Smith & Wesson Adds .45-70 Gov't Chambering To Model 1854

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posted on April 12, 2025
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Smith & Wesson Model 1854 .45-70 lever-action rifle stainless steel black polymer stock with attached sling held in right hand of camouflage hunter outdoors
Images courtesy of Smith & Wesson.

Few people realized that Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson, founders of the Smith & Wesson company, were partners in one of the earliest ventures to build lever-action firearms. That history was made apparent with last year’s launch of S&W’s 1854 series of lever-action rifles chambered in classic revolver cartridges. New for 2025, the company is expanding that lineup by offering the 1854 chambered in the legendary .45-70 Gov’t cartridge.  

Right side of the walnut-stocked Smith & Wesson Model 1854 lever-action rifle.
Smith & Wesson is introducing a .45-70 chambering to its 1854 lever-action lineup (the Traditional Walnut model shown).

The Smith & Wesson 1854 .45-70 shares many of the features of the pistol-caliber versions, including a crossbolt safety, large-loop lever and flat-faced trigger. A forged stainless-steel receiver is paired with a 20” stainless-steel barrel that has eight-groove rifling with a 1:20” RH twist. Capacity is six rounds in the fixed, underbarrel magazine tube.

Angled, left-side view of the black and stainless-steel Smith & Wesson Model 1854 lever-action rifle.
The rifle will also be offered with a matte finish on its stainless steel components and black synthetic furniture.

A 5.75” Picatinny rail comes attached to the receiver for mounting optics. Iron sights are in the form of a front post with a gold bead and a rear XS Sights “ghost ring” aperture. The front sight base and magazine are set back enough for the muzzle to be threaded 11/16x24 TPI for mounting suppressors and other muzzle accessories. The rifle weighs 7.2 lbs. and has an overall length of 37.8”.

A scoped Smith & Wesson Model 1854 lever-action rifle shown lying on an animal skin rug, next to several .45-70 Gov't cartridges.
Smith & Wesson adds the historic and legendary .45-70 Gov't rifle cartridge chambering to its 1854 lever-action lineup introduced in 2024.

Like the other rifles in the 1854 series, the new .45-70 models will be offered with a matte stainless finish and black synthetic furniture with M-Lok slots in the fore-end, or a “Traditional Walnut” model, with wood stock and a matte black Armornite finish on all stainless steel components. The matte stainless version has an MSRP of $1,399 and the Traditional Walnut version retails at $1,499. For more information, see the company’s website.

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