The 45-70 dates back to as early as 1865 but it wasn’t standardized until 1873 when a U.S. Government contract was issued for several thousand Springfield rifles chambered for the 45-70. At that time it was called the 45-70 Government cartridge.
The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army’s Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873 centerfire rifle. The cartridge is completely identified as the .45-70-405, but was also commonly called the “.45 Government” cartridge in commercial catalogs.
The nomenclature of the time was based on several properties of the cartridge: .45″ caliber bullet diameter, 70 grains of black powder and 405 grain bullet weight.
After the 45-70 Sandy Hook tests of 1879, a new variation of the .45-70 cartridge was produced, the .45-70-500, which fired a heavier 500 grain bullet. The heavier 500 grain bullet produced significantly superior ballistics.
The 45-70 Government cartridge is beyond 130 years since its introduction and sales for this cartridge are now ever growing. Simply put, the 45-70 Government is a wonderful big bore cartridge, chambered in a newer lever action or single shot rifle like the Sharps Model 1874, where loads can be worked up to higher pressure levels it is powerful enough for all of north America’s big game animals.
Here is a Henry Lever Action in .45-70:
The 45-70 Government is a heavy hitter able to handle bullet weights up to 500 grains at speeds up to, depending on the rifle used, 1,800 feet per second (Ruger #1 Single Shot) is the heaviest built action for this cartridge. The recoil is quite substantial from the 45-70 cartridge.
Hornady has been making ammunition that boosts the performance level of many older cartridges such as the .45-70 Government. Hornady’s .45-70 Government 325 grain flex-tip bullet in their LeverEvolution ammunition (shown above) line sports a ballistic coefficient of .230 and is loaded to a velocity of 2,050 feet per second with 3,032 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle of a 24″ rifle barrel.
This gives excellent ballistics for the .45-70 Government out to 250 yards for hunting in north America with a remaining bullet energy of 1,277 foot pounds. Note: Hornady’s patented Flex Tip (FTX) bullets are safe to shoot in tubular magazines rifles.
Ballistics:
| This is a ballistics chart for the 45-70 Government rifle: | |||||||
| Rifle barrel length: 24 Inches. Ammunition: Hornady 250 grain Monoflex bullet. Bullet diameter: .458 inch. Bullet weight: 250 grains. Bullet ballistic coefficient: .175. Rifle zero: 135 yards, 2″ mid-range rise. |
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| Range | Muzzle | 25 yds. | 50 yds. | 75 yds. | 100 yds. | 150 yds. | 200 yds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Velocity: | 2,025 fps. | 1,916 fps. | 1,812 fps. | 1,712 fps. | 1,616 fps. | 1,439 fps. | 1,285 fps. |
| Bullet Energy: | 2,276 ft.lbs. | 2,038 ft.lbs. | 1,822 ft.lbs. | 1,626 ft.lbs. | 1,449 ft.lbs. | 1,149 ft.lbs. | 917 ft.lbs. |
| Bullet Drop: | – 1.5″ | + 0.3″ | + 1.5″ | + 2.0″ | + 1.7″ | – 1.3″ | – 8.6″ |
| This is a ballistics chart for the 45-70 Government rifle: | |||||||
| Rifle barrel length: 24 Inches. Ammunition: Hornady 325 grain FTX bullet. Bullet diameter: .458 inch. Bullet weight: 325 grains. Bullet ballistic coefficient: .230. Rifle zero: 142 yards, 2″ mid-range rise. |
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| Range | Muzzle | 25 yds. | 50 yds. | 75 yds. | 100 yds. | 150 yds. | 200 yds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Velocity: | 2,050 fps. | 1,966 fps. | 1,885 fps. | 1,806 fps. | 1,730 fps. | 1,585 fps. | 1,451 fps. |
| Bullet Energy: | 3,033 ft.lbs. | 2,790 ft.lbs. | 2,564 ft.lbs. | 2,354 ft.lbs. | 2,159 ft.lbs. | 1,812 ft.lbs. | 1,519 ft.lbs. |
| Bullet Drop: | – 1.5″ | + 0.2″ | + 1.4″ | + 2.0″ | + 1.9″ | – 0.6″ | – 6.5″ |
| This is a ballistics chart for the 45-70 Government rifle: | |||||||
| Rifle barrel length: 24 Inches. Ammunition: Remington 405 grain Soft Point bullet. Bullet diameter: .458 inch. Bullet weight: 405 grains. Bullet ballistic coefficient: .281. Rifle zero: 98 yards, 2″ mid-range rise. |
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| Range | Muzzle | 25 yds. | 50 yds. | 75 yds. | 100 yds. | 150 yds. | 200 yds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Velocity: | 1,330 fps. | 1,285 fps. | 1,243 fps. | 1,204 fps. | 1,168 fps. | 1,105 fps. | 1,055 fps. |
| Bullet Energy: | 1,591 ft.lbs. | 1,484 ft.lbs. | 1,389 ft.lbs. | 1,303 ft.lbs. | 1,226 ft.lbs. | 1,099 ft.lbs. | 1,000 ft.lbs. |
| Bullet Drop: | – 1.5″ | + 0.9″ | + 2.0″ | + 1.7″ | – 0.2″ | – 8.7″ | – 24.4″ |
| 45-70 Government Reloading: |
Bullet Diameter: .458 Inch.
Maximum Case Length: 2.105 Inches.
Trimmed Case Length: 2.095 Inches.
Primer Size: Large Rifle.
Maximum Cartridge Overall Length: 2.550 Inches.
You can buy Hornady’s patented Flex Tip 325 grain 45-70 rifle cartridges at a good price by pushing that link.
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