I’m sure a lot of folks get tired of me trotting this out whenever we have one of these, “45-70 for deer” threads. But if a guy is opening a “dead horse thread” based on that topic, they have to expect repetition...
This is what 250yrds looks like with a Marlin 1895GS 45-70, Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x, and simple factory Hornady Leverevolution 325grn FTX’s.
Mind you, the 30” of hold required to deliver that bullet to a measly 250yrds with the ol’ punkin chunker wouldn’t have been necessary until more than 450yrds with a standard 30-06 load. There’s a lot of power on the 45-70’s giant bullets, but getting them on target at range takes some doing, much more difficult than a high velocity bottleneck cartridge - or even your .30-30.
I love hunting with the .45-70, but for what you’re doing, it’s not more rifle than your 30-30, it’s just ANOTHER rifle, and you’re not likely in a position where the cost of redundancy makes much sense right now. Your Dirty 30 will drop deer to 250-300 without argument, as would the 45-70.
Don’t put yourself into the same common traps a lot of college guys fall into:
1) Rose colored glasses and faulty expectations: most college aged hunters have visions of world wide hunting safaris, regardless of their future ability to make that happen. So you buy a rifle now with the intention of traveling later for elk, bear, what have you... the cost of those out of state points, licenses, tags, taxidermy, meat processing (or gear to do it yourself), and travel will all cost far more than the relatively inexpensive rifle we’re talking about here. Most guys don’t ever leave their own state for hunting, even once in their life, so that “someday rifle” keeps waiting for someday... wasted inventory investment on dreams that would never happen...
2) Underbudgeting your future self: if you ARE able to make these traveling hunts once your degree yields a serviceable income, future you will be able to buy the rifle far more easily than current you. Maybe today you buy a lesser quality or lower condition rifle than you might be able to easily 5yrs from now...?
So what that adds up to for a lot of guys - instead of using what you have and spending the money you might be able to save for real hunting experiences with your 30-30 in the next couple of years, you scrimp towards a sub-optimal Rifle you might never get to use, and you miss out on those experiences.