This cartridge is useless, and it may have caused a host of ejection problems in our test gun. We learned the recoil pad, though firm, was almost adequate. 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. The performance all the way around was very impressive. That makes it a good option for recoil-sensitive shooters who must abide by tapered cartridge restrictions. Then the Marlin 1895 lever-action rifle came along in 1972 and changed everything. Four REASONS I WAS THINKING OF A 450 BUSHMASTER 20"UPPER 1.WAY LESS FELT RECOIL THAN A 12 GAUGE THANKS TO THE AR15 BUFFER TUBE DESIGN . Mag. Penetration, expansion, frontal area. I have two .444's and a .450. Offers more power than any commercial lever gun cartridge except the .450 Marlin. It utilized a standard belted-mag case of 2.0-inch length. The 450 Marlin is rated at 43,500 psi compared to 28,000 psi for 45-70 Gov. When it comes to .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend, is there a clear winner? In Stock Only Rossi Wizard 223 Rem Single-Shot Rifle . Marlin .450 Model 1895M Our recommendation: Dont Buy the $560 Marlin .450 Model 1895M. Problem solved. We measured the .450 Marlins velocity at 2,045 fps with the 350-grain Hornady Flat-Point Interlock bullet. vs. .458 Lott7mm Rem. We stock a full range of bulk rifle ammunition to meet . 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. The Marlins, Winchester, Brownings and Henrys all handle those big-bore cartridges well, and among them the .444 Marlin and .45-70 Government are a pair of undeniable classics. 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. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use. The 450 Bushmaster is taking off and new ammo offerings keep popping up. It goes so far as, previously mentioned, manufacturers offering the same model rifle in both .450 Bushmaster and .350 Legend. Each cartridge has its own benefit and ultimately is your choice. The .45-70 Government has quite the bullet range in comparison to the .444 Marlin; bullets will run from 250-grains all the way up to the behemoth 600-grain slugs, with a slew of choices in between. .350 Legend Vs .450 Bushmaster: Does One Win Out For Hunting? 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. Its an interesting and unique addition and most are mighty fun to shoot. The .350 Legend takes it easier on each by a fairly wide margin. boar dead in his tracks erffortlessly. 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 Remington had a 265-grain load for a while but dropped it, leaving only the 240-grain factory load. The crux is terminal performance on game. I have tested them and the results are not good. The $404 Side Eject Winchester felt like a toy compared to the relatively bulky Marlins. The .450 Marlin has quite a bit longer case, at 2.10" compared to 1.70" on the .450 Bushmaster. We've got you covered.7x57mm Mauser vs. .280 Remington.300 Win. It generates 21.34 ft-lbs of energy at 12.55 fps. But for overall practicality, straight-wall cartridges are a topic for the good folks around the Great Lakes region. Many of the loads out there are designed to be safe in the trapdoor Springfields that are still around. I have a very accurate marlin with the 1/20 twist. . Ive used a Remington 1100 with a slug barrel on it before that but had problems getting out to the 100-150 yard mark accurately. Marlin Model 444P Our recommendation: Marlin ought to know by now how to make a flawless .444 Marlin. 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. Our velocity charts are labeled with bullet weights and barrel lengths with velocities gathered. Its very accurate and I feel more comfortable with it than a marlin 1895 big bore or another one of the other many 45-70 lever guns. If your pocketbook is tight or you dont appreciate your shoulder getting thumped, then I suppose there is. 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. 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 2.260-inch Maximum Overall Cartridge Length, it fits well in the AR-15 platform. 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. We also had problems with the function of the .450 Marlin. 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. All Marlins. You have two cartridges that are headed in opposite directions. You can find more information on our site under the Velocity/Info tab labeled Velocity Testing. It retains 1,000 foot-pounds of energy to about 360 yards. First, the 45-70 Government is physically larger than the 450 Bushmaster. 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. The .45-70 uses a straight-walled, rimmed case measuring 2.105 inches, and maintains an overall length of 2.550 inches. Again, there isnt a bright clear advantage when it comes to rifles chambered for cartridges. 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. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. Deer, hog. The resulting round boasts performance on par with the .45-70 Gov't but in a more compact configuration. The old Trapdoor rifles are restricted to a lower pressure level than are the modern, strongly-built lever guns like the Marlin Model 1895 and Winchester Model 1886; though the case may be thin, it can generate impressive numbers in a modern gun. Well, I gotta respectfully disagree with that statement. The Straight-Wall Deer Hunting Cartridge With the Most Potential: .444 Marlin, The Best Straight-Wall Deer Hunting Ammo for AR-15 Style Rifles: .450 Bushmaster, The Best Straight-Wall Deer Hunting Ammo For Long Shots: .45-70 Government. The overall length on the .450 Marlin is also just a bit longer, at 2.55 compared to 2.26 on the Bushmaster. Here are four places to start, By That is not a problem, the 45-70 is way to much capacity for smokeless powder. We tried a different brand of ammunition and the rifle worked fine for awhile. Back in January we tested this superb rifle along with the similar Marlin Guide Gun, both in .45-70. 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. We know that Winchester has brought out a shorter-barrel version of this rifle, complete with ported muzzle, but we dont see a real need for it. Match Grade Machine did extensive testing with different barrel lengths in some of our most popular cartridges. Then somebody figured out that straight-walled rifle cartridges are just as safe as slugs. 450 Marlin vs 45-70. The 450 Bushmaster is taking off and new ammo offerings keep popping up. Best grouping was with Buffalo Bores 300-grain load, just over 3 inches at 50 yards. During the spring conservation order, you can hunt with outfitters from Arkansas to Saskatchewan. Mag..300 RSAUM vs. .300 WSM .500 Jeffrey vs. .505 Gibbs7mm RUM vs. .300 RUM.308 Winchester vs. 7mm-08 Remington6.5 Creedmoor vs. .260 Remington.303 British vs. 8x57 Mauser.30-06 Springfield vs. All Other .30s.17 HMR vs. .17 WSM.450 Nitro Express vs. .470 Nitro Express350 Legend vs. .35 Remington.280 Ackley Improved vs. 7mm Rem. Mag. At introduction, it received a lot of fanfare but soon faded into, well, near oblivion. vs. .300 WSM.223 Remington vs. .22-250 Remington. One of my favorites, and a big favorite for many Alaskans, is the Marlin 1895 lever gun. 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. Heres how to avoid the poseurs and choose the right one. The .450 Bushmaster has a SAAMI Mean Average Pressure (MAP) of 38,500 psi. Of all the ammo available, the highest muzzle energy of the Socom is 2380 ft/lbs of energy. Also, a synthetic stock is available with Realtree XTRA camo finish. GunnersDen.com ~ 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. Yes, the ported barrel helped cut muzzle flip, but our shoulders got sore from the too-hard pads on both Marlin rifles. At 150 yards the 444 drops 2.4 inches, whereas the Bushmaster drops about 2.9 inches. The .444 Marlin was available in a svelte Marlin lever-action riflethe Model 444and 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. We dug it out with a knife, reloaded two more, and again the second round failed to feed. There were faint instances of dished-out holes in the receiver sides, where the buffing wheel went into the screw holes. While the .450 Marlin sought to improve it with modern ammunition techniques while eliminating the chance that shooters would load high-pressure modern ammunition into vintage rifles and cause catastrophe, the .450 Bushmaster sought to translate the short-distance big game cartridge onto the semi-automatic platform. Will it put a deer down faster. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Those ballistic tips expand way to fast for deer size game when backed by high amounts of kinetic energy. 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. Rifle type is the major difference between the .450 Marlin and the .450 Bushmaster. It is on the wane and has long ago been supplanted by the resurgent 45-70. The Winchester had a 20-inch barrel. Its a belted case, not the usual rimmed type one normally finds in lever rifles. Mag..404 Jeffery vs. .416 Rigby.243 Winchester vs. 6mm Creedmoor.300 PRC vs. .300 Win. Perhaps the most notable in recent years has been the .350 Legend. The 44 Magnum and 45 Colt are 125 yard rifles. A box of .357 Mag. The .444 Marlin is essentially a deer rifle that can be used on black bear. 2. But the .450 Bushmaster and .350 Legend are chambered in very similar rifles, some from the same line with minuscule differences. 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. The Marlins were much fatter than the 94AE. 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. Federal Fusion 450 Bushmaster 260gr is a bonded soft point ammo designed specifically for hunting. A 265 grain 44 Mag is measured at 1180 fps with 741 ft/lb at the muzzle. vs. .340 Wby. At 300 yards, the .450 Marlin is still in the lead with another 404 ft-lbs of energy over the .450 Bushmaster. Ballistically, the .450 Bushmaster is close to the .45/70 in terms of velocity . If you also shoot a Trapdoor Springfield or any other kind of weak-actioned rifle that takes the .45-70, it makes sense that you should not mix up your ammunition. Use: Defense. 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 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. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry the guns prices at the time of the original review. 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. 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. Yes, the Legend does tend to shoot a fraction flatter at distance, but not substantially so. 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. At the range, the first shot told us that the Marlin .450 was a powerful rifle. We cant see the sense of a scope on a short, relatively light rifle, unless its done Scout-style like the Co-Pilot. 350 Legend's 8.52 ft lbs recoil energy is less than the 30-30's 9.64 ft lbs and the 243 Win's 10.38 ft lbs. IC B2. The 450 Bushmaster was developed for use in AR-15 rifles. This advantage expands a bit as we cross more distance. The idea took off, and now many of those states are allowing straight-walled cartridges to be used as deer hunting ammo. The .450 Bushmaster thumper round launches .452-cal. It might be a little too much for whitetails - it would be perfect on elk and moose. But in all honesty, it isnt for everyonebe it due to tight quarters or time constraints. The 1895M was fitted with barrel-mounted iron sights, though it was also drilled and tapped for scope mounting. The .450 Bushmaster was designed to work in an AR-15, but its also available in bolt-action rifles from Ruger, Mossberg, and others. Utilizing a lighter bullet with a smaller powder charge, it can generally be said it produces less recoil. Ive used a 308 and hit a branch with it and the bullet broke apart and i thankfully got a lucky hit to the neck with about half a bullet tumbling through the air. 45-70 Gov vs 450 Trajectory . The buttpad was a ventilated hard rubber pad. For 450 Bushmaster, AR 15 is always the best choice. So when it comes to the .350 Legend vs .450 Bushmaster, is there any discernable advantage of hunting one or the other? 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. We started with 27 barrels for each cartridge and collected velocities cutting one inch off at a time and retesting all the way down to 13 using multiple loads of ammunition. Our only complaint, a mild one, is wed like to see a wood finish that fills the pores more completely while still letting the wood figure come through. Thats alright. The .444 Marlin is on par with the 45 Bushmaster at around 2300 ft/s for a 250 grain bullet, but is easily outdone by the 45 Raptor For either cartridge reloading is the route to go if you're able. We are constantly adding new inventory and occasionally offer Free Shipping. I'm thinking of adding a 450 bushmaster. I dont think anybody can say anything against the quality of marlin lever actions. 450 a bit better with jacketed, 1" vs 1.5". The 450 Marlin duplicates the 45-70 in a modern rimless case that is a little shorter. Bushmaster and LeGendre approved the change in case length from 1.771-inch to 1.700-inch. The checkering was fully functional. The Hornady bullets are heavier and have a higher ballistic coefficient. Elwood Shelton is an online content developer for Gun Digest. We also got a Winchester Model 94AE chambered for the .444 Marlin. While it does not have the power of the .450 Marlin, the .444 Marlin is very similar ballistically to the .45-70, . 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. You may have a perfect group going on your target only to find the next shot is off in another time zone. Disclaimer: Sportsman's Warehouse assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions of the information on this page. In the shooting sports we call that reaction recoil or "kick." It can be measured or computed empirically and has been for this recoil table. These comments also apply directly to the .450 Bushmaster 250 grain FTX load. The .444 Marlin, .450 Marlin, and .45/70 are rimmed straight-wall rifle cartridges that are most commonly chambered in lever guns such as the Winchester 1886 and Marlin 1895, though there are single-shot options like the Ruger No. All of these walnut-stocked rifles had iron sights only, which is how we tested them. A heavier bullet will generally travel more slowly than a lighter bullet. Certainly, some pride themselves in how much recoil they can endure. One would think that would have to play in to your decision making. 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. Because of its recoil, a .28 Nosler should generally only be shot out of heavier rifles, coupled with a brake or suppressor. The internet celebrity, who is a member of Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. Wild West was also the originator of the short, handy, powerful lever-rifle concept. The company unveiled the new round at the 2019 SHOT show and currently offers it in Deer Season XP, Power Max Bonded, and many others. The .450 Bushmaster was designed to operate in AR-15 platform rifles and is capable of delivering considerably more close-range punch than the 5.56 NATO. Or more plainly speaking, youd dial a scope on a Bushmaster up .2-inch more than on the Legend when sighting in at 100 yards. For $404, wed give it a Buy rating, being a better deal than the $550 Marlin. I use a 450 bushmaster ar-15 as my big bore brush gun for my up close and personal bear hunting and coming across a deer 25 yards away through the bushes. Like the .44-40 WCF and .45 Colt, the .45-70 Government has been with us since 1873, and shows no sign of fading anytime soon; its roots in the American shooting industry run deep, and Id bet the affection for the design will extend another century. Contributor Brad Fenson takes to the grill, to cook up some delicious venison burgers. Shop for ammo available in all calibers for sale online from Guns.com. Our shooting was hampered by the trigger and by the huge ghost-ring rear sight. Does a belted case make sense for a lever rifle? And when it comes to straight-wall Midwestern deer options that would be the .450 Bushmaster. Find cheap, bulk rifle ammo - 22 long rifle, winchester, 6.5 creedmoor, and more. For reference, a 3" 20 gauge load rattles your cage at 30 ftlbs. 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. Its big and powerful enough, and with good bullets, it may produce the best external ballistics of the bunch. Bushmaster also requested a name change to .450 Bushmaster, to which LeGendre agreed. The big difference is that .308 Winchester keeps at least 1,000 ft.lbf out to about 600 yards, 450 Bushmaster loses it by 300 yards. Well analyze the performance of these calibers across a variety of factors to help you decide which is best for your hunting needs. Both forend and wrist checkering had a darker finish than the rest of the wood, and it added to the looks of the rifle. The recoil of the .450 was a bit stiffer than the .444 Marlin with Buffalo Bore ammunition. Rubber meet road, because if there is anyone point in .450 Bushmaster vs .350 Legend battle where one wins out, its here. 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. Just $1 per month , Thinking about swapping your slug gun for a rifle this fall? Much of this is attributable to the Legend and Bushmaster competing for the same hunters. Winchester put decent walnut on this all-steel rifle, and did a great job of finishing and checkering the wood. Toward that end, we obtained a pair of nearly identical Marlins chambered for the .444 Marlin, the Model 444P, and .450 Marlin, the Model 1895M. How can a bit of brass added to a cartridge case make up for the exact same amount of steel removed from the chamber that holds it? Out of the muzzle, the .450 Marlin packs another 886 ft-lbs over the .450 Bushmaster, a significant difference. A talk on straight-wall cartridges is, for the most part, a regional discussion. It retains 1,000 foot-pounds of energy to just past 235 yards. These two rifles were both light and, with outstanding Buffalo Bore ammunition, provided as modern and powerful ballistics as anyone could want. 2.215 Case length, .451 Caliber projectiles 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. Our loaner was fitted with a ghost-ring Ashley aperture sight held to the receiver with two screws. The 444 Marlin (which I love) is headed in the other direction. While .308 can reach out accurately to 1,200 yards (if you're pretty good), 450 . 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. If youre looking to shoot much outside of 200 yards, youre looking at the wrong calibers. Ours didnt. The finish was about average, we felt, for a modern rifle in this price category. 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. I have always wanted a bolt action 444 Marlin, but the 450 Bushmaster has ballistics that are almost as good as the 444. 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 . We assume a clump of grease or a small burr slowed down the firing pin just enough to prevent firing. The .450 Marlin and the .450 Bushmaster are very similar cartridges: both are big bore cartridges intended for big game hunting at close quarters, and lose steam after about 150-200 yards. 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). I don't like the factory 450 loads though. 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. 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. This straddled the bolt, but was much too far forward for proper use by our test personnel. First of all, theres no need for it. They track closely in weight, thus when chambered Legend tend to be more pleasurable to shoot. The .444 Marlin (10.957mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. 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. For our very first shots with the .444 Marlin, we loaded two rounds. However, the primer was apparently not struck soundly enough. Mag. Theres just no need for a new cartridge in this same performance range. On the other hand, performance-wise, the dividing line is thin enough so it's difficult to tip fence-sitters one way or another. 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. One would think that would have to play in to your decision making. For a while, nobody was making rifles in .45-70 and the cartridge seemed doomed. Sounds impressive. Learn more . I am currently building a bolt action .444 Marlin that I am expecting good things from this fall. Copyright 2000-2023 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. As it is, we feel this odd belted design will only speed the demise of this rifle/cartridge combination, because it doesnt make the least bit of sense to us. Whether you are reloading for handgun, rifle, shotshell or muzzleloading we have what you need. If you want a powerful lever-action .45-caliber rifle, you probably know what youre doing. I have not shot any of the "leverultion ammo" in any of mine, so have no comment there.
