RE: Lever action rifle and ammo for big game
45-70, 450 Marlin or 444 Marlin(with handloads) any of which will do the job under 200 yards on anything, except I would exclude the 444 from Grizzly.
I shoot a 444 with 300 gr bullets and it will drop a Moose or Elk every bit as fast as 45-70 or 450 marlin. The only drawback is BETTER bullet selection for the 45 calibers.
Any of these 3 calibers is an EXCELLENT hunting round...
BUT as Colorado BoB stated a 30-06 in a BLR would be a LITTLE better...it would give you another 75-100 yards if you were using 30-06. This would give you about 300 yards (MAX) range.