Your favorite hunting rifle of all time

[Jim Golden]

Ruger No1's in general, but the Tropical 375 H&H is a thing of beauty that does job time after time. Mine is since sold but continues to do great things in it's new owner's hands.View attachment 518835

I've got a No. 1 in .45-70. I like it, but it sometimes goes off when you close the lever. I need to get it looked at. Had thought about rechambering it to .450 Nitro or something similar. They are pretty rifles

 

[rdog]

I've shown it in a different thread, but my favorite is my .35 Remington Model 14. She's turning 95 this year and still a beauty.View attachment 518912

I wish they still made rifles like this, no plastic or tactical shit.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

I've got a No. 1 in .45-70. I like it, but it sometimes goes off when you close the lever. I need to get it looked at. Had thought about rechambering it to .450 Nitro or something similar. They are pretty rifles

Be careful rechambering to something like that.
I once loaded a #1 .45-70 to 1800fps with a 500gr Hornaday JSP (actual chronographed) recoil kicked the reticule out of a Redfield scope. It was brutal.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Be careful rechambering to something like that.
I once loaded a #1 .45-70 to 1800fps with a 500gr Hornaday JSP (actual chronographed) recoil kicked the reticule out of a Redfield scope. It was brutal.

You're lucky you didn't detach one or both of your retinas?

 

[Forrest Halley]

Seriously these .45-70's must be really something. Everyone says they're incredible. Has anyone actually fired one against a Lott with full power loads?

 

[Jim Golden]

Be careful rechambering to something like that.
I once loaded a #1 .45-70 to 1800fps with a 500gr Hornaday JSP (actual chronographed) recoil kicked the reticule out of a Redfield scope. It was brutal.

I have two .45-70's: The Ruger No. 1 and a Marlin 1895 Cowboy lever action (has a trim no-pistol grip stock like a Winchester and a 26" octagonal barrel). The Marlin has a longer throat than the Ruger. Maybe I should just leave it a .45-70 and get the throat opened up to seat longer bullets out further. .45-70 is a pretty fierce caliber. The original load was a 405gr at 1300 ft/s under black powder. Doesn't sound like much but hit an animal with it and it really hammers them. I've loaded my Marlin with a 350gr at about 1850 ft/s. Shot a whitetail deer with it and the devastation was as bad as a .300 Weatherby. You'd think it was like throwing a brick at the deer. But, it entered the right front shoulder, turned 90 degrees and went to the back of him, turned 90 degrees again and I found the bullet just under the hide on the left rear quarter. It looked like somebody shoved a soup can through the poor thing. It didn't drop him instantly like a high velocity round does (I normally use a .270 Weatherby and now a .264 Winchester) but the devastation was every bit as bad...may worse than these two. I can see why "Old Timers" liked them for bear. I bet a hot loaded .45-70 would do well on a Cape Buffalo.

 

[steve white]

Just about any early Mannlicher-Shoenauer rifle.

 

[Slider]

Easy Choice my 1962 Remington 700 in 264 Win Mag!!!

 

[1911Fan]

I wish they still made rifles like this, no plastic or tactical shit.

I read somewhere that building the model 14 was so labor-intensive that they'd have to charge around $3000 each to produce it to the same standards today...back then it was just a working man's rifle that cost $20 new!

 

[MS 9x56]

Seriously these .45-70's must be really something. Everyone says they're incredible. Has anyone actually fired one against a Lott with full power loads?

I had a buddy who had a 45-70 barrel on his encore and he conned me into shooting it. Damn near scalped me. Made my S&W29 in 44 mag seem like a pussycat. My wrist was sore for a week. Not a handgun caliber for sure.

 

[BeeMaa]

Seriously these .45-70's must be really something. Everyone says they're incredible. Has anyone actually fired one against a Lott with full power loads?

You might as well compare the 30-30 to a 300WM. Both .30 caliber, but not even close.

 

[Forrest Halley]

You might as well compare the 30-30 to a 300WM. Both .30 caliber, but not even close.

Which is why I'm wondering if they have ever fired the two side by side. There is an entire group of people that think the Ruger#1 in .45-70 slaps back like the hand of God. So naturally I like to inquire as to any frame of reference they might have with any calibers that produce more significant muzzle energy.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

You're lucky you didn't detach one or both of your retinas?

I still like & hunt with the the .45-70, but load it down. It’ll still take anything here in Montana.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I've got a No. 1 in .45-70. I like it, but it sometimes goes off when you close the lever. I need to get it looked at. Had thought about rechambering it to .450 Nitro or something similar. They are pretty rifles

How light is your trigger set? Smells like sear engagement...
A .45-70 rechambered to .450NE...sounds fun.

 

[buckcurtin]

Left-Handed Winchester Model 70 in 375H&H. Schmidt&Bender 1.5-6X42 Scope. Nothing else even comes close. My hunting days are over but I won't part with it, means to much and so many memories.

 

[xausa]

The double rifle with two sets of different calibre barrels with 20 bore ones as well...that I have in my head......

I think you would enjoy my Krieghoff Teck O/U dpuble rifle with barrel wsets in .458 WM and .375 H&H Magnum, plus shot barrels in 20 gauge 3" Magnum. I took it on all my African hunts and it accounted for elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard., plus plains game such as eland and greated kudu.

 

[rdog]

I read somewhere that building the model 14 was so labor-intensive that they'd have to charge around $3000 each to produce it to the same standards today...back then it was just a working man's rifle that cost $20 new!

I would most likely buy one at that price, my father had a 22 RF Remington pump of the same look in the 1950s do not know model . i have an obsession with the 35 REM been looking for a Marlin but no luck, 30/30 everywhere.

 

[Jim Golden]

How light is your trigger set? Smells like sear engagement...
A .45-70 rechambered to .450NE...sounds fun.

Forrest, I've never actually measured it. It's whatever it is as it comes from the factory. I don't actually have a trigger scale. Guess I should get one. It doesn't feel overly light. I've never had a misfire with it loaded. But I've found if you close the lever with the safety off, it once in a while goes off. I heard somebody say one time the Nitro Express cartridges are too fat and you remove too much meat from the action. But I know J.D. Jones has built some pretty big caliber No. 1's. A .45-90 might be a good compromise. Should still be able to shoot .45-70's in it. I saw one guy that built one in .45-120 and it was fine for black powder but when he did smokeless, he had to pack wads/cornmeal/something in there to keep the powder against the primer. I guess when it lays flat and doesn't fill it up there's too much exposed powder surface area and you can light off too much and over pressure it. I know a gunsmith that helped me build my .375 and he's got every tool under the son. I watched him adjust my trigger with one of those scale....

 

[Bapu]

View attachment 298281 View attachment 298282
Bruce , to be fair , there HAVE been multiple reports about the .458 Winchester Magnum BRNO ZKK 602s causing problems. The .375 HH Magnum BRNO ZKK-602 rifles are flawless gems though. Here is a report on the matter by a PH.
PS : Yours truly is getting an excellent condition BRNO ZKK -602 in .375 HH Magnum next month 

Excellent information. Would you be kind enough to tell me from which book you dough out this information. Thank you.

 

[Ray B]

I find the rifles that I enjoy the most are the ones that have memories in them- not necessarily involving me, but of previous owners, now long gone, but when holding the rifle it's almost as if they are back alive walking up the ridge or pushing through the grass. These include a M70 404 j built by P.O. Ackley and a 1910 John Rigby C model 470NE, both of which have made several trips to Africa.