Which .45-70 Product Lines Are Most Common?
Current observed prices are in the 30-day price summary at the top of this page, recomputed from tracked retailer listings. The table below lists common product lines by bullet type, weight, and intended use. It is a reference list, not a ranking.
| Product Line | Type | Grain | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornady LEVERevolution | FTX (flex tip) | 325gr | Lever-Action Hunting |
| Remington Core-Lokt | Soft Point | 405gr | Hunting / Trapdoor-Pressure |
| Winchester Super-X | JHP | 300gr | Hunting |
| Federal Power-Shok / Fusion | Soft Point | 300gr | Hunting |
| Hornady Subsonic | Sub-X | 410gr | Suppressed / Low-Recoil |
| Cowboy-action loads (various makers) | Lead Flat Point | 405gr | Cowboy / Trapdoor-Pressure |
| Heavy "strong-action" loads (boutique makers) | Hard Cast / Bonded | 350gr–500gr | Large / Dangerous Game |
What Is .45-70 Government?
The .45-70 was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873, developed at Springfield Armory for the Model 1873 "Trapdoor" Springfield rifle. Its original military designation, .45-70-405, describes the cartridge in the 19th-century convention: a .45-caliber bullet, 70 grains of black powder, and a 405-grain lead bullet. It served as the U.S. service rifle cartridge until the .30-40 Krag replaced it in the 1890s, and it never went away — it is one of the oldest American centerfire cartridges still in wide production.
Key dimensions: bullet diameter 0.458 inches, case length 2.105 inches, and a typical overall length of about 2.55 inches. It is a rimmed, straight-walled case, which is why it feeds well in tubular lever-action magazines and why it is legal in some "straight-wall" deer-hunting zones (check your state's current rules — they differ and change).
Three Pressure Levels — Know Your Rifle
The single most important fact about .45-70 ammunition is that the rifles chambered for it span 150 years of metallurgy, so the ammunition is effectively loaded at three levels:
- Trapdoor-pressure loads — kept low enough for original 1873-era Springfield rifles and their reproductions. Standard factory 405gr soft-point loads and cowboy-action loads are made to this level.
- Modern lever-action loads — for rifles such as the Marlin 1895, Henry's .45-70 lever guns, and modern Winchester 1886 reproductions. Most current factory hunting loads (Hornady LEVERevolution, Winchester, Federal) are loaded for these rifles.
- Strong-action loads — high-pressure loads from specialist makers intended only for single-shot actions like the Ruger No. 1 and certain modern bolt actions. These are labeled for the specific rifles they suit and must not be fired in older or weaker actions.
Read the box. Packaging that says a load is not for Trapdoor Springfields, or is for specific rifles only, means exactly that.
Firearms Chambered in .45-70
- Lever actions: Marlin 1895 (in production under Ruger), Henry's side-gate and steel-frame models, and Winchester 1886 and Browning reproductions.
- Single shots: Ruger No. 1, Browning 1885 reproductions, Sharps and Remington Rolling Block reproductions, and the original Trapdoor Springfield.
- Others: a small number of bolt-action and break-action rifles and revolvers.
How .45-70 Is Used
- Deer, elk, black bear, and hog at moderate distances — the heavy, large-diameter bullet is the cartridge's defining trait, while its rainbow trajectory limits practical range compared with modern bottleneck cartridges.
- Large and dangerous game with heavy hard-cast or bonded bullets at strong-action pressures.
- Cowboy action, black-powder cartridge, and historical shooting with lead-bullet loads.
How .45-70 Prices Compare
The 30-day summary at the top of this page shows the observed price distribution for .45-70 — the median, the quartiles, and how many retailers and listings stand behind them. The cartridge is sold in 20-round boxes, and the distribution is wide because it covers inexpensive lead cowboy loads and premium boutique strong-action loads in the same caliber. Comparing listings by cost per round keeps box-size differences out of the comparison; the search button at the top of this page sorts current listings that way.
Ammunition ships by ground with hazmat or weight-based charges at many retailers, so shipping charges and free-shipping thresholds can change which offer is lower once delivered — see how to buy ammo online and why the same ammo is priced differently.
.45-70 Brands
- Hornady — LEVERevolution FTX and Subsonic Sub-X.
- Remington — Core-Lokt 405gr soft point.
- Winchester — Super-X 300gr JHP.
- Federal — Power-Shok and Fusion hunting loads.
- Specialist makers — heavy hard-cast and strong-action loads labeled for specific rifles.
Where to Compare .45-70 Prices
IronScout tracks in-stock listings across the retailers it covers and recomputes the 30-day summary daily. Set a free price alert to be notified when a listing crosses a price you choose.
Related Calibers
- .30-30 Winchester — The classic lever-action deer cartridge, with a smaller and lighter bullet.
- .458 SOCOM — Fires a bullet of the same 0.458-inch diameter from an AR-15-pattern rifle.
- .45 Colt — The revolver cartridge of the same era, often paired with lever guns in cowboy shooting.