Big bore lever actions

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Love&Hate12

New member
I like lever actions a whole lot and I am thinking of getting a big bore one but I do not know which caliber would be a the best.

The classic .45-70 is there always and that round packs a severe punch.

The Marlin round, I dont know much about that one.

Do they make one with a 500 s&w? that round seems to be substantially more powerful than the .45-70 and in a rifle the recoil couldn't be much more than a 12 gauge slug.
 
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charlie in md

New member
450 marlin

Marlin has come out with an "update" to the 45-70, called the .450 Marlin. I don't know of any rifle that has been chambered for the .500 S&W, but I would bet that it is on someone's drawing board. (I'd like to see it in a Ruger No. 1 :D )
 
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superpelly

New member
Looked at a Marlin 45-70 at Scheels the other day -- WoW never realized how big the bore really is!!!! hate to be looking down the barrel of one of those. :eek:
 
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Edward429451

Moderator
I just got a big bore Marlin recently and I looked at them all. My reasoning to choose the 45/70 is thus:

The 444 apparently isn't able to handle the 300 gr bullets and from what some say, you can't just use any old 44 bullets for it. Plus the cast bullets are touch n go. I can't have that, I cast and have got to be able to use anything my RH will use if I went 444.

The 450 is new and ammo & brass are sketchy & expensive with no real advantage over the 45/70 (for my needs).

45/70 is everywhere, brass, bullets. Has the ability to be able to be loaded with BP, it eats cast bullets just fine (The newer ones have ballard rifling. I'm still working through the sizing decision cause I did get some leading so will try some .460's next time.)

The 45/70 (46/70?;) ) wins hands down for me.
 
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Scorch

New member
The 45-70 is the way to go. Ask yourself this : "If I was in Alaska (Montana, Wyoming, whatever) and I lost my ammo, how hard would it be to find ammo for my rifle?" The .450 Marlin has all the OOMPH of a hot 45-70 but cannot be chambered in the wrong rifle (older BP guns). BUT (that's the big but), it is expensive and hard to find in most areas. If you handload, there is no advantage for the .450 over the 45-70. If you don't handload, there is no advantage over the 45-70 because of availability.
If you just have to have a .450, build a bolt gun, where you have an advantage over the 45-70's rimmed cartridge because of smoother feeding of the belted round. I've been toying with the idea for about a year.
 
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Hogleg

New member
I have the Marlin Guide Gun in stainless, 45-70. If there is one gun I will never get rid of, it is this one. I like the history of this round, and you can get the Buffalo Bore or Garret ammo if you want something a little hotter. Mine shoots the Winchester 300gr hollow points great. The PMC 350gr +p+ shoot pretty good, but has a bit more recoil. Don't know the ballistics on the .450, but I hear the PMC +p+ stuff in 45-70 is right up there with it and it is not hard to find around here. I have the scout set-up on mine, and the PMC's broke a Simmons pistol scope after about 5 rounds. I got a Leupold scout scope to replace it and could'nt be happier.
 
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Dirty_Harry

New member
I have a marlin 1895 in .450 and I love it, it is accurate, very powerful, and I was debating the same thing as you were, I went into Gander Mountain knowing what I wanted and there was a time when I was thinking about just getting the .45-70 but I just like the thought of more power.

Get the .450, it is more powerful, and the trajectory is much better.

P.S. Watch out though the .450 has almost double the recoil of a .45-70.
It just lets you know that you are shooting a gun. :D
 
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Webleymkv

New member
I would choose the 45/70 myself. Companies such as Garret and Buffalo Bore load the 45/70 to the same level as the .450 and with heavier bullets to boot. Some would say that a handloader could push the .450 even farther, and while this is true I ask myself why? What on earth (no pun intended) needs doing that a 540grn Garret Hammerhead can't do? They hunt Elephants with them for crying out loud! My thought is that if one needs more than this then a .470 or .500 Nitro is the next step. The 45/70 is more available and less expensive commercially, and I've heard that belted cases are harder to reload.
 
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tINY

New member


I have to put in a good word for the '92 Puma in 454 Casul. It's hotter than the 45-70 "trapdoor safe" rounds and the action is a lot smaller.....

Of course, I have the trapper length model. For a larger rifle, I'd probably go bolt action with a 458....



-tINY

 
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MeekAndMild

New member
If I understand things correctly Marlin made their .450 so that idiots wouldn't try to shoot a +P cartridge in antique black powder 45-70's. But modern Marlin 1895 45-70 rifles will shoot +P and their perfomance approximates their offering in .450 Marlin caliber.

One major advantage for 45-70 is that when you're not out shooting T. Rex and giant space aliens you can get cheap target loads which won't break the piggy bank. That just isn't the case with .450 Marlin nor some of the hot Alaskan calibers.

With due diligence looking up specific rifles, cartridges and pressures you can get a better idea of exactly what is permissable with modern 45-70 loads. I wouldn't ever claim to be an expert on this complex subject, just a happy modern 45-70 shooter who occasionally shots +P loads.
 
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impact

New member
If you reload the 450 and the 45-70 are about the same.

I have the 444 and 45-70. Yes the 444 will only will reload with some bullets. With a reload for the 45-70 at max load it will hammer your shoulder. Belive you me! if you reload the 45-70 is no whimp!

When I reload for the 444 I have to cut the case back just a little so I can reload 240 Speer gold dots. The 444 needs more free bore to shoot most 44 mag type bullets. All I can say. Is a 44 mag bullet going at 2200fps is! well! WOW! :D
 
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dgludwig

New member
If you can find one (and there's quite a few still being advertised NIB from $700.00 to $900.00), consider getting a Winchester 1886 LightWeight repo, chambered in 45-70. Great handling rifle with one of the smoothest actions out-of-the box you'll ever operate.
 
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Holman

New member
I have the 1895GS (45-70) and I love this gun. I replaced the sights with the AO Ghost Rings and improved my shooting accuracy tremendously. This is my favorite rifle by far. I plan on getting a Marlin 30-30 later. The 1895GS is a sweet shooting rifle. :)

Marlin 1895GS :D
Weatherby Vanguard 270
Remington 11-87 (12 GA)
Winchester 1300 Defender 12 GA
NEF 12 GA
Ruger Super Redhawk 44 Mag.
Ruger P95DC 9MM
 
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45/70 GOVT.

New member
I used to have an 1895 Marlin in 45/70 with a 22" barrel. I loaded my own ammo. My favorite load for Elk was 52gr 3031 with speer 400 gr flat nose. For target practice I used a 420 gr cast FN at about 1000 fps

My current 45/70 is a Ruger #1. The 450 has nothing on the loads this rifle will handle. 500 gr at 1800 fps. that's getting into the low wnd of 458 Win Mag territory.

Back to the lever actions I would choose the 45/70 because there is more avaliblity of ammo and brass is cheaper if you reload
 
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308Enfield

New member
I've fired one of the first production year Marlin guide guns quite a bit and its a great handling rifle. I haven't had the chance to try one of the larger long-barrelled models, but I'm guessing they'd shoot even better because of the added weight. Its hard to go wrong with a lever action; I have a Marlin model 1894 in .44 magnum myself and there's nothing better for wandering the woods with.

Someone else had asked:
I don't know of any rifle that has been chambered for the .500 S&W, but I would bet that it is on someone's drawing board. (I'd like to see it in a Ruger No. 1 )
Click to expand...

I don't want to hijack the thread, but since this was brought up the NEF Handi-Rifle is available in .500 S&W. I haven't had the chance to shoot one, but the price can't be beat.
 
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Ruger4570

New member
I am a big fan of the 45-70 also. I have both a Marlin and a Ruger #1 in 45-70. I have exceeded 1950 fps with 500 grain bullets in the Ruger and could probably get more. I know the Ruger action will hold it,, I don't think the 45-70 case would. The 45-70 is very versitle and can be loaded for any game in the country. By the way, most of my loads are 405 grain cast lead bullets going around 1200 fps or less, I just load the really hot ones for fun, but then again, with the recoil, they ain't all that much fun
 
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