Some more;
50/70 Original Rolling Block with color case hardening


44/90 Remington Rolling Block (restored)lovely timber



1885 Winchester 40/70Sharps with rare close coupled set triggers


you can't help but wonder what it would have been like when guns like these were everyday tools of trade!

I'll take three!!! I would sell my kids for a rifle like that.

Yum,love those photos.
The second rifle is a long range match rifle and has a second base for mounting the sight when shooting in the "back" position.
The shooters lays down with feet facing the target.The rifle lays beside the shooter with the muzzle of the barrel resting on the foot.The butt is supported between the shooters chest and arm.The idea was to get a long sight radias.The head is tilted over on the side to align the sights.
A common shooting position in "Schuetzen" matches.

"It's a lever action breech loader.Usual barrel length is 30 inches.This one has an extra four.It's converted to use a special .45 calibre,110-grain metal cartridge with a 540-grain paper patched bullet.Fitted with double set triggers and a vernier marked up to 1,200 yards.This one shoots a mite farther."
Mathew Quigley.

Hippy,
I felt the same way up to about 6 years ago. "Undergunned with an old single shot", I think the feeling was!

Then I bought the first one and found that with a little practice that you can get off several aimed shots at game.
You see, game doesn't come as plentifull as it used to be and you fire one good aimed shot, kill a pig and the feeling of satisfaction is the same if not better than if you use one of them modern 'can't miss' guns.

I personally feel that for almost any game inside 200 yards would meat in the pot with any of my Sharps rifles. Let's not kid ourselves, in the typical hunting situations most shots would be well within that range and maybe a lot less.
If you cast your own, it not only doubles the satisfaction, but reduces the cost to about 25c/shot which allows heaps of practice.

As for calibre, unless you have more gear than a gunshop (like me) then stay with the popular 45/70 which can always be bought as factory rounds over the counter. As a hunting rifle, I prefer the Martini's & Rolling Blocks for speed of loading & unloading.

It is significant that in the 1890's, a soldier with the old 303 Martini, in army trials against the SMLE, was able to load and fire 27 rounds in 1 minute against 22 rounds for the then new 10 shot magazine rifle. (refer Skennerton - 303 Martini trials). That says a lot about not being undergunned!