45-70 Ammo Selection (Featuring Hornady Leverevolution)

If only i knew someone who owned a 45-70 and knew their shit to a convincing enough degree, like i could speculate what i think i want all day but if i dont know how it feels to shoot then how can i make a decision that fits me better personally, everyone i know buys the same rifles, they all have ar15s with holographic sights and all that is cool but i dont like those kinds of rifles enough to justify the price of the attatchments and ammo (120 rounds of 556 may as well be quantum particles that phase out of existence just as they appear). I guess it cant hurt buying a lever rifle in all 3 sizes.

Honestly, ive been thinking about getting a couple lever rifles but i cant decide if i want to get one in 30/30 or 45-70, my uncles 30/30 got me fixated on lever rifles when i was younger but its been a long time since i shot one, i skipped rifles and went straight to buying handguns when i came of age. while i for sure want a henry that shoots .357, im torn between the other two, this video is kind of helpful, but idk, im ignorant

Great video! I’ve got a bunch of the Hornady & really like it, but it was nice to have it validated with these parameters. Made my shoulder sore just watching, though. 😂 Those higher-velocity rounds are painful after a while.

45-70 rifles rock!
I'm just trying to decide which one to buy.

Great job Paul

Awesome show, question for you, I have a Pedersoli Sharps in 45-70 with a 34" bbl, what kind of velocities do you think I should get ?

I think where the lever rev starts to shine is pushing the typical distance of the platform. Should have retained more velocity and shoot flatter at 200 yards.

I wonder how large the BBQ crowd is at Paul's after a meat target demonstrations.

That Hornady ammo sounds like a 12ga and the recoil looks like it was a lot harder. Hornady hunting and rifle ammo is a lot better than their self defense pistol ammo. Love the 45 70 lever action rifles.

You should have meat tested the Remington 405 grain trapdoor ammo.

The only Rifle I currently have in 45/70 is an old 1884 Trapdoor Carbine... A REAL Carbine, NOT a Sporterized Version... So I'm kind of forced to use the "Cowboy" Factory Loads or the Version that I hand load using a 405 grain Cast Bullet and Trail Boss or Equivalent Powder... If it wasn't so cruddy, I'd use Black Powder or Pyrodex for "Paper Punching".... But it's just such a pain to clean up after, and it REALLY Blacks my Brass...

GREAT VIDEO!....

My 45/70 1895 guide gun with the 325 gr Leverevolution is my go-to hog gun setup. Inside 150 yards with varying ammo, there’s nothing I imagine the 45/70 can’t handle in North America.

Hi from Pennsylvania Paul. I am new to a smart phone. Your videos are awsome. I'm a big bore person. And I hunt with a lever rifle. Please do a video on 405 win. In the Winchester 1895. I will loan you mine. To do the video. It's a killing machine. 1 shot for any critter in North America. And good for Africa. The only problem is ammo is hard to find.i have several 100 rnds on hand.i love your videos. God bless.

Great video! Thank you Paul!!

Another reason to like Paul. With each soda bottle destroyed, that is one less type 2 diabetic in the world.

The problem with preferring momentum to kinetic energy in bullets is that bullets are usually designed to deform so as to transfer energy. So you can push a lead ball infinitely fast and at some point it will just disintegrate upon impact without increasing its penetration because it is blowing itself to pieces when transferring energy. I think this is why hard cast ammo exists, because you need that projectile to maintain its structural integrity long enough to get to somewhere vital. Just pouring in more energy will cause the bullet to explode upon impact, not travel through a hard skull (for example).

Knowing that a bullet is sold as a soft point tells me that the bullet is meant for some amount of expansion. As long as you are able to penetrate to a vital zone before the bullet fully gives up its energy, that bullet is performing as designed. If you are seeing the bullet maintaining energy and continuing to penetrate once out the other side of your target, you are losing the benefits of that energy (though there is a benefit to having an exit wound as it creates a second way for blood loss to occur if hydrostatic shock is unable to get the job done).

Thus… if Paul’s simulated target is designed equivalent to your target, I will likely prefer the bullet that is stopped by the first layer of fleece as that bullet is more efficiently using it’s energy than one that continues to penetrate (which also increases danger of hitting something unintended behind or beyond the target)/

Outstanding. Simply outstanding video

45-70 shines with hard cast lead alloy bullets. You don't get much if any expansion but it makes a .45 inch hole through EVERYTHING!

Love my 45-70! In our area you don't get a chance at many long shots. My go to used to be my Marlin .44 magnum, but since I bought my Henry 45-70 I always use it now.

With the current cost of 45-70 ammo, this was probably one of the most valuable videos I've seen. Thank you, Paul for the expense and effort you put out on a regular basis. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the analysis. Those Ferdal Rounds look like Federal Fusion rounds.

Great video paul… but what if i shot someone wearing 3a soft body armor who was also riding a motorcycle on a Tuesday afternoon? Would 45-70 be enough to penetrate 3a soft body armor, and if so would it be enough to incapacitate the wearer?

Bonded bullets are really quite incredible.

Custer's troops used 45-70 bullets at the Little Bighorn.

That table is not feeling that well.

I do love the meat target, but seeing all those soda bottle get blasted is always the best 🥰

The bugs love the soda test

Federal .45-70 Divot Point

Absolute garbage bullets . Don’t hunt with the ftx

The "heavier bullet moving slower will penetrate better" thing only holds true with hardcast/non-deforming/expanding projectiles. Would have been cool to see some Buffalo Bore loadings, but at $5/rd after shipping, I get why you didn't order any, lol.

Paul. I need you to test Grizzly, Underwood, or Buffalo Bore 45-70 +P heavy. Against each other. Please? He'll. I'd be happy if you only tested one.

Does Paul ever answer any comments?

I've tested quite a few different types of 45-70 rounds through my 1895G and one thing I noticed is the big differences in recoil. Those 405 grn rounds are much more comfortable to shoot than the 300 and 325 variety. I shot 20 rounds of the 325 leverevolution in fast succession and damn my shoulder felt it later.

Thanks! I have a Henry 45-70 and love the rifle and caliber! Ill pick up some of the "almost hollowpoint" for my next outing in the fall.

I enjoyed your comparisons. You went to a lot of work to simulate the meat targets and also purchased a lot of soda. I did a similar comparison back a couple years using some different types of ammo. Remington 405’s (full pressure), federal hammer down, federal trophy bonded bear claw and lever evolution 325’s. Check it out if your interested. It’s not as professional a video but had some good examples of bullet expansion performance.

Great review as always. How's your shoulder feeling? 😵‍💫
I shoot a Uberti reproduction of the 45-70 caliber 1885 Winchester Highwall with a 30" barrel. Kind of like having a light artillery piece. I hand load for it and for target shooting usually use flat nose 300 and 350 grain poly coated hard-cast bullets with medium powder charges behind them though I also build heavier loads in case I ever need to stop a rampaging elephant or something.
Admittedly we don't get a lot of elephants in Wyoming but you never know; right? Plus we do have buffalo. 🙂
Lever action rifles chambered in 45-70 are very popular with hunters and guides up here but quite a few folks also into old style single shot rifles for hunting and target shooting.
If you ever get a chance come on up for the 4th of July Hell on Wheels cowboy action shooting competition at the Otto Range; it's always fun to watch.

He is pro

Never seen a 45-70 with a 26" barrel.

Leverevolution are one approach to solve a problem. That is, to safely use centerfire rounds with spitzer (or spitzerish) bullets in a tube magazine. I always wondered though, why wasn't this problem solved earlier by some manufacturer in the early 19th century by introducing a rimfire round with a spitzer bullet? They certainly made a wide variety of cartridges at this time and offered them in leverguns. Introducing one more weird cartridge certainly wouldn't have hurt.

The energies are the 405 grain at 1154 = 1239 lbft 405 at 1407 = 1780 lbft 300 at 1804 = 2168 lbft and 325 at 1851 = 2472 lbft

Wish you would have done the energy calculations

Best use of soda

Nice to see that you're recycling Scott's tables from Kentucky Ballistics!!

I would like to have a older Marlin 45-70.

Great Videos as usual ! :)

I comment at once before for you to use diet soda because it doesn't attract the bees and it doesn't get your equipment all sticky like regular soda .You replied the ants need to eat also. but regular soda will gum up the works on just about anything it gets on. I'd hate to see your camera get ruined

My dude just out here wasting beef ribs haha nice tests

hsm bear load