In the new movie Wind River, what is the make, model, and caliber of the rifle Jeremy Renner uses? Why does it appear to be so devastatingly powerful?
Per the Internet Movie Firearms Database, Renner carries two different rifles in Wind River.[1] The first is a Reminton Model 700. They can be had in a lot of calibers (more than 30) ranging from .17 Remington to .458 Winchester Magnum. Some of these are pretty powerful cartridges. The .458 Winchester Magnum has about twice the power of a .308 Winchester. Let’s pretend for a moment that’s the one you’re talking about, even though I doubt it. I haven’t seen the movie, but according to the IMFDB, he’s using it to take down coyotes. You don’t need more than a .223 Remington for that purpose.The other rifle is a Marlin Model 1895SBL. This rifle is chambered in the devastating .45–70 Government cartridge. Compared to the .458 Winchester Magnum, the .45–70 doesn’t seem all that powerful at only about 4,500 Joules (compared to the 7,000 Joules in the .458WM). The thing is…that’s if you’re shooting the 300 grain bullet. Many people, if they have a “strong action,” can shoot a much heavier bullet. You can easily find a 500 grain bullet. It’s the load which destroyed fields of bison. For killing just about any game in North America, it might almost be seen as overkill. For use against a person, it is absolutely overkill.Footnotes[1] Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games