Ruger #1 45-70

[corydd7]

So I have a older gentleman I know from one of my stores and he is selling all his bows and rifles. I already bought two recurves off him and totally comfortable with the price for what I got. 

That said I'm not a huge gun guy (bad thing to admit I know) but want a lever action. Is this more of a shooting gun or hunting gun? 

I read up on a few gun forums and it seems like a well liked gun but can have a bad recoil. I would use this as a backwoods rifle while walking. 

Any insight? He wants $950 with a scope on. No clue of the scope so that's definitely a variable. 

On a side note what an awesome guy. His daughter was with him when we met, so i believed his stories as his daughted nodded and smiled away. If I accumulate his hunting resume by time I'm dead or his age I'm a lucky man. 

[Lawdwaz]

Shooting gun.  Not much for hunt. 

[suburbanfarmer]

Any shooting gun can be used for hunting

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70

[wolc123]

The biggest issue, is that the Ruger # 1 is a single shot, not a lever action.   That said, it is one hell of a rifle, and one that I like shooting on the range.  At my age (57), I would not consider it too much for hunting use.   The reasons for that are: First, it is way too heavy to carry afield; Second, no good reason to limit myself to one shot, when more is legal.

I have no experience with the .45/70. My neighbor had one chambered in .458 Win magnum.  That gun was so heavy, that the felt recoil was significantly less than I get hit with from my Ithaca 16ga featherlight slug-gun.  I could have shot it on the range all day long, were the rounds not so damn expensive. 
 

If you do buy it, I doubt you will notice much recoil, considering how little I felt from that model in a .458 Win magnum.  The .45/70 is probably less than half the muzzle energy, and the ammo should cost a lot less than half as much, and be way easier to find.  
 

If you are young and strong and looking for a one shot challenge and a good workout on your hunts, then go for it.  It is also, in my opinion, one of the best looking rifles ever produced by any manufacturer.    If I were to buy one (mostly as a range gun), the .45/70 would be a good choice in caliber. 
 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by wolc123

[airedale]

Starting with the Ruger number 1 rifle, if it is in nice condition $950 is a very good price. Good minus a scope  Number 1s are going for 1500 to 1600 dollars all day long and some want much more.

The 45-70 cartridge is a classic that has been around since the late 1800s and remains popular to this day largely because it was once a US military cartridge and there are a pile of rifles over the years that have been chambered for it. With the right loads just about anything that walks can be taken with a 45-70.

I have some experience with the cartridge owning a Marlin 1895 lever action and a Thompson Center single shot Encore, have killed three Deer with the Marlin and can say it will do the job.

As for being a single shot I personally do not find that to be a handicap, many moons ago my first hunting gun was a Savage single shot 22 and that rifle took it's share of small game. Today I am a big fan of single shots and own several including a couple of Number 1s. The last two Deer I have taken have been with single shots and down through the years have taken quite a few others.

The Ruger Number one is a Rifle that exudes class, there are not many firearms that can equal it's classic lines and look.

Al

Edited March 5, 2022 by airedale

[Lawdwaz]

8 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

Shooting gun.  Not much for hunt. 

A .243 is a hunting gun to shoot.  

[Daveboone]

As someone else mentioned, the #1 is a falling block single shot. It has a lever which operates the lowering of the block for loading/unloading. If you wanted a repeating rifle...lever action, not what you want, even though it is a very fine rifle.

Any cartridge can be shot at the range or hunted with pretty much. That said, the 45-70 has a very heavy recoil especially in a relatively light rifle like the #1. It is an expensive round to shoot (bigger the bullet, the more expensive in simplest terms).  Currently...like with many rounds, you will have difficulty finding rounds for it, but not historically.

I have a 45-70 (Browning single shot, quite similar to yours) which is one of my favorite rifles. That said, once sighted in it stays in the gun closet, comes out for a few shots before a hunt (it is my bear rifle and has counted for four) and for the hunt, then goes back in. I reload for it, but it is difficult to load it down for any real "comfort" zone, and my loads actually are quite stiff. 

It is a fine rifle for what sounds like a good price (sight unseen) but if you want a lever action for the range (so I am thinking likely a 30-30) you may be happier to keep looking.

[wolc123]

41 minutes ago, airedale said:

Starting with the Ruger number 1 rifle, if it is in nice condition $950 is a very good price. Good minus a scope  Number 1s are going for 1500 to 1600 dollars all day long and some want much more.

The 45-70 cartridge is a classic that has been around since the late 1800s and remains popular to this day largely because it was once a US military cartridge and there are a pile of rifles over the years that have been chambered for it. With the right loads just about anything that walks can be taken with a 45-70.

I have some experience with the cartridge owning a Marlin 1895 lever action and a Thompson Center single shot Encore, have killed three Deer with the Marlin and can say it will do the job.

As for being a single shot I personally do not find that to be a handicap, I am a big fan of single shots and own several including a Number 1. The last two Deer I have taken have been with single shots and down through the years have taken quite a few others.

The Ruger Number one is a Rifle that exudes class, there are not many firearms that can equal it's classic lines and look.

Al

Were any of those deer struck on the shoulder.  If so, how extensive was the meat damage  ?

I don’t see a lot of meat damage, on deer that have been struck on the shoulder with relatively slow and heavy shotgun slugs.  I would think that a 45-70 might be similar in that respect, unlike a fast little screamer like Larry’s .243, which turns much of the front half of the deer into grape jello. 

I use the shoulder blade shot most often when a group of legal deer is in range. If the leader is “anchored” with one, the others (especially the offspring) usually stick around. I also like it when tracking conditions are bad and/or when hunting near others or near unhuntable land.

Edited March 5, 2022 by wolc123

[airedale]

4 hours ago, wolc123 said:

Were any of those deer struck on the shoulder.  If so, how extensive was the meat damage  ?

I never purposely shoot for the shoulder Wolc, I would say the vast majority of my shots on Deer of the typical heart lung variety and with those type of shots not much edible meat is wasted. The ammo I used out of the 45-70 for Deer was factory 300 gr hps, not being driven at very high velocity the expansion is not violent but their large diameter and weight account for a good size hole with complete pass throughs giving good killing performance. A couple fell pretty much where they stood but one heart shot buck sprinted a heck of a distance before he went down, dead on his feet but did not know it.

Al

[wolc123]

2 hours ago, airedale said:

I never purposely shoot for the shoulder Wolc, I would say the vast majority of my shots on Deer of the typical heart lung variety and with those type of shots not much edible meat is wasted. The ammo I used out of the 45-70 for Deer was factory 300 gr hps, not being driven at very high velocity the expansion is not violent but their large diameter and weight account for a good size hole with complete pass throughs giving good killing performance. A couple fell pretty much where they stood but one heart shot buck sprinted a heck of a distance before he went down, dead on his feet but did not know it.

Al

Between 1/4 and 1/2 of my shots on deer with guns are intentionally at the shoulder, for reasons mentioned above.  I really have to try and hit that shoulder blade, from the stand I have hunted on southern zone opening day, the last (4) years.  It is on the edge of a swamp.  Dragging carcasses out of that swamp is not much fun.  
 

I just missed the shoulder blade on a smaller 2.5 year old buck two years ago, and nearly had a heart attack dragging him out.  He was double lunged, and there was minimal meat damage, but the 100 yard drag by myself out of that swamp was horrific.

Two years before that, I hit a larger buck (who was standing knee deep in the swamp) too far back with (2) 12 ga Hornady sst slugs.  The first passed thru, just under the spine, and the second right thru it, paralyzing his back legs.  I finished him with a point blank high neck shot. This was a heavy buck and I made no attempt to drag him out of that swamp alone.  I called my brother, who brought back a big plastic sled, and we used that to “float” him out. 

 

I thought I would loose much of the back straps from that one, but was pleasantly surprised to just loose a couple thin chops, where the slugs passed thru.  I did loose the neck roast from the finisher though.  He was out a bit over 100 yards for the first two shots.  I am thinking that a 45-70 would have been similar, as far as meat damage, to those 12 ga sst sabots.  Unfortunately, I am in a shotgun only zone, so I will never find out on my own, at home anyhow.  

 

[G-Man]

Falling block, excellent gun can work up hot hand loads for itnand really get maximum production from a 45/70

[Daveboone]

The amount of meat damage from the 45-70 is directly related to how much bone you bust up. Generally, the big fat moving slugs do not have much hydrostatic damage like you might find with a .270 or similar, It is closer to the damage from a round ball from a ML.

[corydd7]

I appreciate all the input. In the end after reading the replies I think I'm headed another direction. I think the Henry 30-30 will be my choice. 

 

https://www.rkguns.com/henry-30-30-win-lever-action-rifle-h009.html

[wolc123]

12 minutes ago, corydd7 said:

I appreciate all the input. In the end after reading the replies I think I'm headed another direction. I think the Henry 30-30 will be my choice. 

 

https://www.rkguns.com/henry-30-30-win-lever-action-rifle-h009.html

Wise choice, for a “backwoods carry” gun, and has probably killed more deer in NY than any other caliber.  I bought a Marlin 30/30 about 4 years ago, and still haven’t got a shot at a deer with it.  It sure is a pleasure to carry, compared to the big heavy Ruger 77 30/06 that I used to lug around.   

This damn smart phone cost me a great chance a big Adirondack buck with it on northern zone opening day two years ago.  The bastard snuck in to 15 yards, on wet leaves, while I was on this site.  Squirrels don’t snap twigs is the most important lesson I learned that day, along with leaving the phone in my pocket, when the leaves are wet.  
 

The biggest reason I haven’t got a shot at a deer with it, is that usually I don’t have a buck tag left when I could use it, and there are no antlerless permits available where I hunt with it up north.  I would love to see first hand, how a 150 gr 30/30 bullets perform on a deer.  
 

One of these years, we will get snow up north on opening weekend, which makes it at least 10 times easier to get a buck up there regardless of what rifle you carry.  The last few years, I punched my buck tag at home, in the southern zone, before they got any decent snow up north.  

[corydd7]

11 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Wise choice, for a “backwoods carry” gun, and has probably killed more deer in NY than any other caliber.  I bought a Marlin 30/30 about 4 years ago, and still haven’t got a shot at a deer with it.  It sure is a pleasure to carry, compared to the big heavy Ruger 77 30/06 that I used to lug around.   

This damn smart phone cost me a great chance a big Adirondack buck with it on northern zone opening day two years ago.  The bastard snuck in to 15 yards, on wet leaves, while I was on this site.  Squirrels don’t snap twigs is the most important lesson I learned that day, along with leaving the phone in my pocket, when the leaves are wet.  
 

The biggest reason I haven’t got a shot at a deer with it, is that usually I don’t have a buck tag left when I could use it, and there are no antlerless permits available where I hunt with it up north.  I would love to see first hand, how a 150 gr 30/30 bullets perform on a deer.  
 

One of these years, we will get snow up north on opening weekend, which makes it at least 10 times easier to get a buck up there regardless of what rifle you carry.  The last few years, I punched my buck tag at home, in the southern zone, before they got any decent snow up north.  

Yeah I have the same tag problem Wolc. Also I agree on some early snow helping out for ADK hunting. Thanks for your input.

Lawdwaz also thanks a ton your first comment was what I was looking for. Now all I need to do is find one lol

 

[Kmartinson]

12 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

A .243 is a hunting gun to shoot.  

Fast and flat shooting. You need to make good shots but great gun.