single shot rifles

ken nikiel

ken nikiel

Member
we can use single shot rifles starting 1-1-23 here in illinois for deer. i like the henry rifle but not sure which caliberi should go with. currently using a 12 gauge mossberg slugster. im tempted to go with the 45-70 government but dont want a big jump in recoil! has to be 30 caliber or higher straightwall. bottleneck cartridges can only be 1-2/5” long, stupid. any suggestions?
thanks
 
ken nikiel said:
we can use single shot rifles starting 1-1-23 here in illinois for deer. i like the henry rifle but not sure which caliberi should go with. currently using a 12 gauge mossberg slugster. im tempted to go with the 45-70 government but dont want a big jump in recoil! has to be 30 caliber or higher straightwall. bottleneck cartridges can only be 1-2/5” long, stupid. any suggestions?
thanks
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I hunt with a 45-70 but it is a Lever Action Marlin and with 300 grain Federal ammo is nowhere near as harsh as a 12 gauge slug. Stock design and weight has a lot to do with felt recoil. I bought 5 boxes of ammo off the shelf at Atwood’s for it yesterday and could have bought more...I am a big fan of the 45-70 round and ammo availability is a big reason why.
 
I don’t know what straight wall calibers the Henry is available in but you can find about anything in a TC Encore. Nothing wrong with the 45/70 either.

I looked it up and seems the only other choices you have are the .350 Legend and the .450 Bushmaster. Of these two the .350 Legend is my choice. Ammo is much more available and cheaper. I have a .450 in an AR, and it will absolutely slam a big hog, but it’s certainly not a long range cartridge, though none of the straight walls are really. For whitetail distances any of the three would work. My “straight wall” cartridge is a .375 Winchester in a Big Bore 94 lever action. It’s killed several deer for me but I haven’t had it out of the safe in years.
 
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Drycreek said:
I don’t know what straight wall calibers the Henry is available in but you can find about anything in a TC Encore. Nothing wrong with the 45/70 either.

I looked it up and seems the only other choices you have are the .350 Legend and the .450 Bushmaster. Of these two the .350 Legend is my choice. Ammo is much more available and cheaper. I have a .450 in an AR, and it will absolutely slam a big hog, but it’s certainly not a long range cartridge, though none of the straight walls are really. For whitetail distances any of the three would work. My “straight wall” cartridge is a .375 Winchester in a Big Bore 94 lever action. It’s killed several deer for me but I haven’t had it out of the safe in years.
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How hard is it to come by .375 Winchester nowadays? I buy guns now based on whether or not I can ever get off the shelf ammo. Luckily the 45-70 is hanging in there...it’s actually easier to find than 30-30 in our area.
 
OkieKubota said:
How hard is it to come by .375 Winchester nowadays? I buy guns now based on whether or not I can ever get off the shelf ammo. Luckily the 45-70 is hanging in there...it’s actually easier to find than 30-30 in our area.
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Okie, the Winchester stuff is like hen’s teeth and very expensive, but HSM started making it a few years ago with a Sierra Game King bullet and I bought ten boxes of it. I already had about eight boxes of the Winchester so I’m good. I’m not sure if the HSM ammo in .375 is still available.
 
I'm in IL also. I have a T/C Contender frame and a factory ported 45/70 barrel and rifle stocks. I've had it for years and tried to sell it many times. I loaded up some 300 grain Remington bullets back then and it kicked like a mule. I added weight to the stock and forearm. Like Ken, I saw it was now legal. So I'm looking into handloading some lighter 250 grain Hornady mono flex loads. CEB is offering a 250 grain .458.(I really like their bullets) I also saw some Barnes TSX also. So now I have an excuse to burn some powder. The Contender is now holding a 12" Bullberry 357/44 barrel. But it's fun to do something new. I looked up the price of my barrel and I was shocked how pricey they have become. Good luck and welcome Ken
 
I picked up 5 more boxes of 45-70 last week at our local farm and ranch store...a few of us on our deer lease shot my gun and everyone was amazed at how mild it is with 300 grain federal ammo. We all agreed it’s recoil was about 1/2 way between a 30-30 and a 30-06 so it was easy to handle...

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An update: I put my 45/70 barrel on my Contender and started working up a load. I was looking through my reloading supplies and found a 100 ,300gr Rem Core Lokd HP's. I loaded up starting very light and increased till I started finding the recoil objectionable. So I'm going to use what I have for the time being. Being realistic, I probably will never use up the 300 gr. Rems. Going to chrony them soon. Maybe down the road I might buy some 250 grain slugs if the price ever comes down. The price of brass (if you can find it) shocked me. Glad now I over bought supplies years ago.
 
Drycreek said:
I don’t know what straight wall calibers the Henry is available in but you can find about anything in a TC Encore. Nothing wrong with the 45/70 either.

I looked it up and seems the only other choices you have are the .350 Legend and the .450 Bushmaster. Of these two the .350 Legend is my choice. Ammo is much more available and cheaper. I have a .450 in an AR, and it will absolutely slam a big hog, but it’s certainly not a long range cartridge, though none of the straight walls are really. For whitetail distances any of the three would work. My “straight wall” cartridge is a .375 Winchester in a Big Bore 94 lever action. It’s killed several deer for me but I haven’t had it out of the safe in years.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, S&W killed the TC Encore line. Used ones and frames are now quite pricy.
 
yoderjac said:
Unfortunately, S&W killed the TC Encore line. Used ones and frames are now quite pricy.
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I didn’t know that the Encore was no longer made, but I did know that they have gotten expensive. I just sold an Encore and a Contender for over twice what I paid for them.
 
Drycreek said:
I didn’t know that the Encore was no longer made, but I did know that they have gotten expensive. I just sold an Encore and a Contender for over twice what I paid for them.
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Yes, I tried to order one directly from TC a couple years ago. They said they were not accepting orders. I presumed it was COVID related, but later found out that S&W had killed that like. Lots of folks loved the flexibility of the Encore with all the barrel options. I have a couple of them. I'd like to buy another action, but the prices I've seen on Gunbroker are out of sight. I have an extra stock, forearm, and .50 cal muzzleloader barrel as I
cannibalized for a Smokeless Muzzleloader.
 
I appreciate the Encore but the Contender has my favor, nicer trigger and barrel varieties.
Wildcats are my weakness
S&W's position on Thompson Center is a travesty.
Perhaps a reputable company takes acquisition.
who's that?
 
Jimmy Hoer said:
I appreciate the Encore but the Contender has my favor, nicer trigger and barrel varieties.
Wildcats are my weakness
S&W's position on Thompson Center is a travesty.
Perhaps a reputable company takes acquisition.
who's that?
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I like wildcats too. I've got a Bullberry ,12"",in .357/44 Baines Davis, Contender Barrel. I've chrony it right 2000 fps with a discontinued spire point 150 gr Rem Core Lok'd spire point . That's a cold weather load . I've taken a big doe at a 170 yards. Many under a 100 yars. I would carry out to my box stand in a back pack. I had a conflicted mind pulling the barrel off the Contender for the 45/70 barrel. It has taken many deer right after the muzzle loader barked. The 357/44 BD is an old friend.
 
350 Legend and 360 Buck Hammer have been designed and tested for deer sized animals. They're typically compared to my old favorite, the 30-30 Winchester! - TR
 
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