[Louie Rocco]

Is the 45-70 Govt a viable long distance round or do they not compare to the FMJ options? What a good round to start getting longer ****s. Nothing crazy normal gun range distance, I have a 45/70 Henry but it’s a great brush gun. It’s the brass receiver , in nit much for shiny but these rifles are sturdy in your hands.

 

[scattershot]

They used to shoot some pretty long range matches back in the day, but they didn’t use brush guns.

 

[Louie Rocco]

They used to shoot some pretty long range matches back in the day, but they didn’t use brush guns.

Right, of course. What do you recommend for a good “ starter “ rifle in this field , just for fun no comp.

 

[scattershot]

Well, for inexpensive shooting, you might see if you can find a used H&R single shot. My personal choice would be a Henry single shot, and from there you could go up to a Sharps replica or a Winchester Hi Wall for more money.

 

[MarkCO]

Are you looking to shoot original Black Powder designated cartridge's, or a good caliber to shoot longer ranges?

 

[Louie Rocco]

Are you looking to shoot original Black Powder designated cartridge's, or a good caliber to shoot longer ranges?

A good caliber to shoot longer ranges.

Well, for inexpensive shooting, you might see if you can find a used H&R single shot. My personal choice would be a Henry single shot, and from there you could go up to a Sharps replica or a Winchester Hi Wall for more money.

I have seen the sharps replicas I like them very much. I’ll check some of your ideas out thanks . Henry is shut down for manufacturing my gun shop told me . Don’t k no ow if it’s covid or something worse . I hope they aren’t done ?

 

[MarkCO]

A good caliber to shoot longer ranges.

Per this sub-forum's focus, that is over 600 yards for a CF. There are a lot of cartridges and I could type for hours on all of them. Typically, we are looking at .24 Caliber to .30 caliber. Cost, recoil, reload, distance, paper, steel or game animals all factor in.

Traditionally, we had .2432Win, .260Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, a few 7s and .308Win, mostly based on .308 (short) length cases for long range. ELR was the magnums and 1,000 yards plus. Today, there are two groups "Creedmoor" (CM short Action) and "Precision Rifle Cartridge" (PRC Long Action) that are dominant. The ARC will probably be popular soon as well.

For fun, low recoil and cost, you are going to want a 6.5ish cartridge. Can be done with .22 and 6mms, but shorter barrel life, or 7mm to .30 caliber but more cost and recoil due to bullet weight. I have a few in each segment, and what I grab more than anything else is a 6.5mm.

In 6.5mm, you can go with a .260Rem, .260AI, 6.5x55 Sweede, 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 PRC or on of the more specialty rounds like 6.5x47. 10 years ago, most of the top PRS shooters shot 6.5/7mm or .308. Now most shoot one of about 6 or 7 different 6mms. Barrels last on the order of 1500 to 2000 rounds and they spin up a new one.

 

[Louie Rocco]

Per this sub-forum's focus, that is over 600 yards for a CF. There are a lot of cartridges and I could type for hours on all of them. Typically, we are looking at .24 Caliber to .30 caliber. Cost, recoil, reload, distance, paper, steel or game animals all factor in.

Traditionally, we had .2432Win, .260Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, a few 7s and .308Win, mostly based on .308 (short) length cases for long range. ELR was the magnums and 1,000 yards plus. Today, there are two groups "Creedmoor" (CM short Action) and "Precision Rifle Cartridge" (PRC Long Action) that are dominant. The ARC will probably be popular soon as well.

For fun, low recoil and cost, you are going to want a 6.5ish cartridge. Can be done with .22 and 6mms, but shorter barrel life, or 7mm to .30 caliber but more cost and recoil due to bullet weight. I have a few in each segment, and what I grab more than anything else is a 6.5mm.

In 6.5mm, you can go with a .260Rem, .260AI, 6.5x55 Sweede, 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 PRC or on of the more specialty rounds like 6.5x47. 10 years ago, most of the top PRS shooters shot 6.5/7mm or .308. Now most shoot one of about 6 or 7 different 6mms. Barrels last on the order of 1500 to 2000 rounds and they spin up a new one.

Thanks for the info. Availability of ammo or a model right now biggest concern. The 45-70 eats my shoulder up on a bench but is ok standing. I guess it woukd be nice to have something with less recoil then that.