Quote History Quoted:
Do not shoot heavy loads in the 45-70 without a shoulder pad.
Do not shoot heavy loads in the 45-70 from the bench.
Do not shoot more than a couple of heavy rounds of 45-70 in one session.
If you ignore these axioms, have your wife take a picture of your bruised body when you get home from the range and post it here so the next guy will believe.
I'm not kidding.
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I didn't listen. (But didn't completely disregard.)
I've been absolutely enamored with my Henry 45-70. It's becoming a favorite of my collection. I've shot a ton of stuff through it, from Garrett Cartridges of Texas, Buffalo Bore, DoubleTap, Federal, and Hornady.
I found a good deal on a few cases of Hornady 325gr (NOT a hot load) so I've been shooting that recently to save coin.
(My favorite two loads are from Garrett, but they're pricey)
Anyway, I went through 40 rounds of the stuff, and thought:
"You know you've only shot this puppy standing. You should shoot some from the bench. Don't be a little girl, commit to shooting your last 20 round box from the bench."
Hammer fell on the first cartridge. Wow. What a difference in recoil. Felt recoil, while subjective, felt almost twice as much as standing shots. I only did 10 from the bench and finished the box standing.
I cannot imagine what that would have felt like with hot loads. (Well, I can, but you get my point.)
Clearly, I like the gun enough and find the recoil decent enough to bring three boxes of 45-70 to the range. That being said, the difference is dramatically different when bench shooting.
I'm glad my Buffalo Bore and Garrett stayed at home today, and I am re affirming to the firearms community RugRat's warning was valid.