Most Powerful

[Vaquero]

I have only tried one gun shop so far for 41 ammo and he only had HSM cowboy action 210 gr semi wadcutter lead is this ok to use. I was wanting jhp?

can't speak for a 41 but we've used HSM Cowboy Action Ammo in both our Henry 44 Mag and 45-70 .... it performs well in both of them

I have one of the 41 mags, never tried those, but I hand load.
My 41 hasn't seen a jacket bullet since it left the factory.
210's and am working on a 280 gr gas checked.
Got a pic and the load posted in the reloading section.

RP

[Vaquero]

Just picked up a beautiful late vintage Marlin 444SS, just when I was trying to swear off the big thumpers. Oh, well. Love the 444 Marlin cartridge and have experience shooting it. Even had some old ammo laying around. Besides, every girl deserves to have a grizzly bear gun, right?

Got a pair of t-4's, a '87 ss, and a '99 P.
Should put a thumpin on the bear.

RP

[BrokenolMarine]

The largest I owned? A toss up depending on how you rate them. A springfield '03 in 30-06... a fairly powerful load in it's own right... then the Short lived Winchester Big Bore 94 in 375 Winchester. The cartridge didn't last long either and was dropped from their line after a few years. I was a young Marine, and wanted a lever action, the exchange had this one discounted 25% off the already good price. I was young and dumb, having no clue how expensive 375 ammo was til I made the purchase of the first box. Rifle came with one.

I didn't hunt, but one of my Sergeants did, and offered to trade, a nice 45 or a 30-30. He would use the 375 for pig hunting in the swamps back home. I took the 45, I could draw ammo for that at the range. I learn from my mistakes.

[Todddanger]

My Henry brass frame 45/70 is the second 45/70 rifle I've owned. Probably the most powerful rifle I've owned. If you can't kill it with a factory 300 grn hollow point, I don't think I want to hunt it.

[Steve51]

My BBS in .45-70 would be my most powerful rifle but I normally shoot trapdoor level loads with it.

[JEBar]

one can find volumes of interesting reading while researching today's 45-70 Government firearms .... the bottom line is, the vast majority of us will never hunt Africa's Big 6 and the vast majority of firearms in our collections aren't rated as being powerful enough to hunt them .... a 45-70 is one of the exceptions .... as such it comes as no surprise that it is one of the most powerful civilian firearms most of us will ever fire ... it is truly a most a remarkable cartridge

[Yornoc3]

I had a Marlin 45-70, 22" barrel version. We didn't get along real well, since I'm mostly a bolt action guy, so I horse traded it, eventually, into a CZ 9.3 x 62 FS, which is pretty powerful in its own right. Now I have a 45-70 again, in a Henry single shot. We'll get along fine .

[2guns]

So far 340 Weatherby Magnum and 375 H&H

[Steve51]

.45-70 for me.

[Catherine]

given, powerful can mean several different things; such as, longest range or one that generates the most impact .... what is the most powerful rifle that you have ever owned .. ..

for me, it would have to be one of two .... our Henry 45-70 and our Remington Model 700 300 WBY Mag

For me... my former Winchester 30-30 and my former CT Made Marlin 336C in 30-30.

Cate

[Henry88]

I am with Cate at the low end of the spectrum here with the .308. I have never been one for large powerful guns, especially since I don't hunt large powerful animals. I am amazed at the popularity of the 45-70 here and at other forums. People just love them.

To be honest, even the .308 with no pad was beating me up a little last time. I stopped shooting it before I wanted to cause it was too much kick.

[GaHenryFan]

I'm in the 45-70 camp. I don't find the recoil to be harsh at all. Even my hotter loads are more of a shove than a sharp kick. I will say that I never shoot it from a bench though. I just lean into it a little and then roll back with the recoil. Loaded down to subsonic levels, it's a real cream puff to shoot, but still hits like a freight train.

[JEBar]

felt recoil is highly subjective .... in thinking back, in my younger days, recoil wasn't the issue for me that it is today .... the most accurate slug gun I've ever fired or owned was a 6 lb featherweight Ithaca Deer Slayer pump 12 ga .... it was also the kick'n'est shotgun I've ever fired or owned .... no way I'd fire it with a slug or 00-buck today .... I still enjoy big boomers but age and blood thinning meds have drastically my tolerance for recoil .... since most of my rifle shooting is from a bench, I've found I have upgrade my hard kick'ers and adjust my hand loads so as to reduce felt recoil .... thankfully, that works for me

[Shakey Jake]

I've owned .308, .270, and now .25-06 as far as rifles go. They certainly are not large calibers for sure. I gave up on the .308 and .270 for deer where I had my lease. The deer weren't all that large in the area and I scaled down a bit. I sold the .308 and 270 a long time ago. I just got a used Marlin .44 mag and am anticipating going to the range with it for the first time. Right now it's just got the iron sight. I may upgrade to a Skinner. Undecided at this point.