I've owned and hunted with .45-70s for years mainly in Remington Rolling Block replicas, a Sharps carbine replica, a Ruger #1S and a Marlin Guide Gun. Great! for close range deer hunting... the Marlin Guide Gun was really nice for jump hunting whitetails in thick brush. It was equipped with Ghost Ring sights and very fast on target out to 100 yards. I thought when I was plains game hunting in the bush in South Africa that the Marlin Guide Gun would have been perfect. But, I've enjoyed just as good a performance from plain old 8mm Mausers with cheaper ammunition. One 8mm Husqvarna I have with an 18 1/2" barrel and a low powered scope is every bit the equal of the Guide Gun just not quite as fast on follow up shots. My 9.3X62 Mauser way out performs the .45-70 in a wider variety of situations so I believe it was the lever action Marlin and not the round that was the real advantage. Hence, I sold the .45-70s in favor of the Mausers.