first shot out of my 45/70 12.5" barrel today.

[alan in ga]

it was a pussycat. however it was a light load, about 19 gr of SR4759 under a 300 grain JHP. Guess it's time to get a scope on it and start looking for 'the load'.
Now I'm glad I bought it.
From all I had read i thought it was going to leave me with a bloody stump on my right wrist~!

[kynardsj]

Your 45-70 like other big calibers in a handgun can be loaded from " fun to shoot " to " OMG !!! ". If you can find a happy medium between those two that is accurate then you have your load. It's what I've done with my 500 S&W Magnum wheelgun and my 13 inch 460 Encore.  JMHO

[alan in ga]

I'm VERY PLEASED with this barrel. It is stainless, and I performed a circumcision on it, removing the Muzzle Tamer. I knew that if I didn't like shooting it with out a 'hearing loss device' that I wouldn't want it at all. From all the posts I'd read I just knew that after the first shot, even a reduced load, that I'd be looking for my right arm back in the bushes behind me, all while holding pressure on the bleeders on my right arm where it was torn off.
When I bought my first Contender many years ago, a .35 Rem Super 14, I had heard the same rumors. I was glad it was a pussycat, too, even with 200 gr factory ammo.
Did the same thing with a Ruger 77 Tropical Rifle in .458 Win Mag it was a tame one too....OH...wait a minute..THAT ONE was a BEAST~! Especially with factory ammo 500 gr solids....wowsers! Reloading it made it a much more fun gun! I build a .458 x 2 American soon after on a short action Ruger 77. Fun gun but shot mostly light bullets to make it 'fun'.

This is a GOOD reason to BUY a gun, you just gotta find out for yourself what it's all about! :  )

[Dezynco]

Believe me!  If you load up some heavier loads using something like a 405 grain cast lead with about 33 grains of Reloader 7, it WILL become a beast!  I still consider it to be managable though.  I have only shot factory ammo and "Trapdoor" level loads with my 8" barrel, and I believe that I will keep it at that! 

With some sho-nuff power-house loads it will kick violently!  I wear a soft leather glove on my right hand to keep the trigger guard from biting my trigger finger.  The Pachmeyer Decelerators help quite a bit also.

[alan in ga]

OH yes! I know it will be UNenjoyable at some level. I've owned 5 or 6 .44 Mag revolvers [Blackhawks and one Redhawk] and have shot some other similar guns owned by others.
I'm just happy that I now have a .458" bore pistol to shoot play loads like my 250 grain paper patched pistol bullets, on up to 'ouch' loads with the 300, 350, and 400/405 grain jacketed and cast bullets I've accumulated over the 43 years I've been reloading.
Gotta get a scope mounted on this barrel, too. No open sights. I MIGHT take a front site off of one of my pistol Contender barrels and drill/tap this barrel for it. Most likely just a scope though.

[doc-and]

Drill and Tap it and find a set of Fiber Optic sights off an Encore and have yourself a ball. Those sights are amazing.

docand

[MePlat]

Here is a 45/70 pussycat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvGsF54meQQ
Of course this is an Encore and one can get another 100 fps out of this bullet.  Even the Contender with a 500 at 1300 or so will get your undivided attention without a brake.
Try some of  them and lets us know what you think.  You can easily get 1300 with a 500 gr  from a Contender.