Hot-loaded .45-70 ammunition is currently available from Buffalo Bore in three different bullet weights. The Best Straight-Wall Cartridge for Whitetail Hunting The .450 Marlins additional energy will allow you to take larger game out to 200 yards, while the .450 Bushmaster should be used only for medium game at this distance. 450 Bushmaster vs. 308: Which is Better for You? - Bear Creek Arsenal Caliber Choice: Straight-Walled Cartridge Resurgence 444 Marlin VS 450 Bushmaster Which is Better. It might be a little too much for whitetails - it would be perfect on elk and moose. I don't like the factory 450 loads though. To fill the void, Marlin Firearms teamed up with Remington to develop a cartridge which would see the light of day in 1964: the .444 Marlin. With a 150-yard zero, the Hornady load is 2.26 inches high at 100 yards, 5.73 inches low at 200 yards, and 15.71 inches low at 250 yards. Wood-to-metal fit was truly outstanding on both Marlin rifles. Dont knock the .450 marlin. That makes it a good option for recoil-sensitive shooters who must abide by tapered cartridge restrictions. Obviously, many rifleman have voted yes, because Marlin has sold many, many .444s. The Winchester 1886 is back in several iterations, the Henry lineup includes the .45-70 and even Marlin saw fit to offer its Model 1895 Guide Gun in .45-70. Looking at the variety of ammunition available for the two, the .45-70 Government has the undeniable advantage in the number of choices, with nearly every manufacturer including the cartridge in their lineup, in some form or another. 450 a bit better with jacketed, 1" vs 1.5". is even more expensive. While my .444 Marlin lever-action rifle shoots just over one MOA with the Hornady ammo, like all lever actions, its not built for precision work. To totally avoid any problems with hot-loaded .45-70 ammunition, Wild West Guns announced a new cartridge, the .457 Magnum. The last doe I hit at about 35 yards after the bullet hit a thumb size bush left a fist sized hole through the deer, and she STILL ran, but the blood trail was 5' wide to where she dropped after a 30 yard run. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -. When it comes to .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend, is there a clear winner? Although we strive to provide the most accurate information as we can the information contained in this page is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness. In factory loads for the 45-70 you have to mind what you are buying. Theres just no need for a new cartridge in this same performance range. Recoil was manageable thanks to the soft pad, but the rifle had much greater muzzle flip than the ported Marlins. A heavier bullet will generally travel more slowly than a lighter bullet. Can Coolers | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Find More Great NRA Publications Perfect For Every Interest, Discover Everything That The NRA Has To Offer. The .450 Bushmaster cartridge was developed using a modified .284 Winchester case with a rebated rim. The 450/460 have proven to be , accuracy wise, about equal with boolits. Looking at the ruger American 22 inch bolt. This website contains many older reviews. The .444 Marlin has the advantage of using the jacketed and cast bullets for the .44 Magnum, making it a rather flexible design for the handloader. At this writing, ammo is available from Winchester, Hornady, and Federal. Ohio and southern Michigan are just two examples of areas where the shotgun slug has been replaced by straight-walled cartridges like the .45-70 Government, .444 Marlin and, more recently, the .450 Bushmaster. Big-Bore Lever-Action Hunting Guns: Pass On Marlins New .450 While it does not have the power of the .450 Marlin, the .444 Marlin is very similar ballistically to the .45-70, . 45 Raptor Vrs 450 Bushmaster | BestGunBlog.com The Wild West aperture rear sight costs $100 for Marlins, or $120 for Winchesters. For instance, Ruger chambers its American Ranch rifle for both cartridges, with few differences between the two. The Winchester, thought, had a superb ghost-ring aperture sight by Ashley, which we though would give it an advantage. 450 Bushmaster vs 45-70 Govt | Shooters' Forum Non-1911 .45 ACPs: Heresy, Or Are They Here To Stay? 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. But if you get behind the business end of a gun you dread to drop the hammer on, youre sandbagging your potential in the field. The 450 Bushmaster is taking off and new ammo offerings keep popping up. 460 has more horsepower, as runs at higher pressures than the 450. vs. .300 Win. A straight-wall, .452-caliber cartridge with a rebated rim, it's capable of pushing a 250-grain bullet to 2,200 fps. Generally the 444 uses bullets in the range of 240 grains through 300 grains. The .45-70 was a very popular hunting cartridge, even before this straight-walled phenomenon started, but its held back by all of those old guns out there. Designed and developed by Winchester, the 350 Legend is the first new introduction to the market aimed specifically at straight-walled hunting regulations. At 100 yards, that advantage is holding strong with the .450 Marlin showing an additional 701 ft-lbs of energy. Mag..404 Jeffery vs. .416 Rigby.243 Winchester vs. 6mm Creedmoor.300 PRC vs. .300 Win. Its therefore important to keep in mind that we are comparing a 325 grain .450 Marlin against a 250 grain .450 Bushmaster--which are the commonly used bullet weights for each caliber. The decision may now be influenced by availability of both rifles and ammunition, with the breakup of the parent company which owned Marlin (thankfully Marlin has been purchased by Ruger). Velocity Tests and more! The .450 Marlin will offer you better ballistics across the board and a lighter rifle that is very dependable and easy to manage, while the semi-automatic platform appeals to many and gives a range of customizable options. Rifle Ammunition :: Guns.com I know at least one has built a prototype, and I am told its working well. Hornady has included both cartridges in their excellent LeveRevolution line, with the .444 Marlin loaded with a 265-grain FTX bullet at 2325 fps, and the .45-70 Government loaded with a 250-grain FTX at 2025 fps. By comparison, a 250-grain .450 Bushmaster factory load generates 22.99 foot-pounds of recoil, and a full-power 12-gauge slug generates 45 foot-pounds. The .350 Legend takes it easier on each by a fairly wide margin. Archive - Ultimately, the biggest factor in choosing between these two cartridges will be what type of rifle you wish to use. Bushmaster and LeGendre approved the change in case length from 1.771-inch to 1.700-inch. Specifically, the hot .45-70 Buffalo Bore (BB) ammunition gave a 405-grain bullet the astounding velocity of 1,900 fps, compared to 1,200 fps with the ordinary loading of that bullet by Remington. On my chronograph. The hunting world is big enough for both the .450 Bushmaster and .350 Legend, and either will put meat on the table. The front sight was a gold-faced bead on a ramp underneath a protective hood. The .450 Marlin has quite a bit longer case, at 2.10" compared to 1.70" on the .450 Bushmaster. Bullet drop is an important factor for all calibers, but it can make a big difference for heavy, big bore bullets that are only meant to shoot in shorter ranges. Today, there is no shortage of them, though the old-timers have mostly died out. They also have the .50 Alaskan, which drives a 450-grain bullet at a claimed 2,050 fpsif you want still more power. Buffalo Bore also loads three different weights of bullets in the .444 Marlin, and they give much better performance than ordinary .444 loads, and do so safely. You have two cartridges that are headed in opposite directions. Big-Bore AR Cartridges | An Official Journal Of The NRA The big difference here is the bullet diameter. I have worked pretty extensively with this cartridge on the range with three different rifles, and I have talked with a bunch of other gun guys who have been shooting the 350 Legend. Col. Jeff Cooperthe widely acknowledged expert who brought self-defense firearm training to civilians by establishing what would become Gunsite Academywas a big proponent of .44-bore or larger guns for their one-shot-stop potential. The 44 Magnum and 45 Colt are 125 yard rifles. The weight of the present version was about as light as wed like to see a .444 rifle. High-Dollar .22 LR Pistols: Pardini Is Our Pick As Best Buy. the 450 marlin, the 444, 38-55, 375 win, 375 super mag, 445 super, & the 357 maximum will all ruin a deer's day at 200 yds. 5,270. Straight-Wall Rifle Cartridges Are Making a Comeback in Deer Hunting The 350 Legend is also designed to work in AR-15 style rifles. Marlin .450 Bushmaster Deer Slayer Legal for Michigan Hunter in Though the .45-70 Government cartridge has been in production since 1873, there was a time when a new rifle chambered in that cartridge just wasnt offered. Velocity from the 450 will be slightly lower due to the heavier weight bullets thus more of a rainbow trajectory but will give better stopping power on BIG game and more . In the past decade, state wildlife management agencies in the region have opened what were once shotgun-only deer grounds to rifles chambered for straight-wall cartridges. First, the 45-70 Government is physically larger than the 450 Bushmaster. Still, one wonders: Is there a need for a .444 Guide Gun, the 444P? (The .450 Marlin, by the way, is a ringer for the .458 American except for that longer belt. Absolutely, it depends on what rifle you usemore exactly its weightas to how many foot-pounds of energy will jolt into your shoulder. Deer, hog. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. In Ohio, can use 45-70 and 458 win. We could live with it, though wed have much preferred a softer pad. If you are looking for a caliber that can do on the AR what the .450 Marlin does on the lever action, then the .450 Bushmaster is the answer to this hope, though it loses a bit of ballistics in making the switch. (450 Bushmaster) 397119 45 Cal .458" 325 gr. For that matter, is there a need for the .444 in any gun version, even though they cost $550 MSRP and have a low street price around $400? 45-70 VS 450 Bushmaster - Side by Side Comparison Then Hornady brought out two loads for the cartridge and things changed. However, the trigger pull was in desperate need of work. While the 450 Marlin is definetly a more powerful cartridge the 444 certainly aint no slouch. We dug it out with a knife, reloaded two more, and again the second round failed to feed. I have not shot any of the "leverultion ammo" in any of mine, so have no comment there. Heres a detailed look at each step of the process. Back in January we tested this superb rifle along with the similar Marlin Guide Gun, both in .45-70. The .450 Marlin has ballistics almost identical to magnum .45-70 Government ammunition and the cartridge fires the same weight bullet approximately 600fps faster than lower pressure .45-70 ammo intended for use in the Trapdoor Springfield. The .450 Bushmaster was designed by the Hornady Manufacturing Company for Bushmaster Firearms International when the latter wanted a .45 caliber cartridge that would work through the short AR-15 action. 444 Marlin VS 450 Trajectory Overall, the 444 Marlin is a slightly flatter shooting cartridge than the 450 Bushmaster is. The 444 Marlin is a 200 yard rifle. Not that it hurts to have a rifle chambered for one in your arsenal if you live big county out West. The .450 Marlins belt is longer than that found on most belted magnum cases, which means you cant make .450 Marlin cases out of normal belted magnum cases. Those unaccustomed to hard-kicking rifles will find either the .444 or the .450 a bit much on the shoulder until they get used to it. Additionally, but not across the board, many are factory outfitted with muzzle brakes to help mitigate some of the angry mule in the cartridge-rifle combination. Rubber meet road, because if there is anyone point in .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend battle where one wins out, its here. 30/06 good for all the above out to about 275 yards, for comparison. It retains 1,000 ft-lbs of energy to just past 140 yards. 45-70 vs 444 marlin vs 450 marlin | Gun and Game Forum It also told us that the brake did a lot of good, even though it was noisy. 450 Marlin vs 45-70 Government - Sportsman's This comparative cartridge information puts the performance of the new .450 Marlin in context, especially when the shooter considers how a slightly less powerful round, the well-known .444 Marlin, shoots. Introduced in 1964, the .444 Marlin was kind of a stretched out .44 Magnum. bullets weighing 250 gr. Its the most powerful factory lever gun ever produced. With a 2.260-inch Maximum Overall Cartridge Length, it fits well in the AR-15 platform. The 450 would do better, but, is it needed on deer? This is where the differences end, as the 45 70 and 450 are more similar than they are different. 450/460 same boolit dia, the 458 socom is bigger (45-70 sized boolits). Learn more . As it was, we liked the ring for its simplicity, but it was extremely vulnerable, sticking up in the breeze. 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.