The life span of rifle cartridges is hard to predict because shooters have the fickle habit of tossing them asunder at one stage and then voting for a resurrection decades or even generations later.

This column, “Rebirth of the .45/70,” appeared in the September 1972 issue of Outdoor Life. The life span of rifle cartridges is hard to predict because shooters have the fickle habit of tossing them ...