My experience very closely mirrors Keith's, only I began with a percussion m/l roundball rifle in '83. I found that a 237 gr. ball killed perfectly. When I bought a much used Ruger #3 in .45-70 and began reloading for it I used 300 gr. Rem. hollow points at 2100. There was a modest amount of recoil but it was manageable even for my 10 yr. old son who killed his first deer with it, and many more afterward. I sold it to buy a new Ruger #1 in the very same caliber, which I still have.
Those two rifles have taken scores of deer for him and me. All were anchored with one shot and all were recovered.
