Gibbs, I would not recommend a hard cast bullet in the 45/70 ... not even for Whitetail deer. I know the trend is now toward hardcast, but they tend to shatter at the higher velocities. I know a fellow who took a 45/70 to Africa last year and found exactly that. The PH wants his clients to use the same type of solids that are used in the 458 Mag. (I'm referring to what is becoming the annual levergunners safari, in case anyone is interested in going next year).
Regarding the idea that whatever is in use now is the best killer, that may be the case, but maybe not. I've noticed two trends in modern North American hunting. First, the trend to use more powerful cartridges like the 338 Win Mag, the 300 Win Mag, and the 7mm Mag for animals such as Whitetail deer and Black bear. There is always the thinking that bigger and faster is better. It might be, but then again, maybe there are other cartridges that will do the job just as well. I've found that the old cartridges shooting slow, heavy bullets kill just as effectively, if not more so, and I'm not the only one. The second trend I've noticed is toward hard cast bullets. These have become popular, I believe, because folks don't want to be bothered working up a soft cast load, which can be tricky. Hard cast bullets may be easier to find an accurate load for, but they can break apart on game. Now I'm not saying that the newer African big game cartridges are not as good as some of the older ones. In fact, without any experience to say the contrary, I believe that the newer African cartridges are far better than the old ones (in the same way that a 338 Win Mag is better for groundhogs than 44-40). Both kill them dead but the newer, more powerful ones do it more impressively. For all I know, bullet construction and weight may be much more important that variations in velocity.
Last year was the first year of the levergunners safari. This year, there was another and plans are already underway for another one next year. The 45/70 is emerging as the levergun of choice for African game, for those who want to use leverguns. I don't think I or anyone else (in their right mind) would argue that the 45/70 is better than the modern, powerful African cartridges. I expect that those big, powerful African cartridges are better ... at least it seems that way to me without any experience to say the contrary. What my lucky levergun friends might argue is that the 45/70 seems to kill just as well as the more powerful cartridges (in the same way that the lowly 44-40 kills groundhogs just as well as the 375 H&H). The bottom line is that, in spite of what various writers speculate about the 45/70 in Africa, it simply has not had enough experience there to see how it does with the same solids that are used in the more modern guns. The PH that organizes the levergunners Safari, seems to recommend 1,800 fps, at least 400 grains, and solids for the 45/70. That may change, however, with further experience. Is the 45/70, properly loaded with solids, a good African cartridge? I don't know and no one can really say until it has been tried a lot more. My experience with Groundhogs is that, although a 458 Mag is more powerful, a 22 long rifle hollow point seems to kill them just as well. My experience with Whitetail deer has led me to believe that a soft cast bullet chugging along out of a 38/55 will kill a Whitetail deer just as well as a 338 Win Mag. Unfortunately, I do not have experience in Africa and my budget tells me that I am unlikely to ever have any experience in Africa, so I can only look on with envy at my levergunner friends are doing it and, hopefully, over time, see how some of the more powerful levergun cartridges do there, properly loaded for African game.
