The .45-70 Govt. and .30-30 Win. are more than a century old, and neither excels at great distances. However, both perform well at ranges hunters usually shoot biggame animals. Many hunters have no idea what either cartridge is truly capable of, especially with modern loads.
Some see the .30-30 and .45-70 as outdated and hardly sufficient for deer. This is untrue. Shot placement is the key limiting factor with any cartridge, though trajectory and velocity affect this. At some point, bullet drop makes getting hits difficult, and eventually, velocity slows enough that bullet upset is questionable.
With a 100-yard zero, most modern .45-70 loads drop about 12 inches at 200 yards. Modern .30-30 loads offer another 25 to 50 yards of reach before the bullet drops a foot. The velocity…
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Game & Fish East (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025