45-70 Ammo

The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873. It is known to collectors (but never to the Army) as the "Trapdoor Springfield." The new cartridge was a replacement for the stop-gap .50-70 Government cartridge which had been adopted in 1866, one year after the end of the American Civil War.

The new cartridge was completely identified as the .45-70-405, but was also commonly called the ".45 Government" cartridge in commercial catalogs. The nomenclature of the time was based on several properties of the cartridge:

.45 : nominal bullet diameter, in decimal inches i.e. 0.458 inches (11.4 mm)

70 : wt. of blackpowder charge, in grains i.e. 70 grains (4.5g)

405 : weight of lead bullet, in grains i.e. 405 grains (26.2 g)

In 1872 the Frankford Arsenal was testing numerous rifles to replace the Model 1870. Testing with the considerations of such important factors as recoil, dependability, accuracy, and durability, the 45-70-400 cartridge performed best. Before the U.S. Army adopted this cartridge, it was discovered that an extra lubrication groove added to the bullet would cut down on the bore fouling caused by blackpowder, and provide better accuracy. As a result, the bullet weight was slightly increased to 405 grains, and the cartridge received it new name, the 45-70-405. This simply indicated the caliber, the powder weight, and the bullet's weight.

A lighter version was also created for use in the shorter-barreled carbine. Using less powder to reduce recoil, this cartridge was named the 45-50-405. A year later in 1873 the Trapdoor Springfield with a 45-70-405 cartridge became the official U.S. military rifle.

At first, the U.S. military case wasn't reloadable. This was due to the fact that the case used an inside cup primer. 45-70 cartridges with this Benet primer system looked like a cartridge of a rimfire design, but were in fact centerfire. In other parts of the world the Berdan primer was in wide use. American manufacturers however, preferred the Boxer primer, and thankfully the 45-70 eventually used this system.

The 45-70-405 was eventually dropped in favour of the 45-70-500. This heavier bullet meant a decrease in velocity to 1315 Feet/Second from the older 1350 fps. Until being replaced in 1892 by the 30-40 Krag, the "Rifle Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45 Reloading, Model 1881" was the official U.S. Army cartridge.

Even after the official replacement by the 30-40 Krag, the 45-70 continued to see its share of action, with thousands of rounds being fired by U.S. troops during the Spanish American War of 1898. In fact more than 7 million rounds of 45-70 ammunition were produced as late as 1884. This says quite a bit for a cartridge that was considered "replaced".

Like other small arms cartridges that were at one time adopted by the government, the 45-70 soon became popular amongst civilian hunters and shooters. Some might say that its popularity had even increased over those years, as more shooters were introduced to this fine cartridge.

The Winchester Model 1886 is probably the most famous sporting rifle available for the 45-70. However, in the race to develop the first successful lever-action rifle that could handle the big 45-70 cartridge, the winner was not Winchester as expected. John Mahlon Marlin had introduced his Model 1881 lever-action rifle, only a short 11 years after he founded his new company. He advertised this new rifle as being suitable for a new high-velocity, "Express-type" loading of the 45-70 Government cartridge called the .45-85-285 Marlin. This model rifle was discontinued in 1882, and three years later a newer rifle with a solid top receiver came about as the Model 1885.

Rifles require ammunition, and various U.S. ammunition manufacturers jumped aboard the 45-70 bandwagon. Around 1895 the standard loading was now a smokeless powder load under a 405 grain jacketed bullet. It reached velocities of approximately 1310 fps. Factory loads were later created to offer consumers a choice of Express Loads with lighter bullets and higher velocities, gallery loads, short-range loads, and loadings with different bullet types that were either jacketed in solid or hollow point form.

On the battlefields, the hunting grounds, and target ranges, the 45-70 Government had its glory days. As the twentieth century began to pick up speed, the cartridge started to lose ground fast to faster and more modern cartridges available. In 1916, Marlin discontinued its Model 1885 rifle and chose not to bring it back after World War I. A year later, Winchester made the decision to drop the 45-70 chambering in its 1886 models. They brought it back for one last fling in 1928, but by 1931 the 45-70 chambering had disappeared completely from the Winchester catalog.

Luckily some of the old 45-70 factory loads were still available for a few more decades. Remington still offered three loadings in 1939; the 405 grain lead bullet that traveled at 1360 fps, a 405 grain JSP (Jacketed Soft point) at 1300 fps, and a high velocity 300 JSP with a speed of 1890 fps. At the same time the Winchester offerings for this cartridge had dwindled to just two; their 405 grain JSP at 1320 fps and the 300 grain JSP at 1885 fps.

As World War II neared, only two loads were put back into production. Remington and Winchester offered one each; both were the 405 grain JSP loadings at 1320 fps. For many it seemed the 45-70 was quickly fading away.

For about twenty five years after World War II, most of the old classic cartridges were all but forgotten. Shooters were virtually bombarded by the introduction of new high-velocity cartridges in various calibers. In 1964, the .444 Marlin cartridge was introduced by a teaming of Marlin and Remington; once again a big-bore woods cartridge was in the limelight. Officially designated the Marlin 336-444 Magnum, it filled an empty slot left behind after Winchester stopped manufacturing the .348 caliber Model 71 lever-action in 1957.

It didn't take long for the 45-70 to join the .444 Marlin at center stage. Whether the .444 Marlin had actually renewed the public interest in big-bore woods cartridges or hunters simply started feeling nostalgic is hard to say, but the 45-70 was soon up and running again. During the late 1960s, George Nonte and several other experimenters realized that the Siamese Mauser rifle could be converted to 45-70 without a great deal of trouble. It was these people, and not rifle manufacturers, that refocused the shooters attention to the 45-70. Once Nonte and other writers told the world of their experiments, word quickly spread. There began the reemergence of the 45-70 cartridge.

It did not take long for manufacturers to take notice of this renewed interest in the 45-70. Ruger made available its special order only No. 1 model in 1969, and a year later had the regular catalog item of the No. 1-S with its Alexander Henry style forearm. In a few years the Ruger No. 3, the Harrington & Richardson trapdoor Carbine, and the Hyper and Browning B-78 were available. Even Marlin joined in on this new wave of interest with another model supporting the 45-70, the Model 336.

Numerous rifles have been manufactured since then. These include the Browning Model 1885, Browning Model 1886, Clerke Single Shot, Falling Block Works SS, Hyper Single Shot, Navy Arms Martini, Riedl Single Shot, Sharps- Borchardt (replica), and numerous Siamese Mauser conversions.

Due to its availability over the years in rifles of various designs, the safest rule of thumb handloaders should keep in mind is this; Old rifles need light to moderate loads, and heavier loads should only be used in rifles made since World War II.

When loaded with the right bullet, the .45-70 in a modern rifle is perfectly capable of taking any North American game at woods ranges. The 300 and 400 grain flat nose bullets made by Hornady, Sierra, and Speer are excellent choices for deer size game. For elk, moose and bear, 350 grain bullets available from Hornady and Barnes, and the Speer 400 grain flatnose are the right medicine. The .45-70 responds favorably to a variety of powders, including H322, H4198, IMR-3031, and Reloader-7.