It seems as if some people think that a 45-70 is just a bad word! I bought a 45-70 because I wanted one, not to convert it to something that it is not. A 350 grain bullet at 1,900 fps serves my purposes well. I could have bought another caliber, but the 45-70 was my choice for my purposes. Not everyone is in this to try something stupid that a particular gun is not designed to handle. That being said, I do not think that I would ever consider the Baikal just from a quality standpoint. It does not seem likely that it will progress to the category of good value, but then I am willing to be surprised.