458 Socom vs 45-70: Completely Different On Mild Steel 

i'd like to see if helium makes you sound normal

The 45-70, still kicking ass 150 years later.

Several years ago I shot an old steel sledgehammer head at 125 yards with a 1944 Kar98k using 1943 Turkish 155gr cupronickel FMJ lead core ammunition. The bullet made a deep crater in the steel, made a nearly perfect 180° ricochet, and struck me on the knuckles of my right hand which was still gripping the stock (my trigger hand). It didn't break any bone but I have 3 scars there now. It felt like someone had just walked up beside me and smacked me across the knuckles with a 2 by 4.

Like always, another great video. No bullshit, no dragged out skits, just straight to the point. Never change your video style

I would love to see the difference in 45-70 loads comparing different rounds like 300 grain to 400 to 500 to 730 grain, lead vs solid copper

The "Time to grind!" always cracks me up.

Had a 1800's Marlin 45-70 34inch octagon barrel. My all time favorite large cal. rifle cartridge.

One of my first training rifles was a Springfield Trapdoor Rifle 1873+\- in .45-70 with original gov’t issue black powder loads pushing 450gr lead bullets. It took me awhile to learn to stand up to the recoil and not let it make me take a step or two back.

Owned a .45-70 at one point. Could go through two or three boxes in a single shooting session. No problems with the shoulder. I think I also process recoil differently. I would offer to let others shoot it but had few takers. One thing you are definitely right about is the price. They say money talks. When shooting that thing it said goodbye. Think the cheap 300gr loads were about $1.80 a pop. Had 400gr +p loads, I don't want to think about what that cost. They hit like a hammer at 300 yards though.

.45-70 has a MASSIVE selection of power levels and bullet types. If you want to bash your shoulder, use a Ruger #1 rifle and run some high pressure stuff.

Glad to see you fabricated a better safety shield

My favourite gun Channel on RU-vid and the only one I hit the Bell on. Thanks for the great content cheers from Canada 🍻.

cast iron, that will keep breaking on that vise, you need a vise made out of steel, in my opinion. but Hey, we like to see you keep breaking the sleds, LOL. Have an awesomeness day. thanks for the videos, I would have thought the 45-70 would have done more.

Very neat results! I actually thought the more narrow ogive might give the 458 a chance, but I was wrong. Neat!

Great content! I'd like to see you do the test with the 45/70 vs. 3/8" soft steel plate again. The fact that the back-end piece of the vise that was holding the 3/8" plate in place was cracked and had some give to it may have prevented the slug from penetrating the plate.

I have a marlin 45-70 and it is brutal with those stout loads. I find the recoil magnified when shooting from a bench rest for some reason. The recoil seems to be more tolerable when shooting from a standing position where your offhand can grip the forend. Not sure why, but just my observation. Have some fun with the 45-70 and load it with some blackpowder (not substitutes). Lots of fun to do and recoil is tolerable. Also, no kidding, you should look into doing voice over for narrations etc. You have a golden voice tone, so might as well use it to your financial benefit. Just my two cents.

When you shot the 458 at the plate, you can see it in the slow mo that bullet ricochet nack towards the camera. Pretty cool. Huge fan of 45/70, but since my back surgery they are now just for looking and carressing not shooting. Damn it used to be fun

I had an American Derringer Alaskan survival model that shot 45-70 & 410, not fun to shoot, but it was fun to watch my friends try it!

Thanks for your video, I just bought a 45-70 Henry after watching it!

Almost a DECADE at MidwayUSA? Oh my young friend... I'm glad you like them. I've loved Midway for longer than I can remember. 😊

My 458 is set up with 10.5" barrel and is show stopper! Love that platform!

This is the 1st time e wat hing your videos. I am impressed to the point I subscribed. Furthermore, your direct point of testing, knowledge and articulation, manner and method all point to a person who takes his approach seriously. Looking forward to more. Thank you.

2:01 I'm laughing that the brass still flew out 🤣 thanks for the upload dude! Always a good day and content, hope life's well 🙏

100% true on the modern 45-70 rounds. Trap door guns run at lower pressures.

Nice job, and it's the good old 45-70 for the win, as it should be. Now if we could just find a 45-70 auto loader, I would love to see a 30 round 45-70 mag.

I love these videos but the steel sled saga is impossible to not love!

You give some good content on yt Not so many do it

For some reason I have the urge to watch....... Everybody Loves Raymond

Interesting, my 458 SoCom shoots the 300gr at 1958fps, and the 350gr at 1849fps, but your right I am getting about 400fps more out of my Marlin 45-70 with the same bullets.

After seeing this, my next rifle will likely be a Henry Model X. Cannot thing of a better woods gun and a great option for when you need more power than 308. Plus lever action sex appeal. Discovered your channel last night and gave you a sub. Keep up the great content and appreciate your attention to detail.

150yrs old and still honkin! 👍🍻

I would want to see 6.5x55 Swedish, if thats possible :) Love your channel. /Best regards from Sweden

GREAT TEST! AS A STONER? with a BP .69 ball , on down to cappers' 44's? Never thought much about recoil? only Hitting! Safe! to shoot again.

I've been toying with the idea of a 458 SOCOM. I have a single shot 45-70 and love the thump. I've shot some loads that are for single shot or bolt action guns only that produce around 3900fpe. They are insane in a 7lb rifle.

I think the 45-70 went through the first one because the plate wasn’t allowed to bend due to the shot location. I’d like to see that one again with a fresh plate and center shot placement like the 458

I'd like to see comparasion between 'enemies in ww2' 30-06 vs 7.92x57 mauser Or .50AE vs .500 s&w magnum

This became an informal test on Harbor Freight vises.

Nice test. Had no idea the 45 70 was moving that fast.

The cracking of the clamp demonstrates a value to the .45-70 Government that many never consider: punching through an object is nice but the vibrational shock damage is also a factor towards disabling the target. It is a favorite of mine so yes, I am biased and yes, I learned early on the value of shoulder padding when using that rifle.

Using the AR platform makes thing's over all a lot better for easy of use & price & any after market changes.

Great video as usual. I'm a big fan of the .45/70 and load my own ammo since the prices have gone nuts. I have a Springfield cavalry carbine and a Sharps McNelly saddle ring carbine. There is literally nothing that the old .45/70 can't handle on this planet with the proper load.

Enjoyed that comparison ... shared it with my 458 socom crazed brother. Yeah, I'm sticking with my 45-70.

The 458 is no slouch. It will still perform well on dangerous animals but I am glad this video demonstrates that the 45-70 is still a great contender and excellent choice. In event of a bear attack I think the 45-70 would be better for penetration, but the 458 would be better for rapid fire and more rounds on hand. Either one would suffice I believe.

if you are going to compare hot 45/70s to the 458 socom, remember that the socom is downloaded to work in the ar platform - and rifle loads for the socom are pretty darn hot

It's all in how you shoulder the weapon , I have owned a number of 45-70's over the years the Browning 1886 carbine, The Marlin 1895 , the Winchester miroku 1886 , the Winchester 1886 light weight rifle , I have shot the Garrett Cartridges and Buffalo Bore etc out of them no problem, in fact I enjoyed it, esp the crescent butt plate.

Great speaking voice! I will follow your recommendation when hunting in steel plate congested areas of Southern Africa. A charging steel plate I have never seen there!

Yeah when my son shot my Marlin lever action 45-70 a few years ago he was saying it feels as bad as Grandpa's '03 and I'm thinking it's no where near the hammering that old Springfield '03 will give you but, it definitely has feedback for you!😁

I once fired 100 rounds from a sporterised .303 Lee Enfield. After that I couldn't shoot any more, even with a 7.62 Parker-Hale sniper rifle. The .303 was mine, the Parker-Hale belonged to the army. Live fire ex, personal weapons allowed. Still, me and the sniper section had a lot of fun. I once fired both barrels of a coachgun together, that hurt too.

Would be interesting to see the socom out of an 18” barrel to test the same barrel lengths

The original loading for the 1873 Springfield trapdoor rifle was 405 grains with 70 grains of blackpowder. Hence 45-70, 405. Later the cavalry carbine was loaded with 300 grain bullet with 50-60 grains of blackpowder. I have been loading for the 45-70 since I was 19. I am soon to be 74. I load barnes 250 gr copper to 2,600 fps, (Barnes data) for my my Marlin 1895 Classic. My Shiloh Sharps fires either Lyman 500 or 535 grain bullets at about 1,350 fps. That is a 57 Chevy worth of energy. 45-70 deadly in 1873 and just as deadly in 2023.

Good Stuff! But fifteen well placed rounds in my .458 Socom in rapid succession is quite entertaining I must say. 😆

Consider comparing the 454 Casull against the 45-70 or 44 magnum on steel.

Try 500 Automax. Buffalo Bore has a 400 grain at 2,050 fps and a 350 grain at 2,300 fps at 4,110 ft lbs.

45/70 is a beast in the no -trapdoor variety.

I built a 458 SOCOM AR and yeah, the recoils is vicious! I added a LimbSaver pad to the MagPul MOE Carbine stock and it still hurts to shoot more than 10 rounds. Hornady 300gr. JSHP, 36gr. of H110, OAL 2.020".

Shooting from a bench with a 45-70 is always going to hurt! You should try Defiant Munitions 45-70.

The area I elk hunt in Montana is really tight and heavily forested and shots are always under 100 yds. I thought the 458 looked useable on paper so I tried it two years ago and it worked just fine. I did go back to my M1A though just in case I got a longer shot and the extra energy is nice to have

I've only heard people say the 458 SOCOM was on par with the 45/70 blackpowder loads, not the modern hot loads.

I have a Ruger No 1 in 45-70, and you will definitely feel it with "Ruger only" hot loads. I would like to see how the 45-70 does on mild steel with a 500 gr. monolithic solid and a max load of powder.

I'd say a 458 would be used to put a huge initial hole in something and the 45-79 to put a huge hole through.

That clamp body is probably cast iron. It is more fragile that steel. You could build a sled without a clamp where the plate slides into a notched piece of square tube.

1:27 especially without a buffer tube for the lever action and a good old wood stock

Loved the video, and I am a die-hard 45-70gov fan 45-70 all the way

50 years ago, that voice would have made a ton of money on the radio.

For your sled, since you use the same thickness plates each time, I think I'd slot the top (same as the handle, but wider slot) and cut a slot at the bottom that will accomodate your thickest plate. Make a spacer for top and bottom to fill the gap for the thinner plates. You'd need some sort of cotter pin or similar on either side of each spacer to make sure they dont pop out on impact. You could get real fancy and have a slot cut on one side (left or right) of the sled for each spacer so you'd only need to secure one side, making it faster to swap and less parts to lose, but that would probably entail a bit more work. Pretty much anything used for clamping that is adjustable is going to fail. Threads will deform, ball sockets will mushroom, the frame will bend over time, etc. I dont see any "hobby grade" stuff holding up, especially if it doesnt weigh so much as to be impractical.

I put a Limb Saver recoil pad on my 45-70. Well worth the money.

G'day from Aus. , the drill press clamp is not designed to take side shock pressure with cast steel, if you design gradient ribs with steel (the thicker, the better), that will take the pressure off the clamp, the clamp would only then be keeping the plate secure, relative content 👍🍻😊

my go to .45-70 load is a 350 gr. Hornady RNFP going at 1902 fps w/ 2811 ft/lbs. It's a hammer, but doesn't do a ton of meat damage like the 300 gr. HP bullets do on deer. I've taken 14 deer with that cartridge and it's yet to lose one or even have one go past 30 yards.

Radio controlled car nitrous gas filled shocks installed into a rifle butt, with a butt plate then attached to that will help to take up recoil even on some of heavy recoiling of rifles in general. A solution that I've found helpful.

Surprisingly, no, I haven't ever wondered what either of those calibers would do on mild steel. And also surprisingly, yes, I did know the 45-70 is significantly more powerful than 458 Socom.

The clam is cracking because it's cast iron and is brittle. A good vise is ductile iron so that it has some flex to deal with shock

There are caveats with the 45-70 cartridge. The 70 meant the original loading was 70 grains of black powder, usually FF powder. The original brass/copper cartridge was of balloon head construction and too weak to contain heavy smokeless powder charges. So, most rifles were not built to contain the pressures either. With the later solid head cartridges the pressure could be raised and better performance achieved. The safety warning to check with the manufacturers is not a warning to take lightly. A modern firearm with modern metallurgy and proper lockup can contain the higher pressure safely. If there is doubt go with the lighter loads that simulate the original black powder load. Enjoy.

This is why, in 1880, while hunting uparmored buffalo, I always used 45/70

The part that broke on your holding fixture absorbed part of the energy of the .45-70 when it struck the 3/8" steel plate. Shoot it again with a solid fixture, perhaps the bullet would completely penetrate the plate.

I love the testing on this channel. Can you shoot through some car doors?

I’d like to see a 458 socom vs 450 bushmaster comparison, although neither does well on steel. Maybe on something analogous to soft tissue?

Always wanted to build a stubby SBR with folding stock and integral suppressed barrel in 458 socomm. The ultimate FAFO firearm 😂

I’d like to see the Lehigh Extreme Penetrators in both cartridges. 😁

Its like partway between original black powder 45-70 and modern higher pressure smokeless 45-70 for lever actions. Out of the ballpark of thr super spicy 45-70s thats only for single shots, but even the original black powder loads could drop huge animals like bison and bear. Saying its like a lighting 45-70 seems pretty apt to me, and its a damn beastly cartridge.

You made a very impressive and entertaining video in this one. I wonder if a 45-70 in FMJ would have defeated the 3/8" plate? With the velocity and energy of that old cartridge I can see how it could be used to take down buffalo (bison).

I noticed @ 2:07 that there are two strike marks on the front cover of your stand. I looked back to when you introduced the stand and there was only one strike mark. That would indicate the 458 SOCOM bullet hit the stand which would have reduced the impact energy on the plate and given a misleading result.

Awesome - Thank you! You should swap the buffer on that .458 to an H2 weight. I picked up the Trinity force silent buffer assembly in H2 for mine and it barely kicks more then a 5.56. I think the barrel length might have a bit of help here as well.

After 2 videos, I’m subscribed. I’m sold. Just take my money

Well you gained another subscriber to this channel.

I have always believed, if you handload for it, the 45-70 is one of the most versatile rifles you can own.

My 45/70 with the Hornady 325's knocks eye water out onto my lenses every shot. Also how I know it needs some checkering at least on the wrist of the stock. The 1895 CB is smooth with a hard butt plate.

Plut the one is out of a semi auto, which soaks up some of the recoil energy.

Dude, you have a sulfur hexafloride voice. Also, great video.

Muzzle breaks do exist. Also the 458 socom with a 300 grain bullet at 1900 fps with a decent muzzle break and a great recoil pad has much less recoil than a shotgun. Shooting 3 games of trap could bruise my shoulder a little sometimes. 458 socom has never done that to me. Ill be casting 500 grain bullets using the lee 459-500-3r this week for the first time and loading them. It should be fun. 1 pound of lead will give 14 bullets

Free professional advice from the experienced filmmaker's peanut gallery? Mirrored sunglasses look awful on camera. Coloured ones especially so. For more reasons than you would bother to read, if I bothered to list them. Your show is lots of fun! Rock on!

I don't know if the vice makes it through the show, but if you loosen the clamp down bolts, and slide the back in, only using the threads to put pressure on the plate, it might now fail completely

I have my 45-70 TC encore pistol loaded with 312 gr pp bullets and 32 grains of 5744. I love shooting it and it has this bad habit of breaking every target i shoot (mainly my brother's pistol targets) Got a doe at 100 yards and she dropped like a steel plate.

My 44 mag winchesters throw a 300gr bullet 1800plus. Never knew it was on par with 458 socom.

When shooting the big boomers/thumpers/deep breathers etc ...... 1, you want your back to be straight up. Lower your seat or raise the bench top. IOW duplicate your standing position. Do not hunch over, like your now doing. 2, with your off hand push forward on the forend, almost as firmly as your trigger hand is pulling back. This will spread the recoil across your entire chest instead of concentrating it into just the one shoulder.

New to the channel, and I have to commend your testing techniques. *subscribed* I'd suggest replacing the broken rear jaw with a plate welded to the rest of frame that the clamp is bolted to.

Seriously though it may kick hard cowboys used to shoot that off of horseback riding at full speed. OK I can’t back that up but it sounded good anyways great video. Thanks.

Not the face I was expecting with that voice 😂

I'd like to see a comparison of the.44 magnum in a rifle and the socom.

Not even close but a 458 soco. With a 325 ahornady FTX will penatrate 4 milk jugs of water an uncarved pumpkin and the inch and a half thick board you put behind everything so you could capture the bullet at 50 yds. It's a beast of a cartridge it's fantastic and an AR platform

This channel is unbelievably mega based