Marlin lever guide gun in .45-70 or .450 marlin?

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skidooracer_99

New member
im in the market for a marlin lever action guide gun. looked at both but havent decided on which caliber yet. i will be reloading, and will probably never buy factory ammo for it. redding dies are available for either but brass for both are out of stock right now. the reason for this gun is camping and quadding in the mountains for bear protection. plus its a neat, small sized, fun blaster gun too. i heard the 450 marlin loads smother which could be a plus in a needed situation. id know either would be fine but id just like to hear what you guys would pick and why? how would these calibers kill compare to a 12 gauge with 3" slugs? thats what im using now.
 
I went through a similar debate a few weeks ago and went with 45-70, based only on the fact that tis been around forever. I dont think you can go wrong either way.
 
I had an 1895 GS several years ago in the 45-70 and as you stated they are they are kind of neat gun to have. I used mine for dear hunting and I never had a deer run I even gut shot a deer one time and I sweer it just walked around in circles for about 5 minutes and then dropped dead. I also shot a buck that was quatering towards me at about 25 yards. I hit the deer in the shoulder and it stood him upright on his hind feet and he fell over backwards. So the 45-70 had plenty of knockdown power. Like most Marlin Lever Action it was very reliable and never had any problem with it feeding cartridges in the chamber. According to my Nosler manual the 45-70 (stronge action) is slightly faster than the 450. As far as accuracy, groups size was measured in inches at 100 yards but if you are using it for protection from bears I am assuming that you will be shooting alot closer that that. I also had a red dot scope on mine and it seemed to work pretty good for quick shots.
 
Don't forget about the 444Marlin, you can get it in a guide model also. I have shot all three and I like the 444, I have not had problems ordering nickel brass from Midway, Pick the one that suits you and enjoy, the grin from shooting any of them will last at least a week.
 
450 and 45-70 are basically the same round. 450 Marlin has a belt and 45-70 has a rim. The plus side to the 450 Marlin is you can get high performace loads that can be bought over the counter in a pinch.....but if you can get 450's over the counter you might be able to get buffalo bore 45-70.
 
A 405 hard cast at around 1600 Fps in the 45-70 crushes through stuff and does kick the [beeep] out of ya...
Put a Limbsaver on it and the kick is tamed really well...
 
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Originally Posted By: RiflemannDon't forget about the 444Marlin, you can get it in a guide model also.

I have a 444 also in a lever gun. Good round.
 
The older Guide series used to come with a muzzle break and it tamed the recoil quite abit but I am not sure if the still come with one or not.
 
ive honestly never owned a lever action gun. are they pretty reliable and not common to jam? thats the last thing youd want in a protection gun. i guess the only reason i was leaning towards the 450 was the easier feeding which i heard. but if the good old 45-70 has no problems than whats the point?
 
Very reliable.

The 450 does not do 1 single thing better than a 45-70. That includes smoother feeding. The 450 was created due to SAAMI pressure specs, i.e. limitations, on 45-70 ammo. If you handload, this is a non-factor.......
 
Actually the muzzle breaks on the gs really was not that bad as long as you were the one shooting it. But I looked a Marlins website and I do not think the are ported anymore. But I do agree with you if you were standing beside someone shooting that old Marlin I had the concusion would almost knock you over
 
at my local gun shops i can easily get either gun and the dies i wanted for either caliber...so my deciding factor was gonna be which was easier to find brass. but 3 shops had no brass for either so thats why i didnt decide on which caliber yet lol. oh and are the redding 3 die sets good dies for these?
 
I have heard good things about Redding dies I have never used them but everything about Redding has been good. I know you want to reload but you could buy some factory ammo when you get the rifle and just reload it after you shot it. If they have factory ammo that is.
 
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45-70 should be a lot easier to find brass for. It is oldest continually produced centerfire rifle cartridge in the USA.......
 
Redding makes my favorite dies. A Lee factory crimp die is also a really good thing to have for loading straight walled cartridges. I highly recommend them.
 
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