B & R Photography

So, I know for a fact almost everyone in the firearms world has heard of this cartridge. It has been used in Level action rifles for a long time and it is often referred to as one of the hardest hitting thumper cartridges. It was also one of the most sought-after level action cartridges next to things like the .30-30 and some popular pistol cartridges.

The .45-70 was originally developed by the U.S. Army’s Springfield Armory. It was designed to help replace the .50-70 Government cartridge that was designed a few years prior. The .45-70 was designed in 1873. The cartridge was used in multiple rifles and carbines over the years within various USA military branches.

The .45-70 was originally called the 45-70-405 and 45-70-500. This was because of the original two loadings developed for the military. The naming convention pertains to what the loading was. The .45-70-405 was a .45 Caliber cartridge, 70 grains of black powder and a 405gr bullet. The 45-70-500 was simply a heavier projectile.

The .45-70 with a 405-grain projectile is considered adequate for any of the large came in North America included large predators. So long as the shooter is within the correct range as the downside of the .45-70 Government it isn’t flat shooting beyond short range.

Speaking of trajectory let’s take a look at this. When loaded with a 405gr soft point leaving the muzzle at 1330 fps and providing 1590 ft-lbs of energy the projectile will have the following drop when zeroed at 100 yards.

200 Yards: 23.97 inches of drop.

500 Yards: 303.82 inches of drop.

1000 Yards: 1767.10 inches of drop.

(Please note the above trajectory information was pulled from https://gundata.org/blog/post/30-06-ballistics-chart/)

Now look at this trajectory compared to some other cartridges we have talked about its fair to say the .45-70 Government drops like a rock. It really isn’t designed for long range shooting but delivering energy at short ranges. However, something to keep in mind there are modern loadings that would extend its effective range a little and they are typically 300gr or 350gr loadings for modern rifles.

Short Notes.

Official Name: .45-70 Government (.45-70, .45-70-405, .45-70 Springfield and .45-2 1/10 Sharps.)

Year Designed: 1873

Designed by: Springfield Armory/ United States Army

Parent Case: N/A

Rifling Twist Rate: 1 in 18” up to 1 in 22” was seen in my research. (Henry uses a 1 in 20” in their lever guns.)

Maximum Point-Blank Range:        Roughly 125 Yards.

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview of the .45-70 Government and will return next week for our Cartridge of the Week series.

Please remember to always practice safe muzzle control when dealing with firearms and happy shooting.

B