My preference for a "hunting" 45-70 is a hard (bhn 18-22), wide as possible meplat, gaschecked cast bullet at as close to 1650 fps as possible, give or take for accuracy, give a little for trapper-length barrel. I've shot various game animals with such a load, total penetration no matter the angle.
I do have a High Wall that is for entertainment purposes only, shooting a 500 grain Government profile bullet at 1250 fps. Fun to shoot, and I like accepting the challenge of shooting such a rifle with a tang sight. I'm still learning, and probably don't have as good a sight as I could for varying distances, mine is a Marbles with no scale. Baby steps.
My serious rifles are a Marlin Guide gun and one of the new Trappers. Both equipped with low-power scopes. I throated the Trapper so that the chamber matched the GG for length, The Trapper had almost no throat. I've tried bullets up to 550 grains in them, the most versatile being 420 to 430 grains. 1650 or so is a velocity that allows some flattening of the trajectory but recoil is manageable. I've went to 1800+, but recoil was slowing recovery for another shot, and it just weren't no fun to shoot.
Another load with possibilities is a 500 grain RNFP at 1370 fps, tolerable to shoot but it sure will dig in.
I've tried 300 grain HPs at 2100+ fps. Trajectory emulated a 30-30 with the added benefit of 3X the recoil....
