I will try and see if I can rent one at a range around here, nobody I know has one of these.
If you dont mind me asking, what type of terrain do you hunt in?.
For my self it will be Texas Hill country for Hogs/Javelina and southeast Texas for deer.
Don’t know much about hunting in Texas, zero in fact.
But a consideration would be to determine the ranges at which you will be shooting.
The .45-70 has a trajectory like a rainbow, but that is not a criticism.
I have the Cowboy Marlin. Heavy octagon barrel, smoothest trigger you can imagine (also a light trigger).
It does kick, but if you learn to hold it tight against your shoulder and are careful that your non-trigger fingers are all tightly holding the stock well clear of the trigger guard, it is no more than shooting a .12 Ga. long barrel close choke magnum goose gun.
It is hard on arthritic fingers that are too close to the trigger guard!!!!
It does make noise!
Mine is fitted with a 1.5-5 power wide field Leupold which works great in the brush set on 2 power.
Ignore the snide remarks about buying a gun without knowing what you want it for. Some guns are just fun to own and mine is not only that, it is a beautiful gun with a real walnut stock.
If I were hog or bear hunting, that is what I would take.
For ground hogs or coyote, a .243 would be more suitable.
I forgot to mention that there is a Marlin message board, I no longer have the link, and on that board is a 45-70 group where you can learn all about the many different versions of the gun.
It is a very interesting group.
I hung out on it for several months before I bought mine and because I did, I got a classic model.
I hunt central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. The guide gun with the Trijicon scope is great in the trees, when there is a mix of sun and shade. The green dot really stands out. When I’m on ND farm fields, a shot may run out to 300 yards, so I’ll usually take a Savage in .308.
I think the 45-70 would be great for hogs, I know I like it for deer. Might be a bit much for javelina, I haven’t seen a javelina since the early ‘80s when I was in Tucson, I don’t remember them getting very big.