RE: Would You Hunt a ...With a Lever Action 45-70?
Redriver,
With all that said in defense of the .45-70 I use a .458 Lott for my heavy rifle. I do however use a .45-70 in a Marlin guide gun as a primary and back up rifle for our hog and bear hunts in TX and NM. I reload out of the speer manual and they show a 1800 or 1900 FPS load for the Marlin with a 405 gr and I'll tell you what if you want to really get ballistic look at the loads available for a ruger #1 or a bolt action mauser in 45-70.
I also agree with you that the .416 in any of the three current comercial chamberings are pretty darn hard to beat. Great amounts of energy and flat shooting maybe the perfect all around dangerous game rifle. Having the ability to take that 200 yd shot on Buff or knock em down in the thick stuff is pretty darn cool!