45/70 for white tail deer.

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The Remington 405gr trapdoor loads will kill just fine. they have that added benefit of being easier on your shoulder than the 325gr stuff. Availability might be better too.

My first time to shoot a .45-70 was with the 325gr... "stuff":cuss:... 5rds and I was done. 405's are much better.

Depending on your state's regulations and what terrain you intend to hunt in, a 405gr Lazercast over 12grs Unique, a pleasant handload to shoot... depending on distance, it could be a fine deal for a deer. (I wouldn't try it in my state because of the requirement for expanding bullets, or at least bullets not designed not to expand.)
 
I haven’t shot any deer with one but I have shot a bunch of hogs with them over the years. A 405 grain bullet, even subsonic will kill them, just fine. I would have zero problems shooting a whitetail with the same. You can spice them up to get flatter trajectory or even bruise your shoulder if you have a decent (not antique) action.

There are lots of folks that hunt deer with .223 (I’m not one of them) and even compared to a 70 grain .224 bullet, the 405 comes “pre expanded”.

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Deer aren’t so hard to kill. If you’re killing deer as practice for larger animals, sure, use a true big game bullet, but when it comes to killing deer, a bullet designed for killing deer shouldn’t surprise you when it kills deer.

The Hornady Factory Leverevolution load has worked for me. Factory loaded 325FTX leaving an 18.5” stainless Guide Gun at 1795fps, ran into this buck just a few feet beyond 250 yards, laying him down within 5 yards. Getting there takes some doing, compensating for 30” of drop, but it left a beautiful trail of carnage through both lungs and the heart.

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It certainly groups well enough in mine for the job I ask of it.

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That's a freaking stud you killed, Holly cow where did you kill that buck. And it looks like we have the same rifel. What's the scope you have?
 
That's a freaking stud you killed, Holly cow where did you kill that buck. And it looks like we have the same rifel. What's the scope you have?

Any time anyone asked my uncle where he killed any of the bucks hanging in his shop, he would always answer the same, “in the woods.” :rofl:

That’s one of a handful of big Kansas whitetails I’ve been fortunate to eat, taken on my own property, about 3 miles from the house I grew up in, and about 400 yards from where we’re building our house currently.

In that picture, the Marlin was sporting a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40mm, with a simple Duplex reticle, which I’ve since replaced with a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x40mm, for the side parallax focus upgrade, and a bit more zoom for longer shooting.
 
The 325gr FTX “can” be way too much for whitetail. I hunted with them for years. Killed a ton of deer. And ruined a lot of meat. But if you don’t like tracking, the FTX is your girl. Here’s a buck I shot a few years ago with one. Bear in mind, this is the ENTRANCE wound. I think those hollow points you ordered will do a fantastic job.
 

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Any time anyone asked my uncle where he killed any of the bucks hanging in his shop, he would always answer the same, “in the woods.” :rofl:

That’s one of a handful of big Kansas whitetails I’ve been fortunate to eat, taken on my own property, about 3 miles from the house I grew up in, and about 400 yards from where we’re building our house currently.

In that picture, the Marlin was sporting a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40mm, with a simple Duplex reticle, which I’ve since replaced with a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x40mm, for the side parallax focus upgrade, and a bit more zoom for longer shooting.
Lol that's right in the woods. Always wanted to hunt Kansas not looking to good lol great deer good luck this year.
 
The 325gr FTX “can” be way too much for whitetail. I hunted with them for years. Killed a ton of deer. And ruined a lot of meat. But if you don’t like tracking, the FTX is your girl. Here’s a buck I shot a few years ago with one. Bear in mind, this is the ENTRANCE wound. I think those hollow points you ordered will do a fantastic job.
I've also ordered some Remington Core lokt 405 gr. Soft point just to see what my Marlin 1895 likes. Heck I need to just start reloading for it also but haven't found the bullets yet.
 
Just got a Marlin 1895 GS in 45/70 18.5" barrel. Never had or hunted with one, so I was wondering if anyone had any information about any good Factory load's y'all have luck with. What's the best bullet weight. YES! I know every gun is different and what yours like mine may not. But I hear the Hornady LE is no good. But have you used it if so let me know what works best for you all. Thanks
Literally just grab any ammo off the shelf. People kill deer with pointy sticks flying very slowly. They kill deer with varmint rounds. Any round you get for a 45/70 will work just fine. Whitetail aren’t some mythical super animal with armored hide, redundant organs and super fast clotting blood.
 
Literally just grab any ammo off the shelf. People kill deer with pointy sticks flying very slowly. They kill deer with varmint rounds. Any round you get for a 45/70 will work just fine. Whitetail aren’t some mythical super animal with armored hide, redundant organs and super fast clotting blood.
Ahhhhh BUT if they sense they're being hunted with a buffalo gun, will they feel it's just unfair and fail to appear to the party?
 
I've also ordered some Remington Core lokt 405 gr. Soft point just to see what my Marlin 1895 likes. Heck I need to just start reloading for it also but haven't found the bullets yet.
My 1895 loves 350gr Hornady RN over H-4198 in Starline brass. I haven’t been able to recover one yet to see bullet performance/expansion. But I haven’t lost an animal. I know big hogs don’t to fair to well when hit with it.
 
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