All Marlins. The idea used to develop the .450 Bushmaster was credited to Jeff Cooper. Eight major concealed carry insurance programs are now available to the millions of Americans who carry concealed. At 150 yards the 444 drops 2.4 inches, whereas the Bushmaster drops about 2.9 inches. However, the primer was apparently not struck soundly enough. The pores were well filled, though the finish material seemed a bit softer than that of the Marlins. The standard load will push a 240-grain .429-inch diameter bullet to 2400 fps for just over 3,000 ft.-lbs. The stock finish was very durable and hard, even though the pores were not fully filled. 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. 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. Still, the clip each moves at this range is more than adequate to ensure satisfactory penetration, proper bullet expansion (if you are using such a projectile) and an ethical kill. .451 Caliber projectiles The case should come out every time, no matter how the lever is operated. The parent case is a modified 284 Winchester, it's simply cut to 1.695 and also utilizes a small rifle primer. But this problem never happened again. But does it deserve the attention? For reference, a 3" 20 gauge load rattles your cage at 30 ftlbs. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. At the range the Winchester was flawless in function. 1.790 Case length. As it was, we liked the ring for its simplicity, but it was extremely vulnerable, sticking up in the breeze. Bullet Diameter: .452 inches (All .450 Bushmaster) Shell Case Length: 1.7 inches (All .450 Bushmaster) Bullet Size: 250 grains (Bullets range from 245 to 300 grains) Muzzle Velocity: 2,200 feet per second. By logging into your account, you agree to our. Throw a moose in then I would lean to the .450 but realize that these lightweight .450 carbines kick like a .375 H&H. Often overlooked, much to the detriment of the hunter, is how much kick theyll endure from a particular rifle-cartridge combination. The case length for both rifle cartridges is virtually identical, with the 45-70 measuring 2.10" compared to 2.105" for the 450 Marlin. Get Special Offers Delivered Right to Your Inbox. Problem solved. The 450 bushmaster in the Ruger is a fine rifle for the money . As it concerns .350 Legend vs .450 Bushmaster, the smaller-caliber cartridge has a decided advantage. New Shooters Guide: You Have Your Concealed Carry Permit Should You Carry. The finish was about average, we felt, for a modern rifle in this price category. Maybe the 450 Bushmaster is the next big thing? Marlin .450 Bushmaster Lever-Action in 2017 A few months back, we had Michigan hunter approach us to build him a precision Marlin lever-action rifle in .450 Bushmaster. 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. Yes, the ported barrel helped cut muzzle flip, but our shoulders got sore from the too-hard pads on both Marlin rifles. Commercial cartridges are available for both rounds. The crux is terminal performance on game. There were two large panels of checkering on the straight-hand grip. This straddled the bolt, but was much too far forward for proper use by our test personnel. (The .450 Marlin, by the way, is a ringer for the .458 American except for that longer belt. Ammo: Elk, Deer And Everything Else, 5 Best AR-10 Options You Can Actually Afford (2023), 8 On-Target Concealed Carry Insurance Options (2022), 10 Affordable Double-Barrel Shotgun Options (2022), Best AR-15 Options For Any Budget And Buyers Guide (2022), Best Concealed Carry Handguns For Women (2022). For instance, Ruger chambers its American Ranch rifle for both cartridges, with few differences between the two. I am currently building a bolt action .444 Marlin that I am expecting good things from this fall. The newer .450 Marlin is also frequently compared with it. But the .450 Bushmaster and .350 Legend are chambered in very similar rifles, some from the same line with minuscule differences. In our tests, the gun was not as smooth as the .444, had less power than you can get out of a good .45-70 load, offered not a lot more power than you can get out of good .444 Marlin loads, and in short didnt offer us anything at all that we wanted. Yes, the .444 Marlin is A GOOD CHOICE for grizzly or brown bear hunting, under average conditions, from a mid-range distance, with a medium grain expanding . It served until the .30-40 Krag replaced it in 1892. This means that it is still a niche cartridge offered by just a few manufacturers, and you might struggle to find it on the shelves of your local ammunition store. is more comparable to the .350 Legend, but you're losing power and velocity. from a 1.70 long cartridge case at velocities over 2000 fps. The .444 Marlin was available in a svelte Marlin lever-action riflethe Model 444 and proved to be a thumper on big game from whitetails to moose and bear, though like the .45-70, the range was limited by the low velocity and bullet profiles. | High-Dollar .22 LR Pistols: Pardini Is Our Pick As Best Buy. Cooper was not only an icon of modern tactical applications; he was an serious hunter as well. With a 2.260-inch Maximum Overall Cartridge Length, it fits well in the AR-15 platform. Newly Accepted Cartridge and Chamber Designs. This is pure conjecture, but the outcome is notthe .450 Marlin is pretty much a turkey, as we see it. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Ultimately, the biggest factor in choosing between these two cartridges will be what type of rifle you wish to use. This was largely because of the slim forend wood. The .444 Marlin (10.957mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. Therefore, some might be stuck with the full Bushmaster tab. Medium-bore lever rifles are made by Marlin and Winchester. These comments also apply directly to the .450 Bushmaster 250 grain FTX load. If your pocketbook is tight or you dont appreciate your shoulder getting thumped, then I suppose there is. When not at his press or the range he can be found chasing mule deer around the Rocky Mountains. 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. Fastest cartridge of these options. Perhaps with a longer barrel the ammunition might achieve its claimed 2,100 fps. Both are suitable for nearly any big-game animal, save the African dangerous heavyweights, and both have fervent, passionate followers. 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. These are lightweight rifles that are easy to handle and very fast to get a shot off, which can make them ideal for treks across the backcountry. Just $1 per month , Thinking about swapping your slug gun for a rifle this fall? Dont knock the 450 Marlin round. So when it comes to the .350 Legend vs .450 Bushmaster, is there any discernable advantage of hunting one or the other? Ours didnt. The performance all the way around was very impressive. It didnt do this with any of the other loads. Marlins introduction of the Guide Gun didnt acknowledge Wild West Guns, so perhaps the reason for Marlins new cartridge stems from a desire to avoid copying Wild West yet again. This means Marlins, Ruger No. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This website contains many older reviews. The cartridge has a cavernous case capacity designed to work with black powder of the era, and it used large-diameter bullets to compensate for the low velocity produced by that propellant. If, instead, the case had been developed around a standard belted brass case, we feel consumers would ultimately be better served by the Marlin 1895M. With a 150-yard zero, the Winchester 160-grain Power Max factory load is 1.92 inches high at 100 yards, 5.05 inches low at 200 yards, and 13.92 inches low at 250 yards. At introduction, it received a lot of fanfare but soon faded into, well, near oblivion. The ammunition is madeso faronly by Hornady. At the range, the first shot told us that the Marlin .450 was a powerful rifle. 460 S&W vs 444 Marlin vs 450 BM vs 45-70 Govt Match Grade Machine 3.95K subscribers Subscribe 2.5K 209K views 3 years ago Match. Back to the wood. While we applaud Marlin for adapting the lever-rifle concept to belted cases (this is probably not the first instance of this, but we cant think of another), we reloaders dont appreciate the fact that we have only one source of brass for our new rifle. Benefits abound with a tamer rifle. The .450 Bushmaster thumper round launches .452-cal. Both of these big bore cartridges are meant for a specific purpose: to bring down large game at very close ranges. 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. Heres a look at 10 of the most flexible long-range hunting cartridges. It wont matter a lick how far a cartridge can send a bullet and how devastating its terminal ballistics are once at its destination if you develop a flinch and send it anywhere but the vital zone. 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. However, it does make a small improvement over the .45-70 Government that may be appealing to some shooters. And, outside a flash hider on an AR, dont usually come with a muzzle device standard. Out of the muzzle, the .450 Marlin packs another 886 ft-lbs over the .450 Bushmaster, a significant difference. Remington had a 265-grain load for a while but dropped it, leaving only the 240-grain factory load. Back in the day the only 444 ammo was Remington with a 240 handgun bullet. The .450 Marlin is a relatively new cartridge designed as a challenge to the classic .45-70 Government, but did not offer enough of an improvement for most hunters to justify making the switch. Dont knock the .450 marlin. He was intrigued by the idea of the .450 Bushmaster cartridge but prefers hunting with a lever-action versus a bolt action rifle. We stock a full range of bulk rifle ammunition to meet . It drives a 350-grain bullet at 2,200 fps, about 150 fps faster than Buffalo Bores loads for that bullet weight in the .45-70. A good solution is to install a proper recoil-reducing pad like the Pachmayr Decelerator. The only way to get near that with a Bushy is to load your own ammo. Back in January we tested this superb rifle along with the similar Marlin Guide Gun, both in .45-70. Ballistically, the .450 Bushmaster is close to the .45/70 in terms of velocity . 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gun Tests has been independently reviewing firearms since 1989. All of these walnut-stocked rifles had iron sights only, which is how we tested them. You have entered an incorrect email address! That gives it an overall length of about 2.25 inches, so the length is close to the 450. All provide an increase in accuracythough there are some wonderfully accurate slug guns out therebut the trajectory of those . The .45-70 is far more versatile, and ammo is made by many companies. They track closely in weight, thus when chambered Legend tend to be more pleasurable to shoot. Formally known as the .45-70-405relating caliber-powder charge-bullet weight specificationsthe cartridge was commercially known as the .45-70 Government, and that 405-grain lead bullet travelled at a muzzle velocity of just about 1400 fps, though a heavier 500-grain bullet was soon employed. The overall length on the .450 Marlin is also just a bit longer, at 2.55 compared to 2.26 on the Bushmaster. Also, the steel-to-steel fit wasnt quite as good as Marlins, nor was the metal polishing. For 450 Bushmaster, AR 15 is always the best choice. 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. The U.S. Army adopted the new cartridge, which replaced the .50-70 cartridge it employed in 1866. One of my favorites, and a big favorite for many Alaskans, is the Marlin 1895 lever gun. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Shoot it enough and know what to expect and it shouldnt prove prohibitive, except to the most recoil shy. .45-70 is perfectly housed in short-barreled lever-action rifles like the Marlin Model 1895. Wild West was also the originator of the short, handy, powerful lever-rifle concept. Re: 450 bushmaster vs 444 marlin. The cartridges we tested include the 460 S&W Magnum, 444 Marlin, 450 Bushmaster, and 45-70 Government. The two Marlins had ported 18-inchers. 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. The idea took off, and now many of those states are allowing straight-walled cartridges to be used as deer hunting ammo. For all the .450 Bushmasters assets, economic shooting isnt one of them. They were solidly made of steel and walnut, and looked like they would hold together for a long time. I have two .444's and a .450. The .450 Marlin has quite a bit longer case, at 2.10" compared to 1.70" on the .450 Bushmaster. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry the guns prices at the time of the original review. However, with Buffalo Bores good .45-70 loads, the Guide Gun would do anything anyone would want from a medium- to big-bore lever gun, vastly exceeding the maximum performance of the .444, and with lots of space to decrease performance as needed, even down to sub-444 levels. Yes, this includes the mighty .444 and .45-70, as well as the .338 ME and its bolt action analog, the venerable .30-06. CVA Inc Scout V2 .444 Marlin Single Shot Rifle with Stainless Barrel and Dead-On Mount $349.99; Brand: CVA Inc; Item Number: CR4913S-NB; Thompson Center Encore Pro Hunter 500SW Mag Katahdin Carbine On the other hand, the Legend is available with thinner sporter contour barrels. It drops a bear at 100 yards like no ones business if you catch it from your tree stand and it puts deer on the ground fast too. In Stock Only Rossi Wizard 223 Rem Single-Shot Rifle . Bushmaster asked Hornady to produce the .45 Professional, but Hornady wanted to shorten the cartridge case to accommodate their .452-inch, 250-grain pointed SST Flex-Tip bullet. Lets look at the similarities, differences and applications of each. At 300 yards, the .450 Marlin is still in the lead with another 404 ft-lbs of energy over the .450 Bushmaster. With a 150-yard zero, the Hornady ammo is 1.54 inches high at 100 yards, 4.68 inches low at 200 yards and 8.49 inches low at 250 yards. Winchester has also chambered their XPR line of bolt-action rifles for the cartridge, and other major gun manufacturers are producing rifles for it as well. The .450 Marlin has quite a bit longer case, at 2.10 compared to 1.70 on the .450 Bushmaster. His Thumper concept was a semi-auto rifle larger than .44-caliber, capable of taking big game out to 250 yards. Then, later in our testing, we again encountered this failure to feed, and not just from the last round in the magazine. The higher velocity and energy of the .450 Marlin allows it to shoot a bit flatter than the .450 Bushmaster. These are two very similar calibers, and indeed both the .450 Marlin and the .450 Bushmaster are seeking to imitate the classic .45-70 Government for different purposes. Cookie Policy - Why didnt Marlin simply lengthen the .45-70 cartridge as Wild West did? Deer, hog, black bear size game. Its a great round in a Marlin lever action. 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 big difference here is the bullet diameter. 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. The trigger pull on the 444P was 4.3 pounds with prominent creep but very little overtravel. It also told us that the brake did a lot of good, even though it was noisy. It's my night hog rifle - 4x12-50 L VXR . 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. The fluid motion of the action and those huge, rimmed, brass cases make for some formidable medicine for the largest bears, bison and cervids. 30/06 good for all the above out to about 275 yards, for comparison. Utilizing a lighter bullet with a smaller powder charge, it can generally be said it produces less recoil. The Bushmaster got a major boost thanks to revised big game hunting laws in states like Michigan, Ohio and Indiana that allowed the use of straight-wall cartridges. Marlin Model 444P Our recommendation: Marlin ought to know by now how to make a flawless .444 Marlin. There were faint instances of dished-out holes in the receiver sides, where the buffing wheel went into the screw holes. I know at least one has built a prototype, and I am told its working well. 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. Published Jun 15, 2021 9:00 AM EDT, We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. They also have the .50 Alaskan, which drives a 450-grain bullet at a claimed 2,050 fpsif you want still more power. Contact Us - The .45-70 Government is definitely the older of the two, having been released in 1873 in the famous Trapdoor Springfield. Some hunters like lever-action rifles for hunting, but they want more power than the .30-30 delivers, and so the medium-bore lever rifle cartridges were born. 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. We wanted to test Marlins iteration of the .450 side by side with one of the companys staple .444s, as well as Winchesters Big Bore Side-Eject lever gun, originally chambered in the now-defunct .375 Winchester, but which is now cataloged in .444 Marlin (and .356 Winchester).
