The 45-70 and recoil

I can testify to that, given that I am now recovering from a signficant shoulder injury after firing 6 rounds through my Marlin 45-70. These were hot experimental reloads, and perhaps not entirely typical

• Recoil database

His article states" "Over 30 ft-lbs – Massive recoil that can be difficult for even seasoned shooters to shoot accurately."
So there you have it, but ....

There are a wide range of loads for the 45-70. You can use a powder like Trail Boss to produce very friendly loads. You can use "trapdoor" loads suitable for historic rifles. You can load modern lever gun loads that do get punishing. If you have a bolt rifle (like the Ruger), you can shoot extreme loads. A load launching a 330 grain bullet at 2000 fps is fairly serious.

It is common to compare the 45-70 to a 12 gauge shotgun. The conclusion is that they are similar, but the shotgun has stronger recoil. However the nature of the recoil differs. The shotgun is like a big shove and the 45-70 is more brisk. And all the questions about the type of 45-70 load arise.

Here are some other numbers from the guy's recoil table:

5.5 ft-lbs -- .223/5.56
10.9 ft-lbs - .30-30
11.9 ft-lbs - 6.5 Creedmoor
18.3 ft-lbs - .308
30.0 ft-lbs - .300 Win Mag
30.8 ft-lbs - 45-70