Thread: 45-70 govt vs 500 smith and wesson

Quote: Understood. The 45-70 is one of those cartridges loaded to lower pressures. I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but I believe that standard factory smokeless 45-70 loads use less pressure than the tropical Express loads. The point of my previous post was to point out that just because the Express cartridges used a lower pressure than the standard it didn't mean they were weak Of course they are not Maverick...

Quote: When comparing straight on ballistics from reloading books, etc, don't forget to calculate for the longer barrel of the .500 rifle you are looking at. Most all load data is for an 8 3/8" barreled revolver, or maybe 10" test barrel, not a 16-22" rifle barrel... The data that I used was for a 15" T/C barrel, I couldn't find any longer bbl for the 500S&W, though I doubt that velocity...

Quote: A .500 S&W Magnum is a modern version of the old .50-70 and if you choose to load with rifle powders when shooting in a rifle you will exceed the capabilities of the older .50-70. The .50-70 sucked in 1870 and it sucks now. There's a reason it was replaced by the .45-70 after only a few years of service in the military, and never gained any popularity outside the military. The .45-70 lasted as a military round until the...

Quote: Originally Posted by SharpsDressedMan When comparing straight on ballistics from reloading books, etc, don't forget to calculate for the longer barrel of the .500 rifle you are looking at. Most all load data is for an 8 3/8" barreled revolver, or maybe 10" test barrel, not a 16-22" rifle barrel....... Excellent point. Anyone have a formula for this? __________________ You need to ease up with that Jihad...

Understood. The 45-70 is one of those cartridges loaded to lower pressures. I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but I believe that standard factory smokeless 45-70 loads use even less pressure for less performance than the tropical Express loads. The object of my previous post was to point out that just because the Express cartridges used a lower pressure than the standard it didn't mean they were weak

ok sounds like the 45-70! I was more leaning toward this for these reasons such as handloading etc because I would like to get into it very soon. I just wanted to see what everyone thought. Thanks guys!

I agree the only reason to get a .500 rifle is if you already have a .500 revolver. But you could get a BFR in 45-70.... 45-70 is much more versatile and is one of the easiest calibers to handload.

The stop/kill a horse thing is interesting. I would think that any round that hit the horse hard enough that he didn't want to carry a rider anymore would be sufficient enough for the task. It wouldn't necessarily need to kill the horse, only stop him.

45-70, not even a choice really... Much more options in factory and with reloading it breathes fire or rolls them out the bore. __________________ "It's better to be the stomper than the stompee"

When you shoot a .45-70, you aren't just shooting any old cartridge, you are shooting history.