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.45-70 Government VS .458 Winchester Magnum

Head to Head Comparison

.45-70 Government

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.458 Winchester Magnum

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MSRP:

$38.24

Used Price:

$38.24

New Price:

$42.49

MSRP:

$40.94

Used Price:

$40.94

New Price:

$45.49

Gun Specifications

Specifications

.45-70 Government

.458 Winchester Magnum

Height

2.11

0.00

Average FPS

1680

2158

Average Grain

363

488

Average Energy

2274

Recoil

2.43

0.00

Ballistic Coefficient

265.60

343.82

Gun Stats

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.45-70 Government

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.458 Winchester Magnum

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Gun Descriptions

.45-70 Government

About The .45-70 Government Ammo was designed and developed in 1873. The cartridge was created to replace the stopgap .50-70 Government Ammo. The .45-70 Government Ammo has the minimum accuracy of 4-inch drop at 100 yards, but the slow and heavy bullet in longer ranges would have a rainbow trajectory. Still, skilled shooters can easily hit targets with ease using the .45-70 Government Ammo. This cartridge was even used in several Gatling gun models, especially on US Navy warships in the 1880s and 1890s. The .45-70 Government Ammo is s super hit amongst the sportsmen, and that's the main reason this bullet is still alive today. The overall length of the .45-70 Government Ammo is 53.5mm, while the bullet diameter measures 11.6mm. One variant of the .45-70 Government Ammo is loaded with 300-grain that can travel at a velocity of 2,275 feet per second and produce an energy level of 3,449 ft.lbf.  Manufacturer To fill out the gap left by the 50.70 Government Ammo, the US Army's Springfield Armory designed and developed the .45-70 Government Ammo. Uses The traditional 405-grain variant of the .45-70 Government ammo can take down any North American big game species within its effective range. Thanks to its low velocity, the .45-70 Government Ammo doesn't destroy the edible meat on the delicate game like deer. The .45-70 Government Ammo holds the potential of taking down the big five African game in the range of 1,000 yards. 

.458 Winchester Magnum

In 1956, Winchester introduced a rifle called the “African” for their newly designed cartridge, the 458 Winchester Magnum. Their aim was to increase the number of sport hunters from the US who went after big games on the safari in Africa. The 458 Winchester Magnum is a belted, straight-taper cased, rifle cartridge. It was first chambered in the Winchester Model 70 African rifle. It was designed to compete against the .450 Nitro Express and the .470 Nitro Express cartridges used in the big-bore British double rifles. The 458 Winchester Magnum was designed for hunting dangerous game animals by emulating the performance of powerful English double rifle cartridges in a bolt-action rifle. Current performance standards for the cartridge allow it to launch a 500 gr (32 g) bullet at a velocity of about 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s) through a 24 in (610 mm) barrel. The 500 gr (32 g) bullet is seen as the standard weight for a 45 caliber (11.43 mm) rifle bullet. This bullet has a sectional density of .341, which provides the bullet with a high penetrative value at a given velocity. The .458 Winchester Magnum loaded with the 500 gr (32 g) solid bullet provides adequate penetration for a dangerous game. This rifle cartridge was a success, as it soon became the standard African dangerous game cartridge. This made game hunters, game wardens, wildlife managers, and professional hunters soon switch to it as their duty rifle. By 1970, issues with the cartridge began to surface. Due to the clumping of the powder charge and the erratic burn characteristics associated with such loads, the performance of the cartridge came into question. However, the .458 Winchester Magnum remained the standard of measure for dangerous game cartridges. It still remained a very sensible choice for hunting down buffaloes and elephants, though proper consideration needs to be taken on the loads and bullets.

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