I owned a MH rifle for about 15 years and shot it on a intermitten basis. Felt recoil was less than a 45/70 but the MH cartridge is a bit more powerful. Due to the (IMHO) somewhat small sights, accurate/precision shooting was difficult, most 45/70's would probably outshoot it The cartridge is a joy to reload using smokeless powder and because of the generous throat dimensions their is alot of "windage" available for bullet diameter (up to .462 reported). I used paper patched (cigarette paper or even masking tape) lead bullets at times as well the traditional lubed bullets, all seemed to have about the same results. It's one of the most robust and simplest rifles I've ever seen. You would think there are 1000's of them out there since their only enemy appears to be neglect and rust. When I got my short lever MH circa 1886 (Potomac Arms, 1979, $125) I also purchased thru the Shotgun News modern brass(B.E.L.L. labs) for $3.50 each, loading dies for about $50 and a chamber adapter that permitted me to fire .45 ACP cartridges. Had the recoil of a .22LR and decent accuracy. The MH makes a great addition to any gun collection, no rifle has more history or is more colorfull.
