A Marlin 1895 SBL in .45-70 is a decent option for sure, but is lacking in versatility for such things as making a 200+ yard shot across a muskeg. Rounds like the .375, 9.3, or .338 work really well on a bear at five yards and make 250 yard shots with ease, which is not true of a lever action round. Some might be comforted by the idea of a lever action being faster, but in my experience a practiced bolt action user can maintain a perfectly suitable rate of fire. Disregarding the chubby-stocked 8+ pound abortions of the lever gun world some people are willing to put up with, a lever action can make for a nice, trim rifle that's more pleasant to carry than a bolt action. On the other hand, though a lever gun can certainly use a cartridge of sufficient power for the job, the smash provided by proper bolt action cartridges is greater. I trust both lever actions and bolt actions around here, but if I were forced to only have one it would be the bolt gun.
