Excellent! I have a single shot .45-70 H&R Buffalo Classic with globe front sight and Lyman receiver sight. Long 32" barrel, curved metal buttplate. I have been shooting Buffalo Bore 405 grain .45-70 "Magnum" ammo and equivalent handloads in it. Action is plenty stout for that. I shoot it during our primitive weapons deer season here, presently open, which permits such centerfire rounds original produced in the very distant past, from single shot exposed hammer rifles.
For the uninitiated, the Buffalo Bore 405 grain ammo is rated at 2,000 fps and 3,500 ft/lbs. of energy. From the long 32" barrel it chronos at just over 2,100 fps, averaging about 2130 fps. That translates into 4081 ft.lbs. of energy -- elephant gun range.
Suffice it to say that with that curved metal buttplate I had to put a slip on Limbsaver pad to make it bearable. Recoil is . . . brisk.
But, terminal ballistics on whitetails is phenomenal. Of course, it still has a rainbow trajectory due to the flat nosed bullet design, even with the increased velocity.
Since it is a single shot, I'm working up some 400 grain Barnes Original spire pointed soft point bullet loads. Much higher BC than the flat nosed lever action bullets, so they ought to extend range a little bit.
When you let one of these off at a shade over 2,100 fps (as opposed to 1200 fps for factory ammo), lets just say the event gets your attention. You want to get it sighted in with as few shots as possible. Fun for infrequent shooting, but not for extended sessions at the bench. In the field, you do your job, you only take one shot and don't feel the discomfort at all.
