I'm going to comment first on l-r's post...the gun weighs 8# (mine only weighs about 7.5#). It's not that much heavier than a bolt gun in a standard configuration, certainly isn't as heavy as my standard bolt guns with scopes. I personally think it's quite well suited to portage, most leverguns do lend themselves to carry quite well (hand around the receiver). Just for it's slim profile and form hugging shape, I'd rather carry mine afield than any of my bolt guns (although on LONG walks I usually take my Marlin 1895 Guide gun).

The 1895 Cowboy is the same strong 1895 action. These guns are why Cor-bon and buffalo Bore and Garrett Cartridge starting putting out the ".45-70 Magnum" rounds. Some writers have coined these loads (and similarly powered handloads) as the .45-70 Marlin.

I absolutely love mine. Like I said, I've got two 1895's right now, one guide gun (short) and one cowboy (long). I've had the 444 (1895 in .444M) and the 1895M (.450Marlin) in the past, but I keep coming back to the BP cartridge. I'm planning on adding another guide gun in the spring, in blued this time.