I was really trying to stay out of this debate[its been beat to death over at accurate reloading for years now]. However, I went back and reread Steve1s opening post. He started out asking if it was "adequate", and before we get 2 pages into the thread, it turns into "it has to be a stopping rifle". What I found amusing is the constant "stopping the charge if things go wrong". What made this amusing was that I happened to do a search on Mark Sullivan over at AR[he brings up as much rant as the .45-70]. Here, naysayers to the .45-70 make it sound like there COULD be a charge behind every bush. However, when you read the MS threads, there is no way you can get that many charges. Even Saeed said he has shot over 100 buffs and has had no charges. One ph posted that he had hunted buff for 20+ years and was only charged once, by an unwounded cow! My only point here is that both sides get sooo passionate about their "side" that we tend to get away from the question asked.
Adequate yes, game stopper? maybe si maybe no. My take is if you are using adeqate bullets for the job, it comes down to "operator error" more than the machinery you are operating with. FWIW, I totally agree with everything Mule Deer has posted on the subject, so far.
I guess when this thread finally runs out of gas, we should start one on "Mark Sullivan using the .45-70 guide gun as a stopping rifle".
