I'm shooting a VERY healthy charge of H4198 under a 350 gr. Hornady FP. It shoots excellent in my 1895 Marlin 22" bbl., but you better have ahold of it. It'll loosen your fillings. As bc stated... with the mild factory ammo, it is not bad at all. If you reload, your manual should give you load ranges for the early trapdoors, the newer Marlin type guns, and the Ruger type actions. The factory ammo is loaded to the early trapdoor requirements for obvious reasons. And I'm quite certain that load is perfectly capable of killing deer and black bear. If you want one, get one. They're a fun gun.