I was just willed a Ruger #3 45-70 rifle. This leads to a couple of questions. First of all, the gun is in perfect condition. Bore is immaculate, trigger crisp, finish 99% or better. One very minor ding in the buttstock. This is an older gun, with an adjustable trigger.
What the heck would this thing be worth, or is it worth keeping? I quess I could use it for deer & wild boar, but am not at all familiar with the round, or its capabilities. All I know is what I read in reloading manuals.
If anyone has some real world experience with this rifle, I would appreciate some feedback. Thank you all

I had a 4X Leopold [Spelling questionable] on a #3 in 45-70 I had. It went through a fire. I took it to a local gunshop to have it re-blued at the factory. He said it went to Ruger but, let some local IDIOT re-blue it. It needed to be polished because of water rust on the barrel, it was not. The barrel was not re-crowned.
It shot a "good" 3 inch group at 100 yards with a 300 Hornady HP loaded with 22 gr. of 2400. Around her, in Virginia, you do not need an elephant load for Whitetail Deer. I was able to sell it, in that condition for $250.

Your number three is an awesome gun and in the condition you mention should bring 375-400 bucks maybe more if you find someone who really want one. If you hunt deer and pigs and the ranges will keep you under 150 yards or so, keep it! factory ammo will push a 300 grain hollowpoint to around 1800 fps or you can get the 400 grain stuff at around 1300 fps. You can also buy "Cowboy" action ammo that will push lead bullets of 300-400 grains at reduced velocities that are easier to shoot and will still kill deer and pigs at reasonable ranges.
If you are a reloader and like pain, you can load the 45-70 up to 450 Marlin balistics in your VERY STRONG ruger action. You can easily get to 23-2400 fps with a 300 grain bullet. I personally use a 300 grain cast bullet at 2200 fps, it is deadly accurate and will let me hit reliably out to 200 yards. Anything you hit with that load will know it.

regards and good luck,
Graycg

I've seen #3s in 45-70 here in AZ go for $450 in as clean a condition as you describe.
The #3 is a discontinued model that can only gain in collector status as the years go by. I've been kicking myself ever since I sold mine in 45-70, but I needed the cash to get something I thought I wanted more.
See if your local library has a copy, oor if they can get a copy through their loaner program, of Paul Matthew's book, "Forty Years With the 45-70." This gentleman had many rifles in 45-70 and his favorite was a Ruger #3.
Handloading for the gun can be fun. Try a 500 gr. bullet at 1600 FPS from that light little carbine and you'll understand the meaning of pain. Masochists only need apply. Seriuosly though, it wasn't that bad, but does take getting used to.
Actually, my favorite load was 28.0 gr. of SR-4759 with a 1.0 gr. dacron wad under the Lyman #457122 hollow point bullet. Bullet weighed 330 gr. Very accurate in the #3 and accurate in a Ruger #1 and a Marlin 1895 I have, all 45-70s of course. Velocity is about 1600 FPS, and recoil is mild enough that you can shoot a few without a sore shoulder.
If it were me, I'd keep the gun. The fact that someone left it to you means they thought enough of you that you keep it as a rememberance of them.
Keep the gun.
Paul B.

I am a big fan of ruger #1ss but a lot of Ruger barrels are junk as they are oversize I have a 25-06 and a .223 that will not shoot accurately w/factory loads but shoot well with flat based bullets that expand when fired and make contact w/the rifling.They are not all that way but many are and it is not predictable by when they were manufactured as far as I know because my rifles are of early and later issued serial numbers.I have a .280 77 manufactured about 6 years ago that will shoot anything well.w/regards

Thanks for the help guys. This, of course, opens up a whole new set of questions. For instance, what is considered to be good accuracy with this round? Am I supposed to try for M.O.A., or is "Minute of Deer" more reasonable? My background keeps forcing me to try for a 5 round, caliber size hole at 100. At what point should I consider a load for this round to be "accurate"? I realize that there are a whole bunch of variables to take into consideration, but what is a reasonable goal?
Sorry if I am being a pain in the ass, but I have zero, zilch, none, no, experience with either this round or rifle.
Thanks again

I think you gun is a bit more valuable than some posters here realize. Number 3's in the condition that you describe are listed on Guns America and Auction Arms for more than NIB number 1's. I have seen them listed at $650 plus.

I have a number 1 in 45-70 and since finding a load that it really likes I have left my .308 in the gunsafe.

I am currently using a Barnes 350 grain SP X bullet over 50 grains of H4198. Recoil is noticeable but not excessive, although it may be a little more noticeable in your lighter number 3. Accuracy runs around 1.25 MOA. I promise you will be pleased with the results. The 45-70 is a great old caliber. Still around after 125 years.

Good luck.

[ 11-24-2003, 16:57: Message edited by: crowrifle ]

I have had a No. 3 in 45-70 for about 15 years. It wears a Weaver K2.5 scope and kills deer like the hammer of Thor. My rifle is very accurate with either Jacketed or cast bullets. Kicks a mite.

The .45/70 is known as an inherently accurate round, and from a strong falling block single-shot, it should do very well. I have a No.1 in .45/70, and it will do 1" for three shot groups using 400 grain Barnes Original semispitzer bullets. I have never used factory ammo in it. A very well-known and popular "standard" .45/70 load for hunting uses a 400-405 grain bullet like the Speer or Remington with 53 grains of IMR 3031. This gives between 1750-1850 FPS MV, and kills anything, like a Peterbilt 18 wheeler!

My No. 3 is a .30/40, and is a consistent 1 MOA shooter with handloaded ammo!

[ 11-28-2003, 01:25: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

Gentlemen:
Just had the thing out to the range to see what it would do. Mounted a red dot sight on it, and fired Winchester 300 gr. factory loads. I don't have any dies for it yet. To make a long story short, it held 1 1/2" three shot groups for as long as wanted to shoot. Not too shabby. Easily minute of deer or boar.
Eldeguello, thanks for the help. We appear to have the same type of background, so I will take your advice to heart. The Winchester loads I used were no more powerful than my muzzle loader. Not exactly what I am looking for.

Tweeds, I have never had much accuracy from my .45/70 using 300-grain bullets. Yours did better than mine with the 300's, but I never tried the Winchester loads. In fact, I have yet to fire ANY KIND of factory load in mine!

I have a load for my No. 1 in .45/70 that is very definitely out of the muzzleloader class, but I seldom fire it because of the damage it does to ME!! But, I'd use in on Brownies and other dangerous varmints. It fires the 400-grain Barnes at a MV of 2270 FPS, and has 57 ft/lb of recoil.

One of my best loads uses the Lyman-Ideal Gould 330-grain cast HP bullet at 2200 FPS. I make mine with hardened base sections and soft noses for expansion, and use them with an inverted gascheck on top of the powder, since the bullet is a plain-base design which won't stand the pressures otherwise.

Good luck with your No. 3! I think you'll get a lot of fun out of it!!

Egads! That is one serious .45/70 load. It's only about 200 fps under a .458 Win, and it'll put a serious hurting on anything shot with it.

The 45-70 was our military round from 1873-1892. As soon as it was introduced it became popular for hunting and target shooting and is still used for this. My 1885 Browning easily gets 1" groups with factory loads, a target gun would be good for 1/2".The 300 factory loads are very effective on deer (mine just got another one )and it's one of the better boar rounds .The 350 hornady or 400speer at about 1850 are excellent for elk or moose without excessive recoil. Keep the gun , shoot it and enjoy !