One more instance I feel I should cite is a well documented hunt by a writer named Brian Pierce. He was using a 45-70 with Hornaday 400gr solids @1800fps. He shot a cape buffalo bull broadside at 50 yds. The bullet went through and killed a cow buff on the other side, Then the bull turned and ran and he "texas heart shot it" through the rear and it still destroyed the heart. Sounds ok to me.

Nitro X, thank you for acknowledging that the 45-70 will kill any cape buff on earth.

Please remember I never said it was awesome or the best, only an adequate min., like the 375, or even the 9.3.

I have been doing some more thinking on this and I have concluded that while it will kill an elephant, I probably would not use it. But for leopard, lion, buff, croc, and even rhino I would use it. without hesitation. Please remember that elephant is not the only DG.

And according to everything I have read (which is quite alot) the 45-70 was the most common caliber used because of its lowcost, ease of reloading, and avilability. Of course other rounds were used as well, as MILLIONS of bison were killed, and the 45-70 was pretty much the easiest cheapest caliber around then that could do the job.

There are many knowledgable folks on here, only biased against the 45-70. I will keep my questions on the subject of classic calibers on this forum in the future.

I am going to try to conduct some penetration tests of my own and will post the results. I will try other mediums than wet newsprint. This may take some time but I will post it as soon as i have it.
P.S.
I seriously doubt that John Linebaugh sat around one day and thought "gee I wonder what test medium will make the 45-70 look good and NE calibers look bad?" I believe he used it because it was cheap and readily available.It MAY have caused the 45-70 to look better than it is but I dont think this was done on purpose.

Good huntin and to each his own:)