Which one y'all like the most and why ? Dads been texting me so much about the matter I'm looking at either or in a CVA break action for primitive weapons season. Buds has them for just over $400 new and might ride over a day or two and for some. Extra fun money for one .Leaning towards the whelen because of component cost ( brass lead , bullets powder ).....and I'm a wuss when it comes to recoil lol. Dad keeps trying to talk about just how powerful the 45-70 is ...but for South ms just seems like over kill.

Also side note anyone got experience with cast lead 45-70 on game ? He read something about a guy who too a 45+70 all over and to Africa with 45-70 and hard cast bullets and has been asking if I can cast him some. You getting anything over or under modern bullets with cast ? Seem like you blowing a big hole in something regardless

If you don't care for recoil you probably aren't going to like either one. I have a Remington 7600 .35 Whelen and a Marlin 1895 45-70. You really don't want to shoot them sitting at a bench. About 10 shots with either one is enough punishment for me. In one of those break open CVA rifles its got to be brutal recoil. But don't let me talk you out of it,you might enjoy it. You won't know unless you try it for yourself.

First..the 35 Whelen isn't going to be a powderpuff when it comes to recoil. I know a guy who never could shoot his enough to sight it in..That being said, there's a girl on Youtube who shoots one. So, I don't know the answer.
The 35 will give you a lot more range. A lot of guys who have one have switched to using it all the time. I had a 45-70 in a Knight KP1 for a few years. It wasn't horrible but I really didn't enjoy it. It did kill very efficiently. Shot a few deer and a couple of hogs with mine. But I only used the Hornady LeverEvolution ammo in mine. Personally, I would choose the 35 Whelen but that's me.

Split the difference and get a .358 Winchester

Or a 35 Remington. I have one of those. Classic cartridge and easy of the shoulder too. A 350 Legend would also be a good choice. But I thought he was only considering those 2.

Lol I was actually on planning on making on inna AR10....but kak can never seem to keep anything in stock

Honestly 350 legend would be my first pick but pretty sure it's not one the list for primitive weapons

O wait nevermind! I just checked again and apparently it's legal! Weird could have sworn last time I checked it wasn't something about the cartridge having to be at least 100yr old ....well dang

I've never used the ammo you're talking about but I've shot quite a few deer and one bear with my 45/70 all here in northern Michigan.I used Remington 405 gr.core lock on most of the deer and the bear,it did its job well,A little overkill on the deer but not bad.When Hornadys came out with its leverlution I switched th them.Accuracy was about what Honesty claimed,very good.It did seem to me the Hornadys produced more recoil and definitely did more damage than I liked on whitetails.Would probably make a great bear round.I'm thinking your Mississippi deer are smaller than ours,but I could be wrong.I've never hunted the south.

Well was most likely going. To be running cast bullets in either so figured that would cut down on a lot of the recoil. Still figured the 45-70 would buck a lot more

I agree. I have a Winchester 88 in .358. I bought it for way too much to fill my collection. Shot two deer and stuck her in the safe. Both deer I shot were around 100 yds and they never took another step.

I have a 35 whelen cva single shot. I don't think it kicks much more than a 30.06. U can use 30.06 brass when reloading. Only ever killed paper, never shot anything else with it.

I bought both boys cva break actions in 350 legend . Youngest has shot 8 with his and the oldest 3. Low recoil and had the best results with winchester 150gr with the plastic tips. Most drop but had 4' wide 30yard long blood trail i could see from 50 yards away. The hornady 170 gr sp kill them but donr put them down as fat or leave much of a blood trail out of 3 the oldest shot. I dont thing theu transfer much energy to the deer but to the trees on the other side. Can you supress them for your season
Both the boys are suppressed and are a dream . Still short and handy sind the break action is short.

I’m not a fan of recoil but my 1895 in 45/70 doesn’t seem to bother me, too bad. It’s more like a shove than a punch I guess. Took a while to find what it likes by I finally found it, 58gr varget with CCI magnum primers and Hornady 350gr round nose. I love the gun with that load! I’ve shot Elk, Deer and Moose with it and never had a problem.

I think most factory ammo is loaded pretty light since there are a lot of old trap door 45/70s around. They load them to old black powder specs. Shouldn’t be a problem for a guy who has a kid that’s crazy about reloading…..

9.3x62 is my go to round. I have a 45-70, but much prefer the 9.3x62. Have killed many things with both.

When I started shooting a 45-70 is when these Ohio deer started flopping over dead. 12ga slug doesn't do that and I've proven both several times over.

I wish I was a reloader, seems like 45-70 is perfect for that. If you read about it drops at distance but is very consistant. If you have it ranged for an accurate distance it hits zero hard at far distances.

Think quigley down under and all the guys that killed off the buffalo, thats what they were using. 45-70 is .45 and 70 grains of powder in olden times thats why there were 45-70, 45-90, 45-100...

Anyway seems like thats what a reloader would want to play with. I shoot the Leverlution stuff. There is big buffalo bore stuff. They are more high powered loads the newer guns can handle.

I shoot a JM stamped marlin cowboy version lever action octagon barrel.

Now... I don't know about 35 whelen at all.... but I have a 35 Rem and if thats anything alike I like it too and is also a nice lever gun. You'll find it more flat shooting I believe due to 45-70 being straight walled and 35 Rem being necked case.

You can shoot straight walled cartridges at deer in Ohio but nothing with a neck... They changed that law probably 10-12 years ago hence my experience of changing from slugs to it.

Now as far as kicking... that 45-70 is a mule (hot loads) even with the longer heavier cowboy version barrel... but people load it down to be an effective light kicking close shooter too.

I missed my 150 yard deer this year but Im not sure why I need to hit the range when it warms up. I had good yardage and held true. The two deer at 100 this year never took another step. They tip over and start twitching. Hydraulic shock I believe. Pretty neat.

45-110

What the heck kind of ammo are you shooting in your Marlin? I've got a Marlin 1895 Guide Gun and love the thing. I will hand it to anybody to shoot stuff with because of the minimal recoil. If you are looking for lower recoil I would go with the 45/70 all day long, very comfortable to shoot in my opinion, but they do make some hot loads with heavy bullets, Buffalo Bore, HSM Bear Loads, etc. that will produce a little more recoil. The 35 Whelen on the other hand is a blown out 30-06 shooting heavier bullets, so figure on 06+ recoil, which may be a little stout in a light break barrel.

Yes, I shoot 405 cast bullets in my 45/70 regularly for bear. I've shot thousands of rounds through the gun I like those, they are cheap (cast my own out of wheel weights) and perform well. I've played with hard cast, including hopped up 500 grain loads, but unless you need maximum penetration I would go with a regular cast bullet that will expand.

I've got both and love em. Killed deer and bear with both.

35 Whelen is a heck of a round. Both have the old timey cool factor and can be loaded up and down.

If you want to play with casts, the Govt is the way to go, but the Whelen is one of my favorites. Mine has shot great with all loads. Poor mans magnum. It and the 338-06 are sleepers that don't get the respect they should.

Buy both.

the biggest benefit to 45-70 is having been around and reloaded heavily for almost forever , components and molds especially are very available , the 35s just do not have the following that .458 has

I have the 1895 Marlin with the 16 inch barrel , standing a 325gr Hornady FTX feels like a 20 ga slug to me I haven't put one over the chrono but box states 2000fps with the 325gr

I am getting around to loading , I have everything together now just haven't made the time to sit down and work up a load.

45-70 is WILD to mild in the same package you can take it to either side.

my 1895 has a suppressor on it now so it is time to work up loads on the mild side
I have some copper plated flat nose 350gr that are on my to-do list of working up a good day to day load I don't need Wild but I wanted a gun that could go WILD to mild in one gun.