I have a Ruger #1-S-C with a 26" barrel in 45-70, and I may end up with another soon. These have the same barrel contour as the 1-H tropical in 375 H&H, but 2" longer. Weight is a little over 8lbs. Is the 1 in 20" twist, that these barrels have, sufficient for the 450 Nitro? The Boddington 450 Nitro is 2" shorter and 3/4lb lighter, but I think the twist is faster. The 450 BPE sounds interesting, but the 45-70 can exceed that performance, with better accuracy likely. I guess, like most of my hair-brain ideas, that a conversion to 450 Nitro doesn't make much sense and is superfluous. Thanks
Matt

How about your .45-70 throated out to gain a good bit more case capacity? This might gain you all the power you want in the Ruger. I did this with several guns, one being a Baikal Double Rifle in .45-70. Reason for this, it kept the pressures within the gun limits, but gave me a gain in velocity and power.

Or-r-r-r, Rechamber for the .45-90, etc., for the gain you want.

Save a chunk of $$$ and just do a 45-110 or 120. The 120 has a 3 1/4" case, and modern loads for the 450 NE will work. Brass is a lot cheaper as are dies. The rim on the 120 is a lot thicker than the 450, iirc.

The 1:20" twist should work fine for anything 550gr or lighter.

Take a look at Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing for current prices.

i would suggest the 45-120 nitro -- load data on ammoguide.com - and yeah, this is another jeffe'ism for AR .. to NOT have the "hot 45/70" thingie

why the 45-120? several VERY practical reasons

0: the ruger #1/#3 is THE basis for hot loaded 45/70s

1: case rim is identical to 45/70 - ZERO gunsmithing for this part

2: very VERY simple chamber conversion .. might be the easiest conversion on the planet

3: CHEAP dies (as compared to 450 nitro)

4: CHEAP brass http://www.huntingtons.com/sto...17321&cat=271&page=3
http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...cm_vc=ProductFinding

5: TOUGH high quality brass -see norma above

6: HUGE, amazingly impressive cases
if you MUST
7: can shoot 45/70 in a pinch

8: case is almost the same capacity as the 450 ne

9: if you do it, then MUST have a 450 ne .. then you haven't lost anything

so, 10 great reasons .. and the only tools you or your smith needs to buy/rent is a 45-120 reamer and a sharpie

Matt,
Depending on your target velocity and pressure objectives, sticking with the extension of .45-70 to 45-90, -110-120 should be cheap and very effective.
In my 9.5 pound Miroku/Winchester 1886 .45-90 I am reaching 2150 with 450 grain bullets; 2600 with 300 grainers and so on. If you want more velocity, make it longer to 110, 120.
The 45-90 is a proven killer of ele and cape buffs, but if you are after something bigger, you can do it.

Matt,
Something interesting for you on the modern 45-70 in Africa. You may know the author:
http://www.wideopenspaces.com/...n-45-70-africa-pics/

Now you are going to want one of those removable scopes for looong shots!

To use the 45-70 barrel it'll need to be set back a thread or two to take care of the thick rim recess it has now. The 450 has a thinner rim as stated above.

The 458 mag. is a better choice IF you really need a 450 NE. That's a simple re-chamber and the 450 will clean up the 458 chamber.

Mike,

yesssss, but...

There are three larger capacity cases on the 45 Basic case. Besides, when you drag out one of those 3 1/4" cases with about an inch of paper patched 540gr bullets people take notice.

Thanks for all the advice/ info fellas!
Matt

A blast from my past: Love those Ruger No.1's.
Just in case this rerun might save someone some time:

Yep 1:20" twist Ruger No. 1 45-70 Govt. makes a great 45-120-3.25", same "Thick Rim," could be reamed with a few twists by hand, no barrel setback needed, no extractor/ejector work needed.
Slower twist better for traditional lead bullets, as noted above.

The 1:14" twist Ruger No. 1 .458 WinMag or Lott is the better choice for rechambering to the 450 NE 3.25" "Thin Rim" of 1898.

The original twist spec for the 450 NE 3.25" as well as the 450/400 NE 3" was 1:15",
probably why they were so effective from the get-go with the high tech, then-new, NE heavy bullets of circa 1898 at NE velocity.

No barrel setback needed for that conversion either, as pointed out above, just some ejector re-fitting from belted to rimmed cartridge,
and reshaping of the tang safety button so ejected cartridges fly free.

Rusty McGee did this one with one hand tied behind his back:











A little glass bedding around the tang and a couple of brass pins through the laminated wood grip area should be a good thing.

I have a Boddington Ruger #1 in 450 Nitro and it's quite a beast. The gun only weighs about 7.5 pounds and tosses the 500gr Hornady RN out at over 2400fps. 300's will do 3050fps.

I'm not a 45/70 expert, but I don't think it's even remotely in that ballpark.

Tony