting my BLR in 300 mag with I have had for about 10 yrs. Im fairly new to Marlin.

 

[TNWoodsman]

My .45-70s will shoot under 1" with the Remington 405s.

 

[Chad4412]

Rem. 405gr have taken down every thing from deer, elk, and bear for me with no trouble.

 

[336ER]

Am having 100 rounds of BVAC lead flat point 400 grain ammo (1600 fps) delivered on saturday. $22 a box ain't bad either. My rifle is one of the new Remlins, but other than the woodwork being really proud in a few spots, seems to function fine. I got my Leatherwood 2-7 scout scope today, and waiting on the Lever Scout mount to arrive. I plan to put up a good review so that we can compare this new rifle to the established Marlin performance level.

I hope to do well, and will try to get this done within the month, building on the house too..... :-\

BVAC also makes a jacketed load as well, a 400gr JFN @ 1900 FPS. This load is pretty reasonable too at under $23/box. This load shoots well in my 1895, not quite as well as the LE which is MOA, but plenty well enough for any type hunting I'll do with it. About 1.5-2" @ 100yds. This ammo is as good as it gets for $$/power for a jacketed 45-70 IMHO. Check out what BB wants for a similar load. I actually wish they'd make the same load for a .450 too!