45-70 necked down to 338 wildcat?

[ed209clark]

A friend of mine gave me some loaded ammo/ brass that he thought was 45/70 govt but it's not it's 45-70 necked down to 338. I've never heard of it, can someone please give me some background on this cartridge, I can't find anything in my reloading books and very little on line, maybe a lever action wildcat, if there is such a thing.

Merry Christmas and many thanks! Ed

 

[Greatgrandad]

The old 33 Winchester was formed from a 45-70 case.

 

[Greatgrandad]

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In the present age of long-range shooting and extended-range hunting, specialty cartridges designed and groomed for those applications, cell phone ballistic apps and turreted scopes rivaling the ocular strength of the Hubble telescope, we’ve forgotte

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[ed209clark]

Mystery solved!!!! Thanks everyone!!!!

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

That would be a nice rifle (1866) and cartridge to have. Are flat point .338" bullets available?

 

[LVJ76]

I believe Hornady and Buffalo Arms make some.

 

[ed209clark]

I want one now!

Hornady has the FTX in .338 200gr, I like the 338 RUM, a lot, so I have plenty of 338 bullets if I want to only load two rounds, The swift A-Frame and Nosler partition are fairly flat too…

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

I agree Ed. Intriguing round and I have plenty of 45-70 brass to neck some down

 

[ntsqd]

There are a couple 'smiths out there who specialize in the big bore lever guns. One of them may be interested in such a project.

 

[epoletna]

There is a larger lever action case necked down to a larger diameter, too: 50-110 necked down to .348 and called .348 Winchester. Available in a Winchester lever but I can't remember which it was. In any case, what you're looking at is an older cartridge designed for a lever action.

 

[Taj]

Good old .33 Winchester. Actually a very good cartridge. In that same realm as the .348. I have two of those in Win. model 71's. Carbine and rifle. Have killed a few hogs with it and it works very well.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

I had a gorgeous 71 in 348 Win several years ago. Sold it to a guy for 3x what I paid for it. Sent it to him in a hard case and he decided he didn't want it and sent it back in a cardboard box without proper padding (he kept my hardcase) and when it got to me the box was a mess as was the rifle including a badly damaged crown. I refused the package after taking pictures and didn't return his money. I still don't know if he ever insured it.