In the 1890's 30-30 killed off the 45-70 because hunters found it to be the more effective cartridge, even for moose. 45-70 was basically dead from the 1890's to 1973 when revived by Marlin with colorful advertising. I've had both, neither would be my choice for what you want to do, but I'd choose 30-30 for your uses.
It seems odd that you now seem to recommend the .30-30 when you earlier said this in a thread on THR:
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On the other hand the 30-30 was a step backwards when it came out too. The 6.5X55 and 7X57 predate it by several years, have similar recoil and offer far greater bullet penetration on game, better accuracy, and hold up at longer ranges. And it is only 8 years younger than our 30-06. It's often stated that the 30-30 has killed more game than any other cartridge. It is also often stated that it has wounded and left un-recovered more game than any other cartridge. I believe both to be true.
It is what it is. Used within it's limitations it will work. I own several and occasionally hunt with one. When I feel like hunting with a handicap
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The .30-30 was and is a good deer and black bear round at moderate (brush) ranges, and will take a moose or elk with well-placed shots.
In general though, it's not now recommended for moose and elk.
Hunters did NOT drop the .45-70 because the .30-30 was a more effective round for moose. It most certainly is not. They embraced the .30-30 because it gave them a more powerful and effective medium frame lever action hunting rifle than was available to them in .44-40, 32-40, and .38-55. Also, lever action rifles like the 1886 Winchester and the
original Marlin 1895 were significantly larger and heavier to carry because they were scaled up to work with cartridges as large as .50-90 Sharps !
Hunters wanted compact and lighter rifles like the 1892 Winchester, but with more powerful cartridges, and both Winchester and Marlin met that demand with the 1894 Winchester and the Marlin 1893. Also, sportsmen were very interested in the .30-40 Krag cartridge, and the .30-30 Winchester cartridge wasn't too far behind in power.
Also, the 1886 Winchester was produced until the 1930s with .45-70 as one of it's chamberings. Ammunition production ceased with the rifle,
alhough the Great Depression was likely a factor as well.
Thanks to modern metallurgy, today's 1895 Marlin action, introduced in the early 1970s, is no larger or heavier than the Marlin 336 action in .30-30. That's because it IS simply a modified 336 action.
Even today, 405 grain factory .45-70 ammunition is loaded to 1800s velocities and pressures in order to be safe in Trapdoor Springfields and the like. Nevertheless, history records that even a Trapdoor Springfield loading at 1394 FPS with a 405 grain soft point (1748 ft/lbs) was highly effective in killing 2000+ pounds bison. As bullet diameter increases, velocity and bullet expansion is less important in causing the bullet to be lethal in large animals, and a .46 caliber 405 grain bullet is both quite large and very heavy.
And, standard Federal and Winchester Super-X .45-70 factory loadings with a 300 grain JHP reach 1880 FPS with an energy level of (2354 ft/lbs). The .30-30 just can't reach those levels at all. Hand loads for the modern 1895 Marlin can easily drive a 405 JSP to 1800 FPS, which is devastating to large game.
I love the .30-30 and I own two, and I may buy another. It's a great lever action woods round for deer and black bear, and it would serve the OP well for this purpose. But it can't compete with the .45-70 for use on larger game.
