H&R 45-70 questions

[1972Pinto]

I'm looking to purchase a 45-70 to hunt bear with this fall in the thick selkirk unit. In my area, the marlin 45-70's are running around  $700-$900. However I've seen a couple h&r single shot 45-70's around $200. Obviously the marlin is a more quality firearm, however is the h&r worth the money? Some people swear by them and others call them junk. Any input and experience would be greatly appreciated!

[Dan-o]

We've had a few over the years.

they were not disappointing to me.

I mean they are what they are but they always worked and were reasonably accurate......

[kukusya]

H&R is simple and reliable firearm, but it's single shot. If you 1000% sure that you can make 1shot 1kill go for it. Personally I would want to be around bear within 100 yards and have only one shot. Bear might look nice and cute but it is wild predator even wounded one can cover 100 yards in matter of seconds. My best advice look in to bolt action rifle in .30 caliber. New rifle from Savage Mossberg or Ruger start around 300$. And don't forget check it out Classifieds section too.
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/board,102.0.html

Good luck.

[724wd]

I have an H&R Survivor .308.  I like it a lot!  shoots good and it's fairly heavy, so recoil is mild.  I got it since my daughter is a lefty (and I always wanted one).  make your first shot count and you're golden!   

[1972Pinto]

Well I'm no precision shooter, but the area where I go, 100 to yards is about as far as you can see. I figure a 45-70 should have enough bone busting power,won't damage too much meat, and should be plenty accurate for 100 yards. I have a 300 win mag as well, but I've notices the bullets tend to explode on impact at those speeds.

[superdown]

I have had several H&R single shot rifles they are simple and decent quality.The thing about hunting with i single shot is practice reloading for speed it doesn't take much practice to get more than quick enough.Carry a side arm or bear spray if you're nervous besides Muzzle loaders and bows are single shot also.If you look around hard enough you can find marlin 45-70's for less than $700 without much effort.I bought a almost new in the box Winchester 1886 light rifle at the Tacoma dome gun show for $750 otd.