It retains 1,000 foot-pounds of energy to just past 280 yards. Big Bore Cartridges Compared! 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. Archive - The 450 Bushmaster is taking off and new ammo offerings keep popping up. Wood-to-metal fit was truly outstanding on both Marlin rifles. Straight-walled rifle cartridgesat least most of themare a lot more consistent. There were faint instances of dished-out holes in the receiver sides, where the buffing wheel went into the screw holes. Accuracy was all that anyone would want. At 100 yards, that advantage is holding strong with the .450 Marlin showing an additional 701 ft-lbs of energy. 444 vs 450. For a while, nobody was making rifles in .45-70 and the cartridge seemed doomed. Thats fine and dandy. On my chronograph. Precision Reloading: Making The Best Case Possible, Best 7mm Rem. You have entered an incorrect email address! All the calibers you mention are good hunting calibers. The Ashley was drift-adjustable using opposing screws, though we could see no easy way to adjust it for elevation. . What kind of gun writer are you? Summary: Factory ammo is not a great choice for rifle length barrels, hand loading gives better performance. Medium-bore lever rifles are made by Marlin and Winchester. Winchester Big Bore 94AE .444 Marlin, $404. The pores were well filled, though the finish material seemed a bit softer than that of the Marlins. Save. The 444 Marlin (which I love) is headed in the other direction. While it does not have the power of the .450 Marlin, the .444 Marlin is very similar ballistically to the .45-70, . Being bracketed by the proven .444 Marlin and .45-70, the belted .450 Marlin doesnt fill a lever-gun niche any better than the other cartridges. Fastest cartridge of these options. Its big and powerful enough, and with good bullets, it may produce the best external ballistics of the bunch. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. Deer Hunting Ammo: The 4 Best Straight-Walled Rifle Cartridges Mag. Ever perceptive, the market has responded by expanding this somewhat forgotten corner of the firearms world. 450 Bushmaster vs 45-70 Govt | Shooters' Forum All of these walnut-stocked rifles had iron sights only, which is how we tested them. That BC may not inspire glee with long range rifle shooters, but in the world of straight-walled rifle cartridges, its pretty impressive. The .450 Bushmaster is a rifle cartridge developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, and licensed to Bushmaster Firearms International. But for overall practicality, straight-wall cartridges are a topic for the good folks around the Great Lakes region. Cartridges like the .450 Bushmaster, .45-70 Govt. Collectors might want to pick up one and never fire it, plus some ammunition, because we believe this gun will be very short-lived. The same bullet in the 450 Bushmaster at 200 yards still travels at 1524 fps with 1289 ft/lb of energy. 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. Out of the muzzle, the .250 Marlin is flying 25 ft/s faster than the .250 Bushmaster. The overall length on the .450 Marlin is also just a bit longer, at 2.55 compared to 2.26 on the Bushmaster. Privacy Statement - The wood-to-metal fit was again superb. In the .450 Bushmaster's corner is Hornady 's 250-grain FTX load, which has a listed muzzle velocity of 2,200 fps, is topped with a flex-tip bullet and has a ballistic coefficient (BC) of .210. 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. Out of the muzzle, the .450 Marlin is flying 175 ft/s faster than the .45-70 Government. It is on the wane and has long ago been supplanted by the resurgent 45-70. For reference, a 3" 20 gauge load rattles your cage at 30 ftlbs. The Marlins rear sight was a spring-loaded buckhorn with U-notch. These four are the most popular. Based on our test results, we dont think so. BALLISTICS: Some straight-wall loads produce muzzle velocities of 2,200 to 2,400 fps, a . Links to technical data and drawings for the newly SAAMI accepted Cartridge and Chamber designs not yet included in SAAMI Standards are listed below. SAAMI limits the MAP to 28,000 psi. Velocity Testing | Thompson Center Barrels | Match Grade Machine It didnt punch out groups as small as those with the Marlin .444, but it was accurate enough to take hunting. If youre looking to shoot much outside of 200 yards, youre looking at the wrong calibers. 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. I have two .444's and a .450. 450 Bushmaster vs. 308: Which is Better for You? - Bear Creek Arsenal 450 Marlin vs 45-70 Cartridge Comparison by Ammo.com As it concerns .350 Legend vs .450 Bushmaster, the smaller-caliber cartridge has a decided advantage. Even despite this weight difference, the .250 Marlin manages to maintain a small advantage in velocity over the .450 Bushmaster. Dont knock the .450 marlin. .444 Marlin - BallisticStudies.com But does it deserve the attention? 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? At the muzzle they are basically the same, .308 Win has around 2700 ft.lbf and 450 Bushmaster has just a few pounds under that. I wouldn't fret over performance or availability in either case. So when it comes to the .350 Legend vs .450 Bushmaster, is there any discernable advantage of hunting one or the other? While there are hundreds of rifle cartridges suitable for deer hunting, when we add that straight-walled factor into the equation the list grows much shorter. But, the numbers say it should be a great little deer cartridge if you dont get stupid with the distances. I have tested them and the results are not good. 450 Bushmaster 500 S&W Magnum 6.5 Creedmoor . The .450 Marlin was designed as a competitor to the .45-70 Government, so its ballistics are highly similar. The .450 Bushmaster has gained more popularity, especially in regions (such as several Midwestern states) where this caliber is legal while bottlenecked cartridges are not. At 300 yards, it is moving 76 ft/s faster, as the .450 Marlin is able to hold onto more of its speed for longer than the .450 Bushmaster. The .444 Marlin (10.957mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. If there is an apparent divide in .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend rifles its muzzle devices and barrel contour. The 450/460 have proven to be , accuracy wise, about equal with boolits. Marlins inletting has been quite good in all examples of the companys rifles weve seen. We stock a full range of bulk rifle ammunition to meet . Big-Bore AR Cartridges | An Official Journal Of The NRA I know at least one has built a prototype, and I am told its working well. That said, the Bushmasterwhile stoutisnt the North American version of the .500 Nitro Express. Muzzle Energy: 2,686 foot-pounds. It retains 1,000 foot-pounds of energy to just past 235 yards. Wild West was also the originator of the short, handy, powerful lever-rifle concept. 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. Winchester, Hornady, Remington, and maybe a few others offer ammo, but the market is evolving so fast its tough to keep up. 450 Marlin vs 450 Bushmaster | Sportsman's Warehouse The idea took off, and now many of those states are allowing straight-walled cartridges to be used as deer hunting ammo. FTX bullet with a factory advertised muzzle velocity of 2,200 f.p.s. The resulting round boasts performance on par with the .45-70 Gov't but in a more compact configuration. The front sight was a gold-faced bead on a ramp underneath a protective hood. In our estimation, there is no need for the cartridge, and the rifle didnt work properly. pistol calibers price price price price stock: per 50: per 100: per 500: per 1000: status: 30 luger brass cases: $28.00: $50.00: $219.00: $408.50: in stock: 30 mauser cases 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. The 444 Marlin (which I love) is headed in the other direction. Looking for previous installments of our "Head to Head" series? So I switched to the 450 bm and never regretted it and it comes with me everywhere. 44 mag, 45 colt, 444, 450 marlin, 45-70 lever rifles for of muzzle energy, and that combo will handle any North American game animal. 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. Then, later in our testing, we again encountered this failure to feed, and not just from the last round in the magazine. 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. Obviously, many rifleman have voted yes, because Marlin has sold many, many .444s. 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. I don't like the factory 450 loads though. The stock finish was very durable and hard, even though the pores were not fully filled. 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. Big Bore Cartridges Compared! Velocity Tests and more! 460 S&W vs 444 One recurring problem, however, was the guns poor ejection. Offers more range than any commercial lever gun cartridge except the .338 ME The following ballistics tables show a side by side comparison of the 450 Marlin vs 450 Bushmaster based on bullet weight and performance metrics including velocity, energy, usage and recoil. This straddled the bolt, but was much too far forward for proper use by our test personnel. The two most popular flavors are the .45-70 and .450 Marlin cartridges, both of . Does a belted case make sense for a lever rifle? The long belt certainly does not add strength, no matter what you might have read elsewhere. Mag. After that instance I went to a big bore brush gun and never had such a problem since. Its a great round in a Marlin lever action. And when it comes to straight-wall Midwestern deer options that would be the .450 Bushmaster. Why, you ask, would a company do this? 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. When not at his press or the range he can be found chasing mule deer around the Rocky Mountains. 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. The trigger pull on the 444P was 4.3 pounds with prominent creep but very little overtravel. It generates 21.34 ft-lbs of energy at 12.55 fps. We also had problems with the function of the .450 Marlin. But in all honesty, it isnt for everyonebe it due to tight quarters or time constraints. 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.