Started out hunting with a 7X57 and a box of 140 gr Core Lokts. The combination was effective with the furthest run of a critter being 20 ft or less.
After a few years someone introduced me to the 45/70 and explained how a 400 gr slug would readily dispatch of any game on the planet. Hence the 45/70 marlin lever action replaced my trusty 7X57 and the 7X57 was sold.
Unfortunately the 45/70 soon introduced me to my first ever lost animal. It wasn't because of recoil as I routinely printed under an inch at 100 yds with ease. Soon after I lost another near trophy buck at a mere 50 yds. The rifle had double the recoil and was extremely disappointing when used to take lung shots I had been accustomed to taking. The last animal I shot with my 45/70 was a lung shot at about 30 yds. Sure as hell the animal just up and run off. It ran about 50 yds and stopped and looked straight at me. I knew I never missed because I was friggen accurate as hell when practicing with this rifle. At 80 yds I put the open sights right between the eyes and sure enouph put a hole right between the eyes. I'm a hunter who appreciates the lung shot so to me the 45/70 was nothing more than the biggest hunk of crap I'd ever encountered.
Now I'm using a 270 winchester and the first thing I noticed was my affection for my hunting companions had dramatically increased. No worries though because the increased affection was nothing more than me being more sentimental in my older years and was nothing more than completely natural!
Folks just don't understand 270 luv!
Shod
