I couldn't find the video I was speaking of earlier but I did find another one of a guy taking 3 doe with sub sonic 500+ grain lehigh controlled fracturing. All over 100 yards, all pass through with slow motion impact and with the last one he found the slug in the base of the tree that was behind the deer. Just goes to show how you absolutely do NOT need the latest greatest magnum cartridge. All three of these shots, the doe didn't even slow the bullet down. Just punched right through. The first 2 you can see the ground strike behind the deer. It's really all about bullet design more than it is speed. The Lehigh CF bullets have pedals that shear off inside the cavity and the slug (which is most of the weight of the bullet) pounds on through. My sister has dropped a few deer with Bloodlines which if I have been told correctly are pretty much the same design. I know for a fact every deer she has hit with them from 48 yards out to over 200 has fell within 50 yards of impact (most dropped right there) and this was with a .50cal muzzleloader. I tend to make my own conical bullets for my sidelocks and, depending on what hardness I tin them to, I will generally get pass through performance as well. Now If I go with less tin then they are pretty soft and expand quickly, dumping a ton of energy into the deer which causes shock trauma. If I'm anywhere near CNS this is a dropping shot. Anyway, here is the video I found. Maybe actually seeing what we are talking about will inform you.

excellent example of what I see with my so called weak rounds, the 45-70 Lever Evolution bullets

seeing the bullet in flight was pretty cool.

45-70 is one of the best rounds to take any large North America I typically shoot 500 grain HC and have taken everything from bison, elk, bears, deer and all in between down. The other thing it has been around for over 150 years for that reason.

Very good post and answers. I have killed many deer with my 45-70, and it's probably my favorite rifle. I wouldn't be afraid to use it on any N.A. game animal. Also, if I were in a situation where I was being charged by a huge brown bear from close range, I would rather have the 45-70 or a 12 gauge with heavy slugs than a 7mm mag, 30-06 or any other such cartridge.

Ive hunted for decades with mostly 340 wby and 375 H&H rifles, but the camp BACK-UP rifle we packed for decades was a marlin 45/70 loaded with a hard cast 400 grain bullet over 49 grains of IMR 3031 and a 215 fed primer, thats stout but several grains lower that the max listed powder charge.
over several decades many guys found they had fogged scopes or broken scope mounts , etc.
and they were more or less forced to use the camp back up rifle, that 45/70 was sighted in at 3.5" high at 100 yards ... that rifle made a whole bunch of people believers in that 45/70 as an elk and mule deer gun.. enough so that several guys purchased one themselves, after using it and seeing how well it worked in the conifer and aspen where we very seldom saw game past 175 yards.
yes the magazines all promote the newest super wizz bang magnums in 6.5mm, -30 caliber, but most of the experienced hunters, in my group, have seen what cartridges like a 35 Whelan or a 45/70 or 450 marlin have done to deer and elk, in fact I'm the last old geezer , in that group,that still hunts with a magnum 375 H&H sako carbine, almost everyone else has swapped to a 308 win or 358 win blr or a cartridge like a 338/06 or 35 Whelan years ago! my carbine looks very similar to this
https://garage.grumpysperformance.co...d9a652d83ca7bc