Which of the above would you choose for big game and why?

hayes4,

If I got the choice I'll take the .375 JDJ. This wilcat brass is easy to make, the bullet selection is great 220 till 270 gr and you can reach with a 14" barrel velocity over 2000 fps for each bullet weight.

I would prefer the 45-70 out a lever rifle with a barrel longer than 18".

The JDJ wilcat are known to be very accurate. In this case the accuracy will be better than 45-70 for mid-ra

The 45/70 is pathetic beyond 150 yards and I had my 375JDJ zeroed for 200 which means I could shoot easily to 250 with it. I have killed black bears over 7 foot and one 8 foot 1 inch square. I also shot a few Brownies with it and I have shot countless wolves and deer with it to 200 yards. I have taken several elk with it, one at 200 yards. I have killed countless African game at 150 yards or better.

The Recoil is much less, significantly less! In My opinion if your hunting under 75 yards the 45/70 might have a bit better Impact reaction on bigger game. If your going to shoot anything over 100 yards the 375JDJ is better and keeps getting better every inch past 150 where the 45/70 is getting worse.

Having had both I would never own another 45/70 without at least a 22" barrel. The 375JDJ with Nosler 260 partitions and the new ballistic tips is in my opinion the ultimate single shot handgun. .375 diameter bullets have amazing killing power and the 2000fps velocity is a good match for most Handgun hunted big game.

I love the 375JDJ and killed hundreds of animals with mine. The 45/70 got old in a hurry with the severe recoil when matched to it's usable power and trajectory. Do yourself a favor and get the 375JDJ forget the 45/70 unless you will never shoot over 100 yards. Even then I would get the 375JDJ!

The .45-70 is quite a sledghammer, but only to a limited range. I would say from years of shooting the .45-70 in a Contender, mostly with 300 gr. X bullets, 150 yards is its limit, 100 yards with heavier bullets. If within the limits of the .45-70, IMO it has no equal in the Contender. But, if you want to reach out and touch something at ranges beyond the reach of the .45-70, then the .375 JDJ is a superior round in every way. Hard hitting, flat shooting, and more than enough ooomph for most situations. In 15 years of hunting with the .45-70 Contender, the farthest shot I have taken at game is 50 yards, and within that range, I don't think the round exists that could kill the game quicker. Within its limitations, it really is Gods chosen caliber.

Thanks for the input.

I would agree with Big Bore on most of it I have shot Deer at 200yds with a Barnes 300gr ssp bullet out of my 45/70. I have a 358 JDJ and it is easier on the shooter then the 45/70 and you can take deer out to 300yds+ with it. You need to think about the hard recoil of the 45/70 it is not for everone.

Paul

Some time ago I posted asking if anyone had experience with the Barnes 300 SSP but no one answered. What accuracy do you get with it and what performance on deer. Did you have any expansion at 200 yds?

I have never owned or shot a .375 and there is not doubt that it is more versitle. But, a throated 45-70 is the most AWESOME power that is readily available in a handgun. Prior to the Encore era, JD Jones said is was the "best 150 yd. sledge hammer available in a handgun."

If I were hunting BIG game (elk, moose, bear), it would usually be my choice. Rosevelt elk in the thick N. West coast regions, scarcely demands shots of more than 150 yds. Moose & Bear are almost always closer than this.

I'm not knocking the .375, it will do it all, but there is something about lighting off 400 gr. Speer which expands to about .75 to .80 caliber in game, or a 500 gr. hard cast that will shoot through a bull moose lengthwise!

The Barnes X bullet needs 1600 fps impact velocity to reliably expand. Barnes states 1500, but my tests in wet newsprint shows expansion below 1600 to be a somewhat iffy afair. The Barnes SSP lead core bullet needs 2000 fps to expand. I was told this by Barnes when trying to determine which bullet to shoot out of the Contender. They told me to go with the X as it would expand at slower velocities. The trajectory of the 300 gr. X bullet, leaving my barrel at 1890 fps, is relatively flat to 200 yards, but the velocity falls below 1600 fps at 175 yards. To be on the safe side, I make my absolute longest range to shoot 150 yards. That was the reasoning behind my 150 yard limit in the above post. I have shot lengthwise through deer with this bullet and have yet to recover a bullet in over two dozen deer shot with it. That 300 gr. X drops them like a ton of bricks and I would not hesitate to use this bullet on anything but the most dangerous game in NA. Hard cast are fine but really give up the range with the heavier bullets. Even the 400 gr. bullets start to drop badly after 125 yards or so due to their blunt shape.

i like the 45-70 in the contender. With 300gr bullets recoil is not bad. With heavy 400's or heaver, plinking is not for me. But for the type of hunting that I do, it is what I like to use to thump stuff hard. Seldom have I felt comfortable shooting much past 150yds when under hunting conditions. Varmits are another thing. If you think that you really will be shooting further, then go with the 375JDJ, but be honest, if you think that you will be shooting less than 150yds, the 45-70 is a good choice. Also, if you are using 300gr bullets, you can use factory ammo. It is about as hot as you would want in the contender. The 400's can be reloaded with a bit more snort than the factory stuff, but it could be used in a pinch. Any way you go, the thumpers are fun.

Wilson
The 300gr ssp is made and listed as a 45/70 bullet. My load will send the 300gr ssp bullet out of a 12" BBL at 1997fps. The deer I shot at 200yds had a exit hole about 2" it run a 50yds and drop over. If you would like my loading data e-mail be I will send it to you.

I agree with JJHack, but he forgot to mention...this .375 barrel sighted at 200 yds with 260 gr. bullets....will shoot 220's amazingly accurate out to about 400 yds with the same zero. Most of my hunting is 100 yds 'give or take', so I have reset the zero for 100. Paul mentioned the .358 Jdj, but didnt say much about it. I recently got a similar barrel(356 Winchester) and I load it with the same loads for the 358 JDJ (358/444) I havent used a crono, but I have data that claims 2200 fps.w/260 gr. bullets. This would give this bullet better expansion at longer range. G.B. at www.graybeardoutdoors.com claims better bullet expansion with the .358 bullets, and that the .375 will get marginal expansion with most bullets. But you have to stop and think....How much expansion do you really need with a .375? Ha Ha. Besides hunting....the .375 Jdj is just a kick in the pants to shoot. The 220's are a lot easier with the recoil, and a lot faster off the line. I cant see much reason to use anything larger than a 220 on ANY North American Continental game. Although, I still have not gotten a kill with it, I really beleive the flatter shooting/recoil freindly 220's will get the job done. Africa and Alaska are another story and I couldnt say. And with the xmp 5744 powder, it can be safely loaded with lighter loads that even your lady can shoot.

I've been using a .416 JDJ for 3 years now and find it to be the best of both worlds.....flat trajectory like the .375 with the heavy bullet punch of a .45-70. For some reason, many people overlook this one.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

I own both. A 45/70 by SSK w/SS barrel and SSK/brake and TSOB. It's X-tremly accurate with factory loads and down right amazing w/hand-loads. Here in Ohio a pistol cartridge must be straigh-walled for deer. That leaves the 375JDJ out.I killed 5 deer with my 45/70 and IS everything it's cracked up to be. I also have a 375JDJ in a 12" and it's magnaported. Just got it a little over a month ago and I got a deer in Pa. @ 150yds with it. Recoil is less than a 45/70 but you still know something BIG just happened when you squezze one off. If I had to choose between one or the other I really would have a difficult time deciding. Like as in earlier posts it's what your going after and what the law allows.

I have the 12" hunter bbl in 45-70. I've loaded it a little on the hot side and got 1670fps with 400 Barnes solids. I also got over 1500fps with 500gn Hornady soft points. Shooting the 500's felt like I was going to rattle the fillings loose from my teeth. I tried the TC duo ring mount and couldn't keep it on the gun. I would imagine a TSOB would be the only way to go. I was using the TC recoil proof illuminated recticle scope and the recticle rotated inside the scope. I don't have a 373JDJ but would think it would be more versitle on everything but extremly huge beasts.