Nobody here has saidthe 45-70won't kill deer, elk or moose. Obviously, it will. But, it is primarily a 100-150 yard deer rifle. It will kill them at 200 yards, but, with a 100 yard zero, the 405 grain Remington factory loads will drop two feet at 200 yards, so, knowing exactly how far you are from the target is really critical. Also, the generally accepted energy level needed for humanely killing a deer is 1000 ft. lbs., which means (again using the Remington charts for their 300 and 405 grain bullets), the 45-70 is done at 200 yards, if you can lob a round into the deer from that far away.