re: Tell me about 45-70 Gov

I have a tc encore in 45-70 and it’s a thumper not unbearable but you know you shot it . I have three marlin 30-30s all pre Remington and I love the cartridge and the platform. Unless you are dead set on hunting dinosaurs (marlin catalog showed t-Rex as appropriate species) then I would look at a 30-30 or even 44mag lever gun instead of the 45-70.
Not sure how this year pans out but I have not seen a 45-70 bullet on a shelf in 1.5yrs and even then they are pricey compared to 30-30, 44mag.
As for recoil here’s from chuck hawks which is a good reference for recoil in pounds using the hardest recoiling of the listed caliber.
45-70- 37lbs
308- 17lbs
30-30- 13lbs.