It appears to be in vogue for African hunters to malign the 45-70. Maybe they just can't deal with the fact that they spent so much hard-earned money on ridiculously expensive rifles when a four-hundred-dollar Marlin levergun has been proven effective against all the species on this planet. That would make me a little sick too.
Duck911, get the 45-70. They are just a bunch of fun to shoot and load for, and they kill game extremely well.
By the way, the range limitation resides with the hunter, not the caliber. A 45-70 will kill game at any range the shooter can hit the vitals. The same is true for the 30-378 magnum or 50 BMG. Words to the effect that the 45-70 is a short-range cartridge is pure horse pucky.
I have a friend that has taken 4 Elephants with Contenders. The first one was with a 45-70 that he borrowed from JD Jones and it worked to perfection for Ray
