What kind of gun writer are you? and .444 Marlin provide enough accuracy (and their bullets retain enough energy) to confidently reach out across a cut cornfield and make a 200-yard shot. Velocity (200 yards): 1,515 feet per second. For generations, a lot of states have allowed deer hunters to use only shotguns with slugs or maybe a muzzleloader during gun season. The crux is terminal performance on game. Though certainly designed for black powder, the .45-70 Government survived the transition to smokeless powder, though the chosen firearm will certainly dictate the pressure levels to which the cartridge can be loaded. These cartridges shoot a bit flatter than slugs and, on average, are more accurate and not anywhere near as squirrely. The long belt certainly does not add strength, no matter what you might have read elsewhere. I ended up just taking a lower I had and put a 450 upper on it with a vortex crossfire II 1-430 I think or maybe its 35 or something like that not sure but it will group at 2 inches even for an 10 shot group at 100 yards. vs. .300 Wby. We also got a Winchester Model 94AE chambered for the .444 Marlin. The original loading used a 250-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2200 fps from a 20-inch barrel. We measured the .450 Marlins velocity at 2,045 fps with the 350-grain Hornady Flat-Point Interlock bullet. We hesitate to recommend this gun because of our rifles probably temporary, but very real, feeding problem that needed to be fixed. A .450 Bushmaster is .452 inches while the .350 Legend is only about .3570 inches, which makes it more comparable to a .223 Remington. Fastest cartridge of these options. Its a great round in a Marlin lever action. At 300 yards, drop is 15.8 and 18.8 respectively. Then the Marlin 1895 lever-action rifle came along in 1972 and changed everything. The wood at the rear of the receiver was much smaller in spots than the steel. Like the Marlins, the Winchester had a cross-bolt safety but the owner had locked it out so the rifle would fire every time the hammer fell. The rimmed .457 case is longer than the .45-70 but otherwise similar, its extra length keeping it out of chambers where it doesnt belong. For you Michigan hunters, there is a new kid in town called a 460 S&W that Is awesome in a rifle. Like firearms themselves, there's a wide variety of opinions on what's the best gun. Hot-loaded .45-70 ammunition is currently available from Buffalo Bore in three different bullet weights. The original loading used a 250-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2200 fps from a. Winchester put decent walnut on this all-steel rifle, and did a great job of finishing and checkering the wood. Get Special Offers Delivered Right to Your Inbox. Since the topic is hunting, weve selected two respected hunting rounds in common weights for calibers and with similar style bullets to side-by-side the cartridges. If it had been a rimmed case, sales and longevity would be higher still. The Winchester 150-grain Deer Season XP generates 8.52 foot-pounds of recoil in a 7-pound rifle. In essence the rimmed .444 Marlin is an elongated .44 Magnum (the case length is 2.225 inches, with an overall length of 2.550 inches), as it uses the same .429-inch diameter bullets as the classic revolver cartridge, albeit at a much higher velocity. 30/06 good for all the above out to about 275 yards, for comparison. We have no doubt that with a scope both of the Marlin rifles would average well under 2 inches at 100 yards, based on our iron-sight results. The fluid motion of the action and those huge, rimmed, brass cases make for some formidable medicine for the largest bears, bison and cervids. If youre looking to shoot much outside of 200 yards, youre looking at the wrong calibers. Many lever guns have limited accuracy past 150 yards, but the .450 BM is able to perform within MOA all the way to 200 and beyond. They have very similar ballistics, but the .450 Marlin is most frequently found in lever action rifles, while the .450 Bushmaster is intended for semi-automatic rifles on the AR platform. Elsewhere, we noticed an anomaly between the two Marlins. All of it is excellent ammunition, and it is packaged in clearly marked boxes as to what it is, and in which rifles it can be safely used. But in all honesty, it isnt for everyonebe it due to tight quarters or time constraints. If you havent heard yet, be advised that millions of gun owners may soon be classified as felons if a new Bureau of Alcohol, Big-Bore Lever-Action Hunting Guns: Pass On Marlins New .450, SIG Sauer P365XL Spectre P365V001 9mm Luger, Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro HCP9379BOSP 9mm Luger, SHOT 2023: Savage Arms Introduces 1911 Government Model Pistols, 5 Best 9mm Pistols for Concealed Carry in 2023, New Shooters Guide: The Best Gun For Home Defense Isnt a. 1.690 case length, .458 Caliber projectiles Plenty of fanfare and spilled ink has greeted the latest and greatest do-all deer medicine. A 265 grain 44 Mag is measured at 1180 fps with 741 ft/lb at the muzzle. Penetration, expansion, frontal area. It is just basically a souped-up 45-70 with stronger brass and a belt to make sure it is not confused with a 45-70. However, we measured Buffalo Bores 350-grain .45-70 load at 2,058 from their Guide Gun (on a cold day, unlike the blazing heat in which we tested the .450 Marlin). Yes, this includes the mighty .444 and .45-70, as well as the .338 ME and its bolt action analog, the venerable .30-06. You have entered an incorrect email address! Looking at the ruger American 22 inch bolt. Medium-bore lever rifles are made by Marlin and Winchester. Mag..375 Ruger vs. .375 H&H Magnum7mm-08 Remington vs. .280 Remington .280 Remington vs. .280 Ackley Improved 7mm vs. .30 Caliber6.5 Weatherby RPM vs. 6.5 PRC.338 Win. Different states hunting laws are slightly different and are subject to change so we included case lengths for each for you to use as a guide if they are legal for your hunt or not. Big bore cartridges in particular can make lever action rifles a great choice for a bear defense gun. Its great skill and potentially one of the best hobbies youll ever pick up. The Wild West version ($100) has steel wings to protect it, and would a better aperture choice. Powder Valley is your Reloading Superstore.. We are the largest provider of all brands of reloading brass because we offer great service and wholesale prices. For .450 Bushmaster and .444 Marlin, you're looking at $41 to $49 per box, and .45-70 Govt. In the late 19th century, the .45-70 would have been viewed as an average-diameter cartridge, as the small bores like the .30-06 and 7x57mm Mauser would take some time to gain ground as the all-around military/hunting bore diameters. The ammunition is madeso faronly by Hornady. The weight of the present version was about as light as wed like to see a .444 rifle. 45-70 Gov vs 450 Trajectory Contact Us - It was so far from the eye it was easy to see the front bead in just about any position within the ghost ring. The cartridge, introduced in 2000 by Marlin for its own lever-action Model 1895M, was designed to provide +P performance of the 144-year-old government round in a more modern case capable of. Looking at this product line, youll be inclined to give the nod to the .444 Marlin, especially coupled with the Hornady Superformance load of the 265-grain InterLock at 2400 fps. For the .350 Legend, the ammo of choice is Winchesters 150-grain Deer Season XP, with a listed muzzle velocity of 2,325 fps and a BC of .223. The .450 Bushmaster was developed for big game hunting with modern rifles. By the way, if you are using ar-15, the scope for ar-15 is the good one you should had. Then it had a distinct hitch to a solid stop, then a hard pull of 5 pounds followed by lots of overtravelnot the sort of action we look for in rifle triggers. SAAMI Accepts 30 Super Carry As New Standardized Cartridge, SHOT 2022: Federal Premium Announces 30 Super Carry Cartridge. In factory loads for the 45-70 you have to mind what you are buying. Back in the day the only 444 ammo was Remington with a 240 handgun bullet. FTX bullet with a factory advertised muzzle velocity of 2,200 f.p.s. We've got you covered.7x57mm Mauser vs. .280 Remington.300 Win. Save. Ive used a 308 and hit a branch with it and the bullet broke apart and i thankfully got a lucky hit to the neck with about half a bullet tumbling through the air. That gives it an overall length of about 2.25 inches, so the length is close to the 450. Rifle type is the major difference between the .450 Marlin and the .450 Bushmaster. The rear buckhorn blade did a grand job of obscuring everything on both sides of the target, and shooters would be much better served with a flat-top rear sight, or an aperture. Will it put a deer down faster. The performance all the way around was very impressive. Right now, hunters can find the .350 Legend chambered in semi-auto AR-type rifles and bolt guns. (The .450 Marlin, by the way, is a ringer for the .458 American except for that longer belt. Cooper was not only an icon of modern tactical applications; he was an serious hunter as well. Offers more range than any commercial lever gun cartridge except the .338 ME The overall length on the .450 Marlin is also just a bit longer, at 2.55" compared to 2.26" on the Bushmaster. On average, factory loaded ammo for the beast rings up north of $1 per trigger pull, which in a word is spendy. Of course, with the shorter barrels on the AR-15 and some other rifles, the muzzle velocity is lower, which changes all the other numbers. On the other hand, the Legend is available with thinner sporter contour barrels. The 450 Marlin is rated at 43,500 psi compared to 28,000 psi for 45-70 Gov. The .45-70 Government has quite the bullet range in comparison to the .444 Marlin; bullets will run from 250-grains all the way up to the behemoth 600-grain slugs, with a slew of choices in between. At 150 yards the 444 drops 2.4 inches, whereas the Bushmaster drops about 2.9 inches. vs. .458 Lott7mm Rem. While the .450 Marlin sought to improve it with modern ammunition techniques while eliminating the chance that shooters would load high-pressure modern ammunition into vintage rifles and cause catastrophe, the .450 Bushmaster sought to translate the short-distance big game cartridge onto the semi-automatic platform. For $404, wed give it a Buy rating, being a better deal than the $550 Marlin. The straight-hand stock had a sling swivel stud in the butt, and another on the steel that attached the wood forend. The .444 Marlin is on par with the 45 Bushmaster at around 2300 ft/s for a 250 grain bullet, but is easily outdone by the 45 Raptor For either cartridge reloading is the route to go if you're able. On the other hand, performance-wise, the dividing line is thin enough so it's difficult to tip fence-sitters one way or another. Even despite this weight difference, the .250 Marlin manages to maintain a small advantage in velocity over the .450 Bushmaster. Of all the ammo available, the highest muzzle energy of the Socom is 2380 ft/lbs of energy. vs. .340 Wby. from a 20" barrel for 2,686 ft.-lbs. The muzzle velocity is 2200 fps, and the bullet carries a BC of .210. There are lots of old Springfield rifles around, but its a weak design, and it cant stand a lot of pressure. Windage adjustments, though not needed, were done by drifting. As far as trajectory, both start to drop excessively at 200 yards, 7.58 inches on a scope zeroed for 100 yards in the .350s case and 8.96 in the .450s. Shoot it enough and know what to expect and it shouldnt prove prohibitive, except to the most recoil shy. The .444 did have its moment in the sun, and there are still quite a few shooters who quietly enjoy their lever guns each season. We also had problems with the function of the .450 Marlin. Privacy Statement - It had a very long first stage, which wasnt a problem. For a while, nobody was making rifles in .45-70 and the cartridge seemed doomed. Federal Fusion 450 Bushmaster 260gr is a bonded soft point ammo designed specifically for hunting. So I switched to the 450 bm and never regretted it and it comes with me everywhere. Year-round, you can find ammo at less than 50 per round, which isnt 5.56 NATO cheap, but is thrifty. These two rifles were both light and, with outstanding Buffalo Bore ammunition, provided as modern and powerful ballistics as anyone could want. Adjacent to the hood were a total of 14 portholes in the barrel that did wonders to cut muzzle flip. Winchester, Hornady, Remington, and maybe a few others offer ammo, but the market is evolving so fast its tough to keep up. 1.790 Case length. One would think that would have to play in to your decision making. This fall will be the first deer season with this cartridge available to the public so we dont have a lot of information on performance on game yet. Few rifle calibers carry as much tradition as the .444 Marlin, which originally hit the scene as a way to give lever-action rifles more of a punch around the ammunition manufacturers stopped commercially producing .45-70-caliber rifles in the 1960s.