BFR 45-70 govt

Well its been a nifty few months, I had been saving for a new big bore, after some things that needed fixing cutting into my gun fund I had to push plans back a bit.

I ran into issues in Cali with ppl not being able to order the guns I wanted, I FINALLY found a very good gun shop that told me single actions do not have to pass Cali's "drop test".

I had decided ona SRH in .454, but I have always wanted to own a BFR, and finding out I can it made the choice simple.

I placed an order BFR in 45-70 govt, because I have always wanted one. I'm not really sure why I but its been on my dream list for awhile. I dont think it will kill the deer and hogs and black bears in my area any less than a .454, and like I said this revolver has been on my dream list for a few years, and now that it can happen im not going to pass up the chance to finally own it.

It will take a few weeks for the guy to get it from his distrubuter but thats ok, whats a few weeks anyway.

lots of you have helped me in my search for a new revolver, and I'm happy its finally going to happen. Everyones advice has been wonderful and I look forward to heading out on a hog hunt soon with my BFR.

I have not reloaded in many a year but I'm dusting off the press and ordering supplies (thankfully a local shop can get them pretty quick)

If anyone has experiance with this BFR and could give me advice on a good deer/hog load that would be great.

Congratulations to you, Zack! I've shot a few of those and they have proven inherently accurate! You won't be disappointed! Post up some photos when you get it in your hands!

Congrats!!! And you don't need ANY OTHER REASON to own one, other than you WANTED it!

Enjoy it!!!

Exactly!

want is the only need one must have for a new hammer.

Sounds like fun, and a pretty good reason to add a 45-70 lever action to the stable. I had the choice of one 454 lever to hang out with my M83, you have all kinds of possibilities ;^)

As to the load, might be best to pick up some factory 250's, 300's, 400's and bigger, then shoot them. Figure out if any exceed your pain/fun threshold, then pick that weight of bullet, then the folks here can help you out.

Craig

Let us know when you get it, I had the 7.5" and it was a handfull but I loaded it to 450 Levergun pressures with a 440gr hardcast. That might be more fun than your in the mood for but that gun was a tack driver for what it was. I shot it with both a red dot and a 2x Leupold and it would keep the groups under 3" @ 100yds all day long and it pulled off some moa groups even with the low power glass. It was a brute though, I will say don't mess with the BFR wood grips, stay with the rubber, you will be much happier.

Max, didn't I read where you said the recoil for that one was suprisingly modest ? Kinda fascinated by this caliber in a revolver.

I thought it was modest even loaded hot. The pressure is low and there is just so much gun out front that it tames the recoil pretty significantly. It's a great revolver.

I will def post some pics and a review once I get it in hand =)

Do that...

The one I had was like a great big push. Really not bad recoil at all. I put a set of Pachmar helped a lot.

Accuracy for a revolver is very good. It will put a hurt on anything it hits deer,trees, cars, trucks about anything.

It does run out of ump at about 100yds as far as flight path.

I think I'm leaning more and more towards one of these when I go to look at .45 cals and larger.

you won't regret it! mine shoots mild, off-the-shelf ammo just fine for hunting, It can be loaded to whatever you want, or can handle, and is so well built. Sure the grip and sights aren't the best ever but a very good gun!

Anyone got a suggestion for a good holster?

I just used an uncle mikes belt and bandolier style holster depending on whether it had optics or not.

I too have an old Uncle Mike's rig that will swallow just about any handgun irrespective of size or optic.

yeah those Uncle Mikes rigs aren't fancy but they work and they are durable. I have yet to damage one and I've still got a dozen or so in different sizes. My wifes carry holster for the tore ass pt22 I bought her is even and Uncle Mikes as well as my holsters for my derringers. If it's a handgun they have something that will fit it.

Hopefully getting this paid for today, before I lock in the 45-70 I'm going to have the guy check with his distributer to see if the 475L bfr is something they can get.

I'm finding in Cali, with single actions, its not actaully a matter of not being legal, but most people not being willing to put in the time just to make one sale. But the guy I'm dealing with now seems to want to get long term customer and is willing to try to get what ever I want.

Not actually sure I wont still get the 45-70 either way, but hey I have to start planning my next purchase so why not check lol.

With a little luck the gun will be here and the paper work done by mid March.

Having never seen one in person, what is the problem with the grips and sights? From the pictures the grips look ugly IMO, but are they functional at reducing recoil?

The grip is essentially a Ruger plow handle (the Dragoon -- like the one used on the Super Blackhawk) which some, like me, find to be the wrong profile for heavy recoil (not that the .45/70 kicks all that hard). The rubber grips that you can get from Magnum Research go a long way to "fixing" the profile but they are not nice to look at.

I will buy a set of aftermarket grips for now, maybe someday I can get good custom grips but that will be a bit down the road.

I also dont plan on red lining the thing right away, I will start on the lower end of what I get and work up. I'm sure either cartridge can do more than I want it to at first, but I really doubt I need it to go full throttle for deer and hog around here.

Zack, the rubber grips work fine. Here is a photo of a BFR grip frame and one rubber panel. You can see how it clearly makes the profile more vertical -- sort of like a Bisley.

What kind of loads are you shooting, you and I both like the heavy kickers but my 7.5" with the handloaded 440's pushed to 1650+ is not what I would call a cream puff.

Rod, I'm afraid that I am numb particularly after that .50 Alaskan entered my life......

So I have a question, the store I'm going throw has the 45-70 hot listed for me, so the next one his distributer gets will be mine, but if they can get the 475 Linebaugh faster I would be equally happy with that.

Now I am well aware that at least right now full house linebaugh loads would be to much for me to handle well. But what I'm wondering is if I have a chance to get this revolver would loads in the 480 power range be something reasonable to learn on.

I can handle 44mag just fine, even loaded hot, I'm not recoil shy, but this is would be my first step into the truely big boy league of cartridges.

Just wanting the opinons of those that know more than me =)

The .475 has no flies on it as far as I am concerned. Loaded to potential, yes, it kicks pretty hard, but it doesn't need to be loaded to potential. That said, you can more easily carry it over the .45/70 as well.

Its the smaller cylinder i really like, I certainly would not load it to the max to start out, and im sure the little deer in cali, and are hog population, wont be standing up to either lol.

Both are dream guns of mine, which ever one I dont get now will probably be my next buy.

I guess I will just let it come down to what comes into the store first and be happy as can be with it. Im guessing it will be the 45-70, but you never know

All I can say is I've shot both alot and when loaded to max the 475 is easier to handle. I again mention I was loading my BFR to Marlin pressures at the top of levergun loads.

at some point I will work up to max loads, just might take some time lol

Youll like either of them. Cant really go wrong imho