I have two of them. A friend, retired Sgt Maj, and I was having a talk about that. The way guys today are thought to shoot, they will not shoulder a higher power rifle in a way the minimizes recoil. Not saying this is the case here. One that I have is ported and one is not. Maybe I am just a numb skull, they seem about the same to me. I like shooting them. I also have a 444 marlin, factory ammo is hotter than the 45-70 gov. If you reload you can load Marlins to a group II load, which is hotter than a 444 Marlin. The group III loads are only for Ruger No 1s. They are about 500 FPS slower than a .458 Win Mag,,,, HOT HOT HOT. Because of all the old trapdoors and older 45-70 rifles, commercial ammo is limited to 45-70 Gov. Using a group II or III load in a trap door would probably disassemble the rifles and shooter.