A friend of mine just got back from the gun show today and told me he picked up a cowboy rifle that shoots 45x70  ....

All I could think is 'damn' thats a big round.  He said it's pretty light and the bullet grain is around 400 ...

I could'nt find any info on the ammo, and could'nt find anywhere to buy some online either.  Anyone here ever shot one of these, or know of where to look for the ammo.  He has two boxes of ammo now, but  he was hoping I could find a place to order online.

Try looking for .45-70 ammo. It's pretty common. The name derives from the original load a .45 caliber bullet with 70 grains of black powder.

Try:

http://www.wholesalehunter.com/

and look under federal or winchester ceterfire rifle ammuntion.

Their are also company's that make "hot" loads for the 45-70 govt.  But you need a modern 45-70 (like a Marlin).  Two of these that I use is Buffalo Bore (www.buffalobore.com) and Garrett Cartridges (www.garrettcartridges.com).  

If you are just looking for plinking ammo, you should get some cowboy loads.

I have bought a lot of .45 Colt from www.ammodirect.com in the past.  The delivery time is a little slow, but the ammo is quality.   I like the ammo.  And I like the fact that  they charge the "actual" cost of shipping.  So you don't get ripped off by some bizarre S&H scheme.

Ammodirect also sells .45/70 for about 12 bucks a box.

www.ammodirect.com

Do you know what brand and model it is?

I don't know about Florida but around here, you can get it at any sporting goods store. It's a fairly common hunting round. If you can't get it from there, a gun shop should be able to get you what ever you want. Searching for .45-70 and not 45X70 might help like stryfe pointed out.

As far as shooting it goes, it's cool. My dad has one and prefers magnum rounds. I'll tell you what, this is the first firearm that I've handled that has ever given me that inflamed sense of invincibility. I mean anything on the receiving end is chowda. If you like to use magnums, I'd recomend the Pachmyr recoil pad though. It takes the bite off a bit.

I shot it this weekend, it is in fact a new marlin ... so I am pretty sure it will be able to take hot loads.

Thx for the help :)