Ranch Dog wrote:It was the first and I'm sure it remains my favorite. It is a heck of a big game rifle. Lighter, thinner, and better balanced than any other levergun offered in 45-70 Govt.
... This rifle would make an excellent moose getter as well as elk in timber. It is overkill for my deer and hog hunting, and I'm not sure just how much nilgai hunting I will be doing in the future. Still, I feel lucky to own the rifle and glad I bought it when it first became available.
My perceptions regarding the Rossi Rio Grande .45-70 pretty much match your thoughts, Ranchdog. While I predominantly fall into the John Browning designed Winchester camp, when the RG4570 came on the market I thought it to be a useful tool that I'd carry into north side mountain timber, when the snow is blowing and the elk are huddled up. It's not uncommon to experience "ground blizzards" in northern New Mexico. Scopes are not functional in this type of hunting because the lenses are compromised by snow buildup. This was my first foray into things Rossi and certainly my first experience with a Marlin 336 type design.
This RG4570 has been a frustrating experience for some years, leaving me to work out many problems with reliable function I had simply not encountered on domestically produced rifles. Given leads uncovered by members here, in addition to my own "digging into it", plus your experience with case length and boolit sizing, I have worked through most of the issues and the RG4570 runs pretty decent now. It is certainly accurate.
I really don't share your stated reticence to "loading down". The .45-70 is a remarkable round in that it can be loaded right into the lower tier power level of a .458 win mag, or it can resoundingly smack a 100 yd. steel gong at range with a mere 15 grains of Green Dot. That is the kind of versatility usually associated with the .30-06.
In prior years, I had utilized an H&R Handi-rifle .45-70 on elk in timber. Elk will drop with cast bullet loads in 1500-1600 fps category just fine, when the range is only 50-90 yards.
These days I finally can say that I enjoy the RG4570. It will be in the truck on future elk hunts for the purpose I intended it. While I find the design, manufacture quality and strength of the Win./Miroku 1886 eminently superior to the marlin derived rossi design, the cost and carrying weight favor the RG45-70.
I enjoyed your reflective comments regarding this rifle, Ranchdog.
.45-70 is the only form of big Government anyone would want