Sigfan220 wrote:The 44mag is a great round and plenty for deer. It is about as much gun as I car to shoot without a ported barrel or muzzle break. Unless you are going to bear or elk hunt more gun is just a waste. If you are going big to just have a big gun then it's pretty much the 460 or 500 for double action. If you don't mind single action Magnum research make a 45-70 which is cool. You can hand load 45-70 pretty hot but you'd want to check with Magnum Research on how hot you can go. Ruger No1 loads are pretty nasty.
BFR in .45-70 is a nice shooter. Heavy gun so while you know you are shooting it, it is quite pleasant if you are shooting factory loads. If you load them up then it is much more like a .500 for an experience.
I would not go past the marlin lever data in the BFR.