I have been wanting a 45 70 for a while. Waiting on local gun shop to get some Marlins in and just read about the new Rossi rio grand in 45 70. Anyone got a look at one yet? I wonder how strong they will be compared to the Marlin. JC

Marlins have traditionally been forged receivers. Don't know about the Rossi. You can't go wrong with a Marlin but if you can determine if the Rossi is forged, it may be OK.

Went to town and found a Marlin 1895 GBL and brought it home for $529.

You wont be disappointed. Marlins are great guns I have had my 45-70 for several years and it is a great rifle. I also have a 44 mag and would not trade it either. Look for an earlier model. They are my preference. The Marlins are proven tough and durable guns. Good luck.

Just read an article on the Rossi in the recent American Rifleman NRA publication and it shows it is an investment cast receiver. It's a cheaper method of manufacture but not as strong as the forged or CNC machined item. You definitely made the right choice!

Thats a pretty decent price. I too have wanted a 45/70 for a long time and I was set on the GBL, then after further browsing I discovered the SBL and went with that. It is sitting at the cabelas store waiting for me. It was $850, which seems to be the going rate. I was looking for a few months for one and all the shops around me said they didn't have one and all of their suppliers were out. I called Cabelas on a whim and they had two so I went and put 250 down. Now im just waiting for my Cabelas Visa card to come in the mail that I applied for to go pick up the rifle. 1% back in Cabelas credit on all purchases and 2% back on purchases at Cabelas. The hell with airline miles, I want free ammo! Let us know how the GBL shoots. Track down some buffalo bore 45/70 ammo if you want to get the most out of the cartrige

I wanted the sbl pretty bad, they had one for $799, but I would not be able to sneak in a Ruger 1911 before the end of the year, if I went with it. JC

When I used to have my Marlin 45/70,I hand loaded all my ammunition, my most potent round was a 500 grain lead flat point loaded up over a stout charge of IMR 4895. We used a 500 pound bale of card board from a trash compactor for a target that was in front of a bulldozer blade Believe it or not, the bullet penetrated the bale completely and bounced off the bull dozer blade in close to perfect shape! That was my T-Rex, giant mutant alligator load and it was the one that convinced me to get a really thick butt pad installed on it!

I have heard stories like that from other 45/70 guys shooting heavy bullets over a large powder load. I need to start reloading. I have several calibers that are perfect candidtaes for reloaders, 10mm auto, 45/70, and 357 mag. From what I understand all will benefit greatly in terms of cost and performance if I reload them. Its a work in progress. I wish I had a teacher for this one.

the 10mm,45/70 and 38 special/357 magnum are perfect candidates for reloading! One of my "oh wow" loads for the .357 magnum involved a really light 110 grain bullet over a max load of 2400 powder fired out of my six-inch Smith and Wesson. it would light up the entire range. On the other hand, I worked up a 38 special target load that was a 148 or 158 grain double ended wad-cutter loaded over a light charge of unique. It was so accurate that I used to regularly give my target a smiley face at twenty feet.

Ruger makes a lot of investment cast parts . If the part is made with a generous amount of metal ( dimensions large enough ) , investment cast parts are plenty strong .

On the other hand , this is the first I have heard of a Rossi .45-70 .

Another important point is the design of the action . Some designs are stronger than others .

God bless
Wyr

Need a reloading teacher ? Where are you ?

Also , there are hundreads of reloading reloate videos on YouTube .

God bless
Wyr

Im in Illinois about 20 miles west of Chicago. My biggest factor for not reloading at this point is time. I work full time and go to school full time. I have a good job and im still living at home so I can afford nice toys but I don't get nearly as much range time as I would like to.

Way too far away for me to be of any help with one on one reloading instruction .

God bless
Wyr

haha I appreciate it anyway. You dont want to come here. am pretty mechanically inclined so im sure I will figure it out. Maybe ill start in December when im on break from school.

Remington stopped production of the Marlin lever guns because of the quality control problems they were having. There are some very unhappy people out there right now. FRJ

The "quality controll" problem is there wasn't any.
They could have installed the barrel crossways and it would have gotten out of the factory.

Even more economical if you cast your own bullet .

God bless
Wyr

I have owned or do own a couple of 45-70s. An original Winchester 86, a TC contender and an older Marlin. The Marlin has a micro grove barrel and it's by far the most accurate 45-70 I have ever owned. I never saw the need to load it to mag levels. For deer and bear it gets 300-350 grain bullets at moderate speeds using VV N133 powder. For a moose load I stick to mid level loads using a 400 grain flat noise bullet.

I sure hope Remington works out the problems with the Marlin lever guns. Until they do if I needed a lever gun I would find an older Marlin.