Saturno, let's clarify something.
You're very much hung up on the muzzle energy thing, and that's too bad, really. I wish I could loan you my Sharps, a few boxes of 535gr BP loads, and let you loose at some deer, elk, or bison.
I notice you've disregarded such things as Taylor Knockout Value, the bullet diameter, and the impressive retained energy of those big slugs, much to the chagrine of hunters and shooters who have worked with the venerable BP big bores over the years. Don't let the cantankerous and curmudgeonly Chuck Hawks dictate to you how it works in his little world. He has a reputation that precedes him by a country mile.
I doubt the 45-70, in its original loadings, would be considered an effective "big game" (huge, tough and dangerous) cartridge by today's standard.
Tell that to these folks, all 6 pages of them:
http://www.shilohrifle.com/trophy.html
Do you suppose they were lucky?
Do you consider their BP Cartridge firearms to be poor hunting choices, more akin to poaching with a rimfire than a serious hunting round for the critters they harvested?
Are they inferior sportsmen for doing so?
I wouldn't even think of going after an American Bison with my .30-30 Winchester Model 94. However, I do indeed plan on taking one with my .45-70 Sharps Business Rifle, sometime before I take my dirt nap. I've done whitetail to 400 yards already, in anticipation of bigger critters later on. Every time I go to the freezer, I ask the venison if it knew the difference between the .45-70 and a .30-06. No answer, so far. Then again, I routinely shoot BPCR silhouette with the same rifle to 800 yards and more. I'm comfortable with the gun and its vernier sights.
Assuming good shot placement, I don't understand the huge amount of angst generated in this thread by folks not wanting us old timers to use something other than a centerfire magnum with a huge 56mm objective scope. Pity the poor muzzleloading folks, and those guys with the Whitworths? They're absolutely silly!
Would I go after a Cape Buffalo or something else that would grind me into a bloody rut with a BP loaded .45-70? Probably not. They have minimum requirements over there on The Continent, and most start with something like the .375 H&H Magnum. I know of a few people who have taken dangerous game over there with the .45-70, but it's with modern, higher-pressure loadings like what Buffalo Bore and Garrett offer. Rich Lucibella, owner of The Firing Line, was one.
As for the .243 Winchester and .30-30 Winchester, it's a given that they work for their intended purposes. The .30-30 Winchester has probably put more venison on American dinner tables than all others, but it's also maimed or wounded more animals than folks let on, too. I'd also be quite hesitant to take a .243 after critters that I'd be just fine using the .45-70 on, BP load or smokeless.
I'm not going to come in here and urinate on somebody else's choice of hunting caliber. That's been done already in this thread, and I'm somewhat taken aback by their choice of words. But if I personally choose to use my Sharps or my Rolling Block, with a BP load and cast bullet, to take an American Bison, black bear, elk, or whitetail, is somebody really going to call my choice ineffective? See pictures from the link I gave above, and consider that "ineffective" label carefully. Even the Box o' Truth had an interesting test using a Sharps, his results were eye-opening, to say the least.
BTW, I own at last count a couple hundred firearms. I have been told I have more money than brains, and they're probably right. Truth is, since I retired a couple years ago, most of my centerfire smokeless rifles stay in the gun safes these days, because I'm having too much fun out there on the range with the Sharps, Rolling Block, and Ruger #1S. I know I can easily send a fast Ferrari into my target downrange, but I much prefer sending that slow Semi tractor there instead. It's a kick in the pants, and it gives me a greater appreciation for our hunting and shooting forefathers, who weren't all that concerned about big honking riflescopes and maximum point-blank range. They knew how to shoot, and I definitely respect them for it. I don't refer to it as "lobbing" a round in and hoping for the best, any more than my fellow BPCR shooters do. I know the range to my intended target, and I am intimate with the rear sight settings. I refuse to be considered a second-class citizen just because it takes a little longer for my bullet to get there on its arched trajectory, nor will I be made to feel bad about it. Quite the contrary - I'm doing something that a majority of folks in the woods either don't have the desire to learn, or feel it's worth their time.
Not enough instant gratification, I guess.
Regardless, you'll never meet a nicer and more skilled bunch of people than BPCR shooters and their old buffalo cartridges. They, too, would chafe at the terms "ineffective" and "Pre Cold War relics".
I'm a hospitable guy. Meet me in Forsyth, MT this June 20th and I'll be more than happy to introduce them to y'all.
).....unbelievable how the BP original 45-70 was "only" a 1500-1600 ft/lb round
