I hunted 3 times in Alaska with Ed Stevenson. He had been guiding brown bear hunts for 40 years. The 45/70 was his favorite caliber. He used an old beat up Browning 1886. He liked the fast handling and fast follow up shots of the lever gun. I have a Marlin 1895SS myself. The heavy loads are quite a handful in the lightweight Marlin. Seems to recoil about like a 458 in a heavy bolt gun. Maybe the heavy recoil gives the illusion of high power. But I doubt a Buffalo could tell the difference between 500 grains at 2000fps and 420 grains at the same speed. Some people on the African forums seem to put it in the "stunt" category when used against dangerous game. But, then they turn around and say the 375 h&h is surefire death on the same animals. Something just doesn't add up....