450 Marlin

[NYDAN]

Last week I stopped in a small local gunshop I had never visited before and saw a Marlin 1895MXLR in 450 Marlin. It has a black and grey laminated stock and stainless steel receiver and barrel. I am thinking the 450 Marlin might make a great stalking and brush rifle.

I only have two big game rifles. Since I now have the left-handed .270 Win. I don't really have a need for right-handed Browning X-bolt in 7mm-08. Maybe I could trade the Browning X-bolt for the Marlin lever action. That would divisify my inventory.

Any thoughts on the 450 Marlin cartridge? It doesn't look very available at this time. I can't mail order ammo to NYS anymore. Any ammo I get has to go through a dealer now. That makes things it a pain to get anything other than Fed, Rem, or Win. ammo in the most popular calibers.

Would the 450 Marlin work well on close range elk?

 

[salmonchaser]

If I recall correctly the 450 marlin was designed to take advantage of the action strength of the 1895 and give non reloaders a round that will essentially duplicate the heavy reloads the 1895 in 45/70 can handle. It does that. So yes, it will handle close range elk, grizzly, moose, deer and more. I really enjoy shooting my 1895 guide gun and think everyone should own one.
Can't help with the ammo questions, perhaps you can get out of state friends and relatives to smuggle some in to you at Christmas

 

[DrMike]

The 450 Marlin works very well on elk. It is a hand-loader's proposition; but it is a fine cartridge. I would guess that your LGS may have some difficulty moving that particular rifle. They may be willing to bargain with you as a result.

 

[FOTIS]

FYI

 

[FOTIS]

AND...



And brass capacity of 450 Marlin and 45-70.

As measured by Brian Pierce!!!

1-.450 Marlin Brass/73.5 grains of water(2.7 grains less than Remington 45-70 Brass!!!)
2-.45-70 Remington Brass/76.2 grains of water(1.3 grains less than Starline Brass)
3-.45-70 Starline Brass/77.5 grains of water(2.8 grains less than Winchester Brass)
4-.45-70 Winchester Brass/80.3 grains of water.(4.1 grains "More" than Remington Brass.)

 

[Rigbymauser]

AND...



And brass capacity of 450 Marlin and 45-70.

As measured by Brian Pierce!!!

1-.450 Marlin Brass/73.5 grains of water(2.7 grains less than Remington 45-70 Brass!!!)
2-.45-70 Remington Brass/76.2 grains of water(1.3 grains less than Starline Brass)
3-.45-70 Starline Brass/77.5 grains of water(2.8 grains less than Winchester Brass)
4-.45-70 Winchester Brass/80.3 grains of water.(4.1 grains "More" than Remington Brass.)

There is an obvious reason why blackpowder shooters use Winchester brass.
Bigger fueltank :mrgreen:

 

[lefty315]

I have an early production .450 in the Guide Gun version. Love that thing. It's amazing how spooky accurate those lever guns can be with such a big chunk of lead. I'm pushing a Rem 405 grain flat point in the mid 1700's. An inch high at 100 is giving me a 10 inch drop at 200. I thought it would be more but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot an elk at that range.

 

[bobnob]

Its got all the clout of the 45-70 which is plenty.

I recommend the Sierra 300g HP for hogs and deer. Its been exceptionally accurate in my 45-70 GBL, loaded to around 2250fps with about 4g powder below max Hodgdon loads for the Marlin.

 

[SJB358]

Lot's of great loads for the 450 Marlin. I bet it would make a great rifle for the woods!

 

[Rem Jim]

Heres my 450 marlin - its chambered in a BLR ! :grin: RJ

 

[NYDAN]

Rem Jim, that is a fine looking rifle. It looks brand new. Have you ever had afield? Have you shot anything with it?

 

[JD338]

Dan,

That would be a hammer on deer. I have a 1895 Gide gun in 45-70 and love it. I'm pushing the 300 gr BST at 2100 fps.

JD338

 

[Rem Jim]

Rem Jim, that is a fine looking rifle. It looks brand new. Have you ever had afield? Have you shot anything with it?

Its a few years old but i have NEVER shot anything with it that " Bleed " ! LOL I hope to shoot a Bear soon with it - i developed a load with Horn 500 gr InterBond bullets at 1750 fps that will get the job done ! :grin:

Cheers RJ

 

[gerry]

That should penetrate through two bears Jim

 

[DrMike]

Five hundred grains at 1750 fps will penetrate into tomorrow. Sounds like a great load.

 

[SJB358]

Yeah, that load has to be a handful in the Browning too!

I know I tried some of Guy Miner's loads with 425 PDJ's at 1850 outta my Guide Rifle. It was really LIVELY!

Talk about alot of mass going pretty quick. It knocked my ear muffs crosswise on my head and let me know what was happening when I pressed the trigger! HA

 

[NYDAN]

I am going to visit the local gun store where I saw the Marlin 1895MXLR in 450 Marlin to look at it again and discuss a possible trade.

I have been researching availability of ammo and components and it doesn't look good. I found 4 boxes of ammo at another local gun store but none available on the internet except some Buffalo Bore ammo (with a bullet that I don't recognize) that I can't mail order anyway.

There is NO brass available and there is only two bullets available. The bullets are the Hornady 325 gr FTX bullet and the Speer 300 gr. hollow point. I understand that using the FTX bullet requires trimming the brass shorter and that some people may not want to do that. That may explain why that bullet is available. But, why is the Speer 300 gr. HP available. Is there some wrong with these two bullets that they are the only two available?

 

[Guy Miner]

The .450 Marlin and the .45/70 both work GREAT with hard cast lead bullets, even at 2,000 fps.

That may well open up other options for you. My favorite .45/70 bullet ended up being a 425 grain hard cast lead bullet from Beartooth bullets, called the "Piledriver Junior." I was shoving out the muzzle at about 1940 fps as I recall. 1900+ at any rate. Very accurate... I'd have used it on anything in North America. No special techniques needed for loading, shooting, or cleaning from hard cast bullets either. They left the bore just as nice as shooting jacketed.

The flat nose 350 gr Hornady jacketed bullet was designed for the .450 Marlin and was the introductory bullet for that cartridge as I recall. I remember reading about a moose hunt by one of the big name gun-writers. He was impressed! If it's not currently available, it will be again. Very popular with the .45/70 shooters too, and you can shove it at over 2,000 fps if you so desire.

Swift makes a terrific 350 gr bullet suitable for the .450 Marlin. Built like a super-duper (expensive) Partition bullet, with the front core bonded to the heavy copper jacket. Lots of expansion. Lots of penetration. Very little weight loss.

This may be one of those cartridges that you have to do some shopping for, and stock up when components are available. I had to do that when I first started shooting the .45/70 Marlin, 12+ years ago. NOTHING was available in town for it except a few boxes of anemic factory ammo. That stuff actually worked pretty well too, but only produced about 1200 fps...

I've had a few other cartridges that required extra effort in obtaining components, but the effort was worthwhile. Grandpa had an early .257 Weatherby and cases could only be formed by shortening, necking down and fire forming much longer .300 H&H brass. I still have some of that old fire-formed brass around here somewhere. I remember helping Papa with that chore when I was a kid. Components for my .375 H&H aren't just sitting around everywhere either. Sometimes a cool cartridge requires a little extra effort from us, but the results can be very gratifying.

Regards, Guy

 

[SJB358]

Dan, don't sweat bullets buddy! The .458 bullets are everywhere really. I know your limited not being able to mail order them, but I imagine local shops could get them in for you.

If that shop has 300 grain Speer's, buy them with confidence. It is a premium bullet at a great price. Guy mentioned alot of great bullets, but the 300 grain Speer is a wolf in sheeps clothing.

viewtopic.php?f=63&t=16911

BUT, any of the ones mentioned by Guy are all awesome. Again, buy those Speers up if you can. I really like them and they are accurate.

Hornady brass is excellent and will last you a long time even if you put the PSI's to them. It'll be fun. I don't know many who have big bore lever rifles that wished they had not gotten them.

 

[NYDAN]

I went back to the LGS and spoke with the owner. However, we didn't come to a deal. Unfortunately, I am still thinking about it. On the way way home, I stopped at another LGS and found another two boxes of ammo. All together I have located 6 boxes on the local shelves. I don't think that is a very popular round around here.

Hey, where are all of you enablers, out there? Come on, I need more encouragement here......