Buffalo Bore calls this 350-grain JFN its most versatile .45-70 load and markets it for dangerous game and for smaller game too. JFN stands for jacketed flat nose: a jacketed bullet with a flat tip. It leaves the muzzle at 2,145 fps with 3,578 ft-lbs of energy, the speed Buffalo Bore measured from a lever gun with a 22-inch barrel. Buffalo Bore warns that the round will chamber in any .45-70 but is not safe in every one: use it only in the modern rifles Buffalo Bore lists, and never in an original or reproduction Trapdoor.

Compared with Underwood's +P 325-grain Xtreme Hunter, the Buffalo Bore carries a bullet 25 grains heavier but leaves the muzzle 130 fps slower, with 158 ft-lbs less energy. It also kicks about 9 percent harder in the same rifle. Compared with Hornady's 325-grain LEVERevolution FTX, the Buffalo Bore leaves the muzzle 145 fps faster and carries 692 ft-lbs more energy, while the Hornady kicks about 19 percent less.

Buy the Buffalo Bore if your rifle is on Buffalo Bore's list and you want one 350-grain load for both dangerous game and smaller game. Pick Underwood's +P 325-grain Xtreme Hunter if you want more speed from a lighter bullet with a little less recoil; Underwood says it is not for antique rifles such as Trapdoor Springfields. Pick Hornady's 325-grain LEVERevolution FTX if you want a softer-kicking load that Hornady markets for large game. Pick Federal's 300-grain HammerDown, which Federal builds for lever guns, if recoil matters most: it kicks about 36 percent less in the same rifle.