My father just got back from an Alaskan Brown bear hunt 2 weeks ago. He brought up a .45-70 Browning Hi-Wall. The guide that took him out had .338 Win Magnum. The bear he shot was at 30 yds (not an average shot). When the guide opened up, the bear was still under 50 yds, and his .338 Mag bullet never even expanded. The .45-70 was the only round that went through both sides of the bear. That being said, my dad feels that if he were to do it again, he would take a scoped rifle (he used peep sights). My dad says that while the .45-70 is enough gun (the .270 WSM is well underpowered in his opinion) it really depends on which one you have. Single shot or lever? If it's a lever, you're shot distance is really limited, and where he was, the average shot was 150-250 yds despite his shot.