I am an avid hunter with rifle and Bow and have been hunting for more than 50 years. I have taken big game such as whitetail deer, red deer, elk, moose, buffalo, Russian boar and African Plains game
such as Kudu, Gemsbok, Springbok, Blesbok, and Impala and wrote an ebook entitled African Safari -Rifle and Bow and Arrow on how to prepare for a first safari. Ed is a serious cartridge reloader and ballistics student. He has earned two degrees in science and has written hundreds of outdoor article on hunting with both bow and rifle. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife Susan. He is a Patriot Life Member of the NRA.
What does Strong Action mean when it comes to Lever Rifles such as the new Ruger made Marlin 1895?
Strong action means 40,000 c.u.p. (copper unit of pressure). Some reloading manuals such as Barnes® et al, use 43,000 psi as a marker for pressure. To check your rifle cartridge for either psi or cup pressure see below.
In 1873 the standard 45-70 Government cartridge used a 45 caliber 405g bullet with 70 grains of black powder…hence the name 45-70. I consider the 400g bullet as big, however these vintage rifle barrels and actions like the trap door or Sharps were no where near capable of todays modern 45-70 pressures.
Many of todays 45-70 lever rifles can handle bullets over 500 grains as long as they don’t exceed COL cartridge overall length and have a cannelure for a roll crimp to fit the 45-70 lever rifles. As an example, see
And because of strong actions, these big bullets can achieve velocities approaching and in some cases exceed 2000 fps. Like getting hit by a fast train.
These heavy bullets provide a key ingredient. Penetration! Alaskan guides sometimes use the 45-70 lever actions as back-up for close dangerous game encounters such as brown and grizzly bears.
It is momentum, a product of mass (bullet weight) and velocity which creates unparalleled penetration. And it is the damage done by the bullet as it passes through tissue. Bullet speed aids greatly in radial damage as well.
Some use the Marlin on African safari with great success.
I prefer a controlled feed bolt action with my M77 .375 Ruger like I did with my recent American buffalo hunt, or larger like the 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger for really big dangerous game such as cape buffalo.
I use a recoil taming shoulder harness when practicing on the bench.
Standing free hand, these big rifles rock your whole body thus absorbing the more tolerable heavy recoil.
It is a wild ride that keeps me coming back for more adventure.
Since purchasing my new Marlin 1895 45-70 SBL lever rifle a month or so ago, I searched on line for cost effective 300g bullets to practice with. Below are images of these ACME Hi-Tek coated bullets I tested at moderate velocities using Viht. N- 130 powder at 50 yards.
What surprised me was my Garmin chrono data from my first 6 shots I took with 40 grains of Vihtavuori N-130 powder. Shot Avg 1577.9 fps but the Standard Deviation was an unbelievable 4.0 fps. Wow!
Cost is $26 for a box of 100. Very inexpensive. Shipping will vary. For me shipping was 12 dollars. Cost works out to 38 cents a shot. And they load well and my brass crimp holds them secure. Very nice indeed.
I called ACME to shared my exciting experience above. Further, that I was unsure how fast/slow to shoot them. They are designed to be a hard cast and will not mushroom and are used in cowboy shoots and target at moderate speeds. They don’t have a gas check, thus speeds need to be moderate.
Keep bullet velocity on the lower end to reduce lead barrel fouling. Fast bullets without a gas check mean lead fouling and a hard to clean barrel.
See www.acmebullet.com for more details or place an order…
Buckle up, I’m taking you with me on this buffalo hunt with Jim River Guide Service. I wanted a respectable bull and great meat. It was travel on day 1, hunt on day 2, and fly home on day three. Honestly It seemed like a full week of hunting.
Just crazy to think we can accomplish this on short notice …but we did.
Jim River Guide Service is owned and operated by world renowned hunting guide Willie Dvorak.
Willie Dvorak
When Willie is not hunting buffalo, he is guiding for brown bear in Alaska. Willie has guided nearly 1000 buffalo hunts. Wow! World Class? Believe it!
Get your camo on and lets go stalk a nice bull buffalo for my freezer.
I had my Ruger M77 Hawkeye African in .375 Ruger with a Leupold VX-6 with a Boone and Crockett Reticle on it. A fabulous combination!
I custom hand load all my ammo. Below left, is a Nosler 300g AccuBond that I used on this hunt, loaded with a heavy dose of RL 15 powder.
The Nosler chrono’d just over 2500 fps and 4200 ft-lbs of smackdown energy at the muzzle.
I planned for a 200 yards shot and still holding over 3000 ft-lbs. of energy at that distance.
Buffalo are not easy to kill, often absorbing 3 to 6 bullets in the lungs to bring them down. And the challenge to me was to bring down the animal with three shots or less and well placed in the heart and lungs.
You know Robert Ruark of Africa fame says, “Use Enough Gun”.
And honestly, I have Enough gun!
Travel to South Dakota
Leaving Boston on a Delta Airbus A320 from gate A16 I arrived in Aberdeen, South Dakota after a quick stop in Minneapolis.
Flying Delta from Boston’s Logan Airport
Wing Tip at 35,000 feet. Cloudy below.
I rented a Chevy Silverado Pick up below and met Willie at his home/office.
Temp’s were in the 30’s …no snow.
I started the truck and noticed my drivers seat and steering wheel had heat. Nice!
Below, I pass by corn and giant silo’s, like protective centurions in the distance. Look at that hill of corn!
We were in Prairie country now, very flat, no hills, just undulating prairie as far as you could see.
We were hunting on a huge, yes huge tract of private open prairie land, not measured in acres, but in square miles.
All the roads and even dirt roads are straight as arrows.
The Hunt
Now on dirt, the tires sounded of earthen pebbles and dust tickling the undercarriage of the truck as we drove slowly along, looking for buffalo in the far distance. The wind was amazingly absent, maybe 5 mph, as typical winds blow 15 to 20 miles per hour here.
It’s almost as if our hunt was planned by providence just for us. If you believe in that sort of thing.
We found a heard of buff numbering perhaps in groups of over 50, but we wanted to find smaller groups of 5 or 6 or even a single bull.
We spotted a lone bull, but we needed to get closer to make sure its what we wanted to hunt.
I saw deer tracks and ringneck pheasants everywhere including thousands of sand hill cranes. A cornucopia of wildlife.
You’ve got to see it.
While driving, Willie says of bulls, “You see Ed, bulls fight each other every single day, always trying to beat each other and the dominant bull. And they don’t play fight for fun. It is to the death or getting the crap beat out of you. If the contesting bull can kill the rival, they would!”
I think loner bulls are loners because they try to heal their battle wounds and grow larger.
We parked the truck and began a stalk on the lone bull.
No bullet in the chamber but loaded and ready. Willie says, “buffalo have uncanny eyesight, always looking for danger.”
Willie was in the lead, me in the middle and Annie his daughter and hunt assistant was behind me. Watch out for buffalo chips, no tripping or stepping on them (which I did) they are everywhere.
If the bull spots us as danger, he will be running for miles so we had to walk as a group in a line with that bull so it would see us as one person, not three.
Using the undulating terrain we stayed in low spots and drainage ditches to get close.
The property, at some time in the past, had beef cattle, thus there were simple fences of barbed wire. Observing the lone bull, amazingly he was walking and feeding in our direction. “Thank you Lord!” I thought.
If he was walking away, we could have stalked him for a mile or more and never had a good shot..
So with some luck, we huddled for the final plan and I set up near the barbed wire and sat low to the ground. I asked, “Put a round in the chamber?” “Yup” Willie said!
The bull could not see us.
Annie came forward with a short shooting stick for me to use.
We waited ten minutes, it was like waiting for honey to drip off a cold spoon. Willie expected the bull will cross in front of us at about 80 yards.
Willie whispered, “Here he comes Ed.” I’m thinking, in retrospect, the bull may have detected us. He crested a rise at 80 yards and broadside, Willie whispered, “take him now.”
Crosshairs on him and steady, my rifle barked with authority. I didn’t feel the recoil. The wide expanse consumed the crack of the big .375 rifle.
The Nosler 300g AccuBond was on its way. Hearing the bullet thud on the buff was confirming the hit yet surreal. “Shoot again as soon as you can whispered Willie. The bull stumbled to the left. I had already jacked another round in the chamber, tracking him in my Leupold VX-6. The Boone and Crockett reticle crosshairs were beefy, making it easy to get on target. I fired a second round.
At the hit, the bull fell as if pole axed.
Loading another round again, I had the scope on him. “If he moves, shoot again”, said Willie
We watched. After 5 minutes he lay still.
We approached. Willie touched the eye with the muzzle of his rifle. Willie gave a “Thumbs Up!” He’s down for the count! “Good shooting Ed! Only 2 shots!”
I unloaded cleared the rifle, bolt open and announced “rifle is clear and empty.” “Great”, Willie said.
Time for pictures and smiles.
I was thrilled. Willie and I were all smiles.
We got the bull loaded on a flat bed trailer and off to the butcher.
Meat will be vacuum packed, and shipped to New Hampshire. Should get around 300 pounds or so of great meat and burger.
Is an adult bison considered dangerous game? Wounded at close range? Believe it! Certainly, not as vengeful as a cape buffalo but it is wise to give it great respect.
Courtesy Wikipedia
Amazingly, It is rare, based on ample evidence, to harvest an adult bison with just 1 or 2 shots to the lungs… even with a powerful big bore rifle.
It is not uncommon to take “at least” 3 lung hits to put down a full grown bull, even from my .375 Ruger or larger rifle. Amazingly, I was able to harvest my buffalo with just 2 shots from my .375 Ruger with 300g Nosler AccuBonds. My guide was thrilled as was the butcher. But being ready to reload is key.
My internal rifle clip only holds three rounds. Not 3 plus one.
Accordingly, I needed extra rounds at the ready to reload, just in case.
I purchased a Tourbon Buttstock ammo holder below. Just $28 dollars.
It looks great, however, I had to work/stretch the leather loops to hold my .375 rounds with 300 grain Nosler AccuBonds. I lubricated the leather with rendered oil from my last years bear. That helped greatly. It now holds 4 rounds.
In addition, I purchased a cartridge belt from Amazon ($11.00), just in case. Why? Easy access to reload can be difficult, cold weather grips the cartridge too firmly in the leather loops, then the cartridge belt with ammo around my waist will be there as a back up.
And I found out too late for this hunt that Alaskan Arms LLC offers a floor plate for two extra rounds in my Ruger Hawkeye African.
Honestly, I never thought I would be hunting American Plains Buffalo. Yet, in 12 days, I will come face to face with animals that include some giants of over 2000 lbs.
courtesy Wikipedia
Aghast! These giants of the plains absorb powerful bullets in the chest and lungs and some bulls remain standing even after multiple hits from Magnum rifles.
My research shocked me that these mega beasts eat big bullets like a stack of wet newspaper. I am getting ready for a huge adrenaline rush!
Video shots observed are often much less than 200 yards and closer to 100 yards.
I digress, watching a rare old video of Chef Andrew Zimmern get charged by a huge buffalo he killed and having to empty is rifle on it before Andrew became a piñata, Ole’.
Alaska Fish and Game for example has a minimum requirement of bullets of 175 grains and have a muzzle energy of 2800 ft-lbs.
The 30-06 caliber is considered an Alaska minimum with a 220 grain bullet with a muzzle energy of 2836 ft-lbs.
My new short Lever Action Marlin 45-70 SBL does not get in the picture as it can’t reach out with the longer range energy needed beyond 100 yards or more.
Next is the .338 Winchester Magnum with say a 225 grain bullet with a muzzle energy of just over 4000 ft-lbs. I hunted African Plains game with it. Loved it.
Up from there is the .375 H&H and .375 Ruger with 300g bullets delivering 4200 ft-lbs at the muzzle. This is where my Ruger M77 Hawkeye African Rifle enters with the .375 Ruger and 300g Nosler AccuBonds. . Just shoot straight!
As I have stated in other articles, my Marlin 45-70 SBL is my brush rifle for deer, black bear and moose inside of 100 yards. For black bear over bait, it is well respected by black and brown bear guides at close range. Not for longer range like my upcoming buffalo hunt. For that, I will use my .375 Ruger.
As a 45-70 handloader, you can independently work up loads or work them down. I have several loading manuals to cross reference.
At issue by some hunters is; who made it, when it was made and its chamber pressure. Weak trap door models having very low chamber pressures and muddying up the power of the 45-70 in hunting circles.
Todays 45-70 Lever rifle is not yester years 45-70.
My Marlin 45-70 SBL (Stainless Big Loop) has a very strong modern action and is made in the USA by Ruger.
In black bear hunting circles, the 45-70 lever action is highly regarded especially over bait. I am one of those who like big bullets at short range deer and bear. I bought the Marlin 1895 SBL specifically for short range hunting.
A lever action in 45-70 is a powerful friend on short range heavy timber shots. What is a shorter shot you ask? Most east coast whitetails are harvested inside of 100 yards and more likely inside of 60 yards in a woods setting. This makes the 45-70 lever guns so valuable. In addition, being a lever action, follow-up shots are much faster than a bolt rifle. On black bear, shoot’em till they drop if you can.
Yes, I have rifles such as my 7mm Rem Mag to shine best at over 100 yards and well beyond but consider it out-of-place at very short range.
Of course, it was easy to talk myself into another rifle.
My last trip to the range with 350g Hornady Flat points flew well with 44g Viht. N130 achieving 1620 fps and 1 inch 3 shot bench group at 50 yards.
I expected better groups though. I did however, notice the first cold shot in my last few groups had a cold shot flyer, but then subsequent groups pulled in very tight.
Today, I handloaded 46 grains ( 2 more grains) achieving an average MV of 1678 fps and SD of 15.2. Lets see my 4 shots below. But there are only 2 holes?
Interestingly, the first shot went right by a little over an inch. Then, the same thing happened, I proceeded to put 3 bullets in the same ragged hole.
As a hunter, this is not an issue as all are killing shots. From a target perspective, I would be sure to take a few warm up shots.
Perhaps I will take a warm up shot first for checking for new groups on paper.
Certainly, the deer, bear and moose will be just as dead with these overall groups.
From an energy perspective, the 350g provided 2187 ft-lbs. at the muzzle and 1061 ft-lbs. at 175 yards for deer. See the JBM chart below.
On my Alberta spring black bear hunt in June of 2025, during the bear rut, testosterone laden male bears wander widely in search of receptive females and non-receptive females alike.
Male bears, I submit, are much more aggressive during this time, often climbing up to my tree stand with me in it. Below, a big cinnamon sow, checking me out.
I did not observe active aggression however but my hunting friend did.
A smaller male was harassing a larger female with cubs below.
The female sent her cubs up a tree and she turned on the smaller male and chased it up a tree. The smaller male would come down and approach the female again. She wanted no part of that young testosterone laden boar and she chased him again until the male bear observed my friend in a nearby tree stand.
All of a sudden the young aggressive male decided to climb into my friends wooden stand and attempt to attack him. He had a bow and arrow and a back up rifle. He was forced to shoot the .270 rifle over the bear to get him to leave. The bear left for 30 minutes and came back to continue his aggressive behavior. Finally my friend got safely away with his guide.
I am no expert on bear behavior but can’t help observing and discussing bear behavior with Alberta bear guides who observe lone male bears who often bluff charge at baiting sites and getting within feet of the armed guide.
Fact: Large Bears have to eat a lot of food to stay large. Small bears have to eat a lot of food to get large. I submit, that at certain times everything is on the menu, even other bears.
Having said that, in spring time moose and deer have young who are on the bears meat menu. During this time there is little to eat except these young animals. Older bears learn the cycles of nature and take advantage of fresh meat. In fall, bears look to top off their fat reserves for approaching winter. Below, a New Jersey group of student encounter a sizable bear and begin to photograph him. The bear got closer and closer. The students were then afraid and scattered. The bear was then in pursuit of prey at that point. Below is the article where one student was missing when they reconnoitered.
Large or small, a bears claws are extremely sharp and can do great damage to subdue its prey. It is wise as a bear hunter to understand that you are hunting a very intelligent apex predator.
A few days later, i encountered the smaller Alberta bear on my last hunting day. I sent an arrow through him at 20 yards. In a flash, he climbed 20 feet up a nearby tree and the arrow did its job and the bear fell 20 feet quite dead. My friend was so happy I killed that aggressive bear! He called him “Angry Bear”!
Today, I happily tested a few of my handloads of 300g Hornady Hollow Points and 350g Flat Points at 50 yards.
Both good short range black bear loads.
The 300g was trucking out of the muzzle at 1820 fps and the 350 FP at 1620 fps. See the JBM Ballistics report below.
The slower 350g speed and lower 44g N130 load likely contributed to the wider spread. I will shoot again with a bit more powder to see if groups improve.
Below 300g HP 50g N130 Powder at 50 yds =5/8 inch 3 shot group.
Calculated Table
Range
Drop
Drop
Windage
Windage
Velocity
Mach
Energy
Time
Lead
Lead
(yd)
(in)
(MOA)
(in)
(MOA)
(ft/s)
(none)
(ft•lbs)
(s)
(in)
(MOA)
0
-1.5
***
0.0
***
1820.0
1.630
2206.1
0.000
0.0
***
25
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.7
1727.1
1.547
1986.5
0.042
0.0
0.0
50
0.9
1.7
0.8
1.5
1637.8
1.467
1786.5
0.087
0.0
0.0
75
0.9
1.1
1.8
2.3
1552.6
1.391
1605.4
0.134
0.0
0.0
100
-0.0
-0.0
3.3
3.1
1471.7
1.318
1442.5
0.184
0.0
0.0
125
-1.9
-1.4
5.3
4.0
1395.7
1.250
1297.3
0.236
0.0
0.0
150
-4.9
-3.1
7.7
4.9
1324.9
1.187
1169.2
0.291
0.0
0.0
175
-9.1
-5.0
10.7
5.8
1260.0
1.129
1057.4
0.349
0.0
0.0
200
-14.8
-7.0
14.2
6.8
1201.5
1.076
961.5
0.410
0.0
0.0
Below 350g FP 44g N130 Powder at 50 yds = 1 1/8 inch group at 50 yards
Today, I happily tested a few of my handloads of 300g Hornady Hollow Points and 350g Flat Points at 50 yards.