Gun magazines seem to love “What Cartridge is Best” articles. While not best, if I were to name my favorite rifle cartridge, I’d pick what is labeled as the “.45-70 Government.” First off, I enjoy the historical aspect of the .45-70. The cartridge was adopted as the primary round of the U.S. military back in 1873, and for me the .45-70 has local color. Nearby Fort Randall’s primary purpose was to keep the peace and protect the advancing settlement in the area, and the Fort Randall infantry carried Springfield single-shot “Trapdoor” rifles in .45-70 caliber.

Years ago both slugs and brass could be found at their old Randall practice range. I own one of these original rifles, and I have spent many hours casting lead bullets, reloading the black powder cartridges, and trying to come up with the most accurate recipe. I enjoy firing my old Springfield, and at one time friends and I shot the old Springfields competitively. The original infantry rifles fired 70 grains of black powder behind 500 grain bullets while the cavalry carbine loads employed 405 grain bullets and 55 grains of black powder.

The Springfield “Trapdoor” .45-70 carbine, generally more desired by collectors than the fulllength infantry rifle, was carried by the ill-fated 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn massacre in 1876. Custer’s men, other than being outnumbered, were handicapped by their single-shot .45-70’s while an estimated 30% of the Sioux carried Winchester or Henry repeating rifles. Sturgis’s Fort Meade, established in 1878, became the new home of the post-massacre 7th Cavalry. Carbines with “Last Stand” provenance are extremely rare, but I do own and shoot a post-Little Big Horn carbine. It just might be my favorite piece.

I once observed a History Channel presentation where an exploratory group searched for a stash of Little Big Horn artifacts including the very rare carbines. Supposedly the Sioux women and children combed the battlefield the day following the massacre for anything of value. This loot was supposedly stashed and has never been found – which explains the rarity of the original carbines. Contrary to this, Charles M. Robinson III states in his book, A Good Year to Die, that many of the Sioux armed themselves with captured Springfield carbines from the massacre. These were later surrendered to generals Miles and Crook in 1877. If that were so, why are massacre carbines so rare?

For many years our U.S. military was slow, downright stubborn, in implementing new technology. During the Spanish American War, some of our soldiers were armed with single-shot Springfield .45- 70 rifles while the enemy carried smokeless powder bolt-action 7mm Mausers. They were at a huge disadvantage. This same stubbornness persisted in the post WW1 era as our military failed to believe that aircraft could be an effective weapon even after General Billy Mitchell proved its worth beyond the shadow of a doubt.

What’s most amazing to me is how this antiquated cartridge marches on. I’m not the only gun nut bogged down in senseless nostalgia. The venerable .45-70 cartridge, with its heavy slugs and “rainbow” trajectory, has limited range. Yet Mossberg, Marlin and Henry are cranking out lever-action rifles in .45-70 caliber as fast as they can manufacture them. Ruger’s popular No. 1 single-shot rifle is also produced in .45-70 caliber.

A Word of Caution: If you get into this .45-70 thing, note that reloading manuals put the .45-70 into three categories: 1. Antique Springfields, 2. Winchester Model 1886’s and the other lever-actions, 3. Ruger No.1’s and No. 3’s. To use the more powerful loads in an antique Springfield will blow up your rifle and cause serious injury. To the best of my knowledge, commercial ammo is loaded to Springfield tolerances, but someday ammo for the higher performance Henrys, Marlins, Mossbergs, and Rugers might be made available with a warning on the box. You don’t have to be a hunter to get into this .45 -70 thing. Watch out for the .45-70 bug. He bites! If you’re looking for an extremely well-made antique Springfield, I might be able to help.

In my column two weeks ago, I stated that President Biden wasn’t personally responsible for today’s gas prices. I received irate phone calls I didn’t deserve. Biden isn’t responsible, but his administration is. Whether you’re Democrat or Republican, our southern border must be secured. The irresponsible spending that has led to rapid inflation must be curbed. We must develop our rich oil resources not only for ourselves, but to possibly supply Europeans with oil so they aren’t dependent on Russian oil. It’s also time to come down hard on criminals.

That said, I’ll see you next week, but I’ll keep my nose out of politics.