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Before next season I want to get another primitive weapon rifle. Couple years ago I bought a 45-70 shot the biggest buck of my life and lost it. Yes it actually was a good shot I put on it. At least I thought so when I hit. Well I was upset after not finding him and sold the gun cheap. Probably not the best decisio, but that's what I did.

I am wanting to get one before next season what would be my best option excluding a 45-70? I'm not gonna drop the money to get an encore. Thought about it for a while and just don't want to go that route.

444 if you don't want to get a 35 Encore.

I have a .35 in the encore and it is a sweet shooting gun, little brother has a .35 in a handi rifle and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone until they get the headspace issues corrected, then it still kicks like a mule. Little brother's gun is lucky to shoot 1 out of 5 pulls of the trigger.

pharville wrote:Before next season I want to get another primitive weapon rifle. Couple years ago I bought a 45-70 shot the biggest buck of my life and lost it. Yes it actually was a good shot I put on it. At least I thought so when I hit. Well I was upset after not finding him and sold the gun cheap. Probably not the best decisio, but that's what I did.

I am wanting to get one before next season what would be my best option excluding a 45-70? I'm not gonna drop the money to get an encore. Thought about it for a while and just don't want to go that route.

45-70 is still a good round... just don't use the LeveRevolution ammo. I saw the damage that some good ole Winchester JHP could do this weekend and that's what I'll be using in mine next year.

35 whelen...bad news to a lil ole deer.
Bought a handi rifle for my dad this summer and have had no problems. It is an absolute tack driver too. Using Hornady superformance ammo, my pops cam make a 3 shot ragged hole at 100 yds.

So what will you do if you cripple up another one with your new gun? I can assure you that it wasn't the gun or the ammo's fault. I have killed a few critters with my 45-70 and none of them have even flopped, it's a bad mammy jammy and I a glad the Indians didn't have these thing they call primitive weapons today because we would not be having this conservation.

I agree with land man in the fact that it was not the gun or the cartridge at fault. Things happen sometimes that we just can't explain. It is really hard to know where the shot actually was since there was no recovery. Like I said, crazy things can happen.

I had the 45-70 in a handi, sold it, and bought the 35 whelen in a handi. It kept misfiring and I had to send it back to get it fixed. The 35 whelen round is absolutely devestating. It was designed as a elk, caribou, moose, black bear gun by townsend whelen. It works dang good on whitetails too. I don't think I have had one take a step yet. I know I have shot at least 8 doe and one buck with it. (missed one but not the guns fault)

I was shooting jhp and drilled it in the shoulder guess it wasn't as powerful as my 7 mag I shoot. I know it was a rash decision to sell it, but I did. 444 is what I was thinking of getting b/c of all the misfires I keep hearing the h&r 35 having.

Over on the bullnettle forum, I saw a thread about a House Bill that, if passed, would let hunters on private property USE THEIR WEAPON OF CHOICE, beginning on Oct 1, 2011......so you may not need a new primitive weapon.....

pharville wrote:I was shooting jhp and drilled it in the shoulder guess it wasn't as powerful as my 7 mag I shoot. I know it was a rash decision to sell it, but I did. 444 is what I was thinking of getting b/c of all the misfires I keep hearing the h&r 35 having.

I can assure you if you drilled him in the shoulder he would be dead in sight, it's ok we all make bad shots from time to time.

i shoot a handi .444 that gets used regularly in rifle season, unless i know i'm hunting where i'll have more than a 200yd shot opportunity. put a limbsaver recoil pad on it and it doesn't even have a noticeable kick (rotator cuff surgery). i floated the forearm/barrel with an o-ring and it is a hole cutter using hornady leverevolution ammo.

I havent shot my .270 in over 2 years. All I hunt with is my .444 handi rifle. It looks all beat up and it is a tank of a gun. If I am hunting with shots no longer than 200 yards, its all I tote. Thats a big wad of lead your slinging...deer dont just walk away from damn near 300 grains of lead. If you hit it anywhere decent, they are going down. On a big buck, I would never try to shoot anywhere but THROUGH, not behind or anywhere else, the shoulder. Dang trying to save that little bit of meat on the front shoulders.

i have a handi in 500 S&W, its bad to the bone

The Land Man wrote:

pharville wrote:I was shooting jhp and drilled it in the shoulder guess it wasn't as powerful as my 7 mag I shoot. I know it was a rash decision to sell it, but I did. 444 is what I was thinking of getting b/c of all the misfires I keep hearing the h&r 35 having.

I can assure you if you drilled him in the shoulder he would be dead in sight, it's ok we all make bad shots from time to time.

Dude, I'm sorry if I offended you by not liking the same caliber you do, but I know when I put a decent shot on an animal and when I don't. You are right we all do make bad shots from time to time, I know I do. But this wasn't one of them, it was kinda messed up deal. The guy I was hunting with couldn't figure out what happened and he was there the whole time.

You are missing the whole point of the thread anyways I wanted opinions of other calibers to shoot besides a 45-70 nevermind the shot or anything else just wanted some other people's opinion on the different calibers. I have friends that love their 45-70 and that's fine it's just not for me. Just like I prefer a 7 mag over a 270 or a chevy over a ford. Don't care what you think it's what I like that matters. I don't want another 45-70 so why input on it at all when I Specifically said primitive weapons excluding a 45-70.

For the ones who did give other options thank you I do appreciate the info.

Get a 35 whelen in the encore pro hunter and be done with it. Its the only gun I use anymore, from beginning of rifle season till the end of primitive weapon. I'm not that great of a shot and Ive killed 2 does at 275 yards with it.

pharville wrote:

The Land Man wrote:

pharville wrote:I was shooting jhp and drilled it in the shoulder guess it wasn't as powerful as my 7 mag I shoot. I know it was a rash decision to sell it, but I did. 444 is what I was thinking of getting b/c of all the misfires I keep hearing the h&r 35 having.

I can assure you if you drilled him in the shoulder he would be dead in sight, it's ok we all make bad shots from time to time.

Dude, I'm sorry if I offended you by not liking the same caliber you do, but I know when I put a decent shot on an animal and when I don't. You are right we all do make bad shots from time to time, I know I do. But this wasn't one of them, it was kinda messed up deal. The guy I was hunting with couldn't figure out what happened and he was there the whole time.

You are missing the whole point of the thread anyways I wanted opinions of other calibers to shoot besides a 45-70 nevermind the shot or anything else just wanted some other people's opinion on the different calibers. I have friends that love their 45-70 and that's fine it's just not for me. Just like I prefer a 7 mag over a 270 or a chevy over a ford. Don't care what you think it's what I like that matters. I don't want another 45-70 so why input on it at all when I Specifically said primitive weapons excluding a 45-70.

For the ones who did give other options thank you I do appreciate the info.

Don't rule out the 45/70 yet. If they ever get the new load out for it it's gonna walk cirlcles around the .444. It should move on out to 250 to 300yd gun. The .35 Whelen is the way to go though. They have most of the headspace issues solved. The Handi from what I hear is shootin pretty good if you get one that shoots. The T/C's are great guns but they too have had their fair share of problems. Same with the CVA. However CVA came with a totaly new design for this year and so far We have not had a single problem. They are about half what the T/C's are price wise. I won't hesitate to take a 300yd shot with mine! Not real crazy about the factory loaded round but the new Hornady Superformance is the best to date. Shoot the new ammo to fireform it to your gun then handload it back only necksizing and you can have a real tackdriver! Im shootin a 185 grain nosler in mine. It packs a punch!