View Details at Brownells. Out of the muzzle, the .450 Marlin packs another 886 ft-lbs over the .450 Bushmaster, a significant difference. Get the 76th edition of the World's Greatest Gun Book. Rifle Type Rifle type is the major difference between the .450 Marlin and the .450 Bushmaster. Based on that flaw, wed have to say Dont Buy it. Will drop a 300+lb. Accuracy can be elusive, and you may need to try a few different types of ammo until you find one that works best in your rifle. Back to the wood. Wild West was also the originator of the short, handy, powerful lever-rifle concept. For the .350 Legend, the ammo of choice is Winchester 's 150-grain Deer Season XP, with a listed muzzle velocity of 2,325 fps and a BC of .223. 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. The .444 shoots much flatter than most folks realize. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use. Its been the hot ticket in town over the past few years, and new rifle and deer hunting ammo introductions are happening pretty fast. If youre looking to shoot much outside of 200 yards, youre looking at the wrong calibers. The .450 Bushmaster was designed to work in an AR-15, but its also available in bolt-action rifles from Ruger, Mossberg, and others. 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. We also got a Winchester Model 94AE chambered for the .444 Marlin. The concept of the fast, short, powerful lever-action rifle is probably best exemplified by the Co-Pilot, from Wild West Guns of Anchorage, Alaska. A good solution is to install a proper recoil-reducing pad like the Pachmayr Decelerator. among our first successful self-contained metallic rifle cartridges. The 45-70 never done much for me, but if you like them then so be it. Its an interesting and unique addition and most are mighty fun to shoot. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. The 444 Marlin is a 200 yard rifle. SAAMI Accepts 30 Super Carry As New Standardized Cartridge, SHOT 2022: Federal Premium Announces 30 Super Carry Cartridge. Ejecting the round, after a suitable wait, we found the primer soundly indented (see photo). Our shooting was hampered by the trigger and by the huge ghost-ring rear sight. .350 Legend Vs .450 Bushmaster: Does One Win Out For Hunting? For you Michigan hunters, there is a new kid in town called a 460 S&W that Is awesome in a rifle. But the .450 Bushmaster and .350 Legend are chambered in very similar rifles, some from the same line with minuscule differences. These drawings will be incorporated during the next revision of the relevant SAAMI Standard. The Marlins were much fatter than the 94AE. All rights reserved. At 100 yards, that advantage is holding strong with the .450 Marlin showing an additional 701 ft-lbs of energy. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. is more comparable to the .350 Legend, but you're losing power and velocity. The buttpad was a ventilated hard rubber pad. If it had been a rimmed case, sales and longevity would be higher still. The internet celebrity, who is a member of Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. At 300 yards, the .450 Marlin is still in the lead with another 404 ft-lbs of energy over the .450 Bushmaster. 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. Top Load: Buffalo Bore Heavy Bullet Weight: 220 grains Muzzle Velocity: 2,200 fps Muzzle Energy: 2,364 ft/lbs Almost forgotten, the .35 Remington is a favorite of hunters who chase black bears with. I have two .444's and a .450. Today, there is no shortage of them, though the old-timers have mostly died out. Both rifles had this exact same setup. I'm thinking of adding a 450 bushmaster. It goes so far as, previously mentioned, manufacturers offering the same model rifle in both .450 Bushmaster and .350 Legend. Summary: Factory ammo is not a great choice for rifle length barrels, hand loading gives better performance. The walnut was very decent wood, nicer than that on the .450. The two most popular flavors are the .45-70 and .450 Marlin cartridges, both of . The 265 Hornady flat point bullet is THE bullet for the .444, The Hornady SuperPerformance ammo is very accurate in my .444 and the bullet performs great. or 260 gr. 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 . The pores were well filled, though the finish material seemed a bit softer than that of the Marlins. For instance, Ruger chambers its American Ranch rifle for both cartridges, with few differences between the two. I've shot a couple whitetails now shooting through 1" saplings and when the bullet hits the deer it just destroys them. The most common cartridges now are the .444 Marlin, the .45-70, and the new .450 Marlin. But if you find a sample that doesnt exhibit the problem and you have zillions of .44 pistol bullets you want to shoot in it, then wed give it a Conditional Buy. Winchester, Hornady, Remington, and maybe a few others offer ammo, but the market is evolving so fast its tough to keep up. The .30-06 cartridge has a strong but not particularly sharp recoil. The plus side of this cartridge is that recoil is pretty mild, so its a good choice for shooters who need to take recoil into consideration. While I think the .444 Marlin is a sound design, there is such a diversity in the .45-70 Government makes it a logical and abundant choice for the hunter. Brands include Hornady, Lapua, Nosler, Remington, Silver State Armory, Nammo, Prvi Partizan, Winchester and mixed range fired.. Bryce M. Towsley The metal polishing and bluing on both Marlin rifles was superbly done, dead-flat sides with semi-glossy finish, sharp but not offensive corners, matted edges to the all-steel action, all of the metalwork just plain nice. And truly, it is a pleasurable cartridge, very much akin to the .30-30, which by almost anyones standard is extremely manageable. The idea took off, and now many of those states are allowing straight-walled cartridges to be used as deer hunting ammo. It was easy to cycle the .444 from the shoulder, but, unfortunately, the rifle prevented that nearly half the time. The data in both cases are from a 20-inch barrel, which is somewhat common in the field and is the standard test length utilized by most ammunition companies. In fact, with hot Buffalo Bore loads, the performance of the .444 Marlin would be ballistically better than ordinary loads in the .45-70 Guide Gun. 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. The action was slick, about as good as the .444 Marlin. Get Special Offers Delivered Right to Your Inbox. 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 Bushmaster Buffalo Cartridge Co. . It in no way increases the amount you pay and helps us stay in business. At introduction, it received a lot of fanfare but soon faded into, well, near oblivion. However, it does make a small improvement over the .45-70 Government that may be appealing to some shooters. This BB ammunition defines todays standard for the .45-70 for those rifles that can handle the pressure. We didnt like these, having become thoroughly used to the half-cock position on hammer rifles. Windage adjustments, though not needed, were done by drifting. Dont Buy. When it comes to .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend, is there a clear winner? Remington had a 265-grain load for a while but dropped it, leaving only the 240-grain factory load. The .45-70 uses a straight-walled, rimmed case measuring 2.105 inches, and maintains an overall length of 2.550 inches. Then somebody figured out that straight-walled rifle cartridges are just as safe as slugs. The main aim of 450 bushmaster is big game hunting in the long-range distance, so the traditional scope that performs in the mid-long range is perfect for this cartridge so that we've recommended this Vortex scope. Buy From Opticsplanet Buy From Amazon Specifications: 3-9x magnification 40mm objective lens 12.6-34.1 ft field of view at 100 yds Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Big bore cartridges in particular can make lever action rifles a great choice for a bear defense gun. 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. But in my opinion, the sheer flexibility of the .45-70 Government in both rifles and ammunition gives it a definitive advantage. X-Vision Optics long-range ImpactThermal Scope (TS300) boasts a 640 x 480 thermal sensor that can detect big game well past 3,000 yards. Just $1 per month , Thinking about swapping your slug gun for a rifle this fall? 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. The .450 Marlin and the .45-70 Government are not interchangeable, but are very . We measured the .450 Marlins velocity at 2,045 fps with the 350-grain Hornady Flat-Point Interlock bullet. Born in 1873, .45-70 Govt. Whether you are reloading for handgun, rifle, shotshell or muzzleloading we have what you need. Check out the ballistics chart below for more information. Well analyze the performance of these calibers across a variety of factors to help you decide which is best for your hunting needs. If all you shoot are the Remington 240 grain loads they are pitiful. Factory ammo must be safe to use in them, so the .45-70 rarely reaches its full potential. The .444 Marlin is essentially a deer rifle that can be used on black bear. Though we believe the .45-70 version is a much better bet, many riflemen who also own .44-caliber handguns will want to own the .444 Marlin, and its a pretty good rifle. There is a difference between the two, and the edge goes to the .350 Legend, but it doesnt have such an overwhelming advantage to say its hands-down better. The models chambered for the .35 Whelen, .444 Marlin, .45-70, and .450 Bushmaster come with a muzzle brake to help dampen recoil. Winchester Model 94AE Big Bore Our recommendation: We liked the Winchester .444 Marlin. As soon as the cartridge's proprietary status was lifted we ordered a reamer and started building barrels. Both forend and wrist checkering had a darker finish than the rest of the wood, and it added to the looks of the rifle. This means that the momentum of a rifle's reaction will exactly equal the momentum of the bullet and powder gasses ejected from the barrel. We dug it out with a knife, reloaded two more, and again the second round failed to feed. Then Hornady brought out two loads for the cartridge and things changed. The .450 Marlin is just a bit bigger, with a bullet diameter of .458 compared to the .450 Bushmasters .452. The two Marlins had ported 18-inchers. At reasonable straight-wall cartridge hunting distances, for both velocity and trajectory, there is no real out-and-out winner between .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend. Collectors might want to pick up one and never fire it, plus some ammunition, because we believe this gun will be very short-lived. We fired one, and the second jammed coming out of the tubular magazine. Your rifle is your most important hunting tool, and knowing how to properly clean and store it when hunting season comes to a close is critical in keeping it in tip-top shape. Then the Marlin 1895 lever-action rifle came along in 1972 and changed everything. 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. Mag. Deer, hog. Whats going on? The 450 bushmasters highest muzzle energy is 2743 ft/lbs of energy, 363 ft/lbs more than the Socom. The .450 Bushmaster cartridge was developed using a modified .284 Winchester case with a rebated rim. It is on the wane and has long ago been supplanted by the resurgent 45-70. The forests around here are always thick brushed with all sorts of not only leafy brush but full of little twig saplings and raspberry bushes and the like. The wood at the rear of the receiver was much smaller in spots than the steel. Lets look at the similarities, differences and applications of each. Please know that we only recommend products we trust and have used ourselves. The Winchester 150-grain Deer Season XP generates 8.52 foot-pounds of recoil in a 7-pound rifle. Re: 450 bushmaster vs 444 marlin. As it was, we liked the ring for its simplicity, but it was extremely vulnerable, sticking up in the breeze. I'm going to take a wild stab at it and say the deer wouldn't know the difference, at least within the normal operating range of both. Who needs more than 1 shot? Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Each Marlin had a safety block, a device passing crosswise through the rear of the action that prevented the hammer from striking the firing pin. FTX bullet with a factory advertised muzzle velocity of 2,200 f.p.s. Even better, if you need a hot 45-caliber lever rifle you probably dont need that Trapdoor Springfield, so sell it. We stock a full range of bulk rifle ammunition to meet . This website contains many older reviews. The Buffalo Bore .45-70 load, same weight bullet, was faster than the .450 Marlin. If the ring had been nearer the eye, the front sight would have been forced into the center of the ring, and we would have gotten better accuracy. Introduced in 1964, the .444 Marlin was kind of a stretched out .44 Magnum. 2.215 Case length, .451 Caliber projectiles Both shed velocity like mad, the Legend losing 29-percent of its muzzle velocity at the 200-yard mark and the Bushmaster 31 percent1,648 fps and 1,515 fps respectively. Back in January we tested this superb rifle along with the similar Marlin Guide Gun, both in .45-70. My late Godfather Oren Mick DeCheck, my maternal great-uncleenjoyed a .444 Marlin as his deer/bear rifle, and my DadOl Grumpy Pantsstill reaches for his Browning 1886 centennial .45-70 Government, so both of these cartridges played a role in my shooting world. Lets see what we found. Why, you ask, would a company do this? Ever perceptive, the market has responded by expanding this somewhat forgotten corner of the firearms world. Perhaps the most notable in recent years has been the .350 Legend. It costs less than the Marlins and delivered excellent quality and adequate accuracy for a big-game rifle. The .450 Marlin and the .450 Bushmaster use very similar sized bullets, as their names might suggest. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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The wood-to-metal fit was again superb. I have used the cartridge with the 275-grain Barnes bullet designed for the .460 S&W to take a truckload of hogs and an Asian water buffalo. 450 Bushmaster 500 S&W Magnum 6.5 Creedmoor . 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. .429 Caliber projectiles He is a gun owner and avid reloader from Colorado. They track closely in weight, thus when chambered Legend tend to be more pleasurable to shoot. The recoil of the .450 was a bit stiffer than the .444 Marlin with Buffalo Bore ammunition. Elwood Shelton is an online content developer for Gun Digest. To totally avoid any problems with hot-loaded .45-70 ammunition, Wild West Guns announced a new cartridge, the .457 Magnum. Back in the day the only 444 ammo was Remington with a 240 handgun bullet. 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 .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. All the calibers you mention are good hunting calibers. In contrast, Marlin had another idea entirely with the companys new .450 Marlin, though we dont know why the company didnt just chamber an existing lever rifle for Wild Wests better cartridge idea. This is where the differences end, as the 45 70 and 450 are more similar than they are different. The crux is terminal performance on game. It served until the .30-40 Krag replaced it in 1892. The .450 Bushmaster thumper round launches .452-cal. Its big and powerful enough, and with good bullets, it may produce the best external ballistics of the bunch. The weight of the present version was about as light as wed like to see a .444 rifle. Perhaps with a longer barrel the ammunition might achieve its claimed 2,100 fps. Of course, if you are planning to shoot in very close ranges (within 100 yards), trajectory may be less of a concern that stopping power. The .450 Bushmaster has a SAAMI Mean Average Pressure (MAP) of 38,500 psi. The 2 deer ive gotten with it they made it less than 25 yards. vs. .340 Wby. The trajectory of most .450 factory ammo allows you to zero at about 200 yards and hold right on anywhere inside that. vs. .300 Wby. What kind of gun writer are you? New Shooters Guide: You Have Your Concealed Carry Permit Should You Carry. Adjacent to the hood were a total of 14 portholes in the barrel that did wonders to cut muzzle flip. The Bushmaster is based on a sawed-off .284 Winchester case. The 450 Marlin duplicates the 45-70 in a modern rimless case that is a little shorter. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -. 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. This was adjusted by means of a stepped elevating slide, a design as old as rifles and still functional today. Muzzle Energy: 2,686 foot-pounds. You have entered an incorrect email address! Perhaps as this trend grows, we will see some bolt-action .444 rifles from the mainstream gun makers. Much of this is attributable to the Legend and Bushmaster competing for the same hunters. Out of the muzzle, the .250 Marlin is flying 25 ft/s faster than the .250 Bushmaster. But does it deserve the attention? The .444 Marlin (10.957mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms.