Kinda depends on what's going on. When deer hunting with the 45/70, the ejector definitely comes in handy. Once I shoot, and I'm usually hunting in cold weather and in close cover, I keep my eye on where I shot and automatically reload the rifle without really looking at it. Easy to lose track of where your shot went in heavy stuff; plus I'm trying to track both the deer I shot, plus the rest of the herd. With the ejector, I don't have to try and fumble with picking the shell out with gloves....and lord knows a 45/70's no problem loading with them on. I hardly ever find the ejected case, but it's worth it in this instance, since I've on occasion shot both my deer within a few seconds of each other. With the 22 Hornet, the ejector is kind of a pain, since I don't like to lose the cases, and it slows me down to have to open the rifle slowly and catch the(high speed) case. With the 12 guage, the ejector is a plus again, especially when hunting rabbits; and I don't reload shotgun.