Loading the big bore leverguns: .45-70 Gov't., .450 Marlin, .444 Marlin

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2009 by John Taffin

The big-bore double rifles will always be associated with Africa, and America's counterpart is the big-bore levergun. They began with Winchester's Centennial Model 1876 chambered in .45-60 and .45-75, and the latter was Theodore Roosevelt's favorite hunting rifle when ranching in the Dakotas. The .45-70 was first chambered in a levergun by Whitney in an Andrew Burgess designed rifle, then Marlin with the Model 1881 (also a Burgess design) followed five years later by the John Browning designed Winchester 1886.

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The Winchester proved to be a much stronger gun than the Marlin, and Marlin countered in 1895 with an upgraded version of their .45-70. Today's Marlin Model 1895 is an even stronger gun than either the 1881 or older 1895. Neither of which should be used with anything other than standard .45-70 loads. In fact, the '81 should be confined to black powder loads.

Several versions of the Winchester 1886 have been offered over the last three decades by both Winchester and Browning. All of these are made by Miroku of Japan and are very strong .45-70s, and modern versions from Marlin, Browning and Winchester are capable of handling much heavier loads without whimpering than I can. Two things which definitely don't go together are any .45-70 loads and the curved metal buttplate found on most 1886s. I was able to come up with a replacement buttstock for my Browning 1886 and it has been equipped a quality recoil pad.

.45-70

Reloading for the .45-70 is pretty straightforward. The case is slightly tapered so carbide sizers are out and spray-on lube is in. My two favorite bullets for the .45-70 are the Speer 400-grain Jacketed Flatpoint and the RCBS 45-405 FNGC. However, the most accurate load I've used in my custom 18-1/2" 1895 Marlin with a Williams Receiver Sight has been the Hornady 350-grain JSP over 44 grains of IMR 4198 giving me the slightly over 1,800 fps and three shots in less than 1". Although there are many good powders available for reloading the .45-70, if I were relegated to using only one it would be Hodgdon's H322.

My most used load (even if not the most accurate) is the RCBS 45-405 FNGC over 52 grains of H322 for more than 2,000 fps from the Browning 1886. Recoil is exceptionally heavy, a price you pay for a load this powerful. Using 50 grains of H322 and the Speer 400 JPF results in not only a very powerful load at 1800 fps, it is also exceptionally accurate. I don't always have time to cast bullets and that is where Oregon Trail's 405-grain Hard Cast Gas Checked bullet comes in. Loaded over 41 grains of Accurate Arms 2495 it is still quite powerful at 1600 fps and exceptionally accurate.

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.450 Marlin

Everything said about the .45-70 also applies to the latest big-bore levergun cartridge, the .450 Marlin. Any load recommended for the .45-70 in a levergun can also be duplicated and used in the .450. The new .450 Marlin is in reality the old .45-70 with a new pair of shoes. The reason for its existence is to be able to safely offer heavy-duty loads without any worry about them being dropped in an older .45-70 such as the Springfield Trapdoor.

To accomplish this, the .450 Marlin is a belted case and will not enter any .45-70 chamber. On the exterior, the Marlin .450 rifle is a dead ringer for the .45-70 Marlin Model 1895 except for the chamber markings on the barrel. Both cartridges use the same bullets and the same powders. There is one difference, my .450 Marlin is slightly more accurate than its .45-70 counterpart. Another two rifles could easily give opposite results.

The .450 Marlin is especially accurate with loads I have assembled using Hornady's 350-grain jacketed flatnose bullet and such powders as Reloder 7, H4895, AA2495, and H322. The most accurate load I've found with this bullet uses 58 grains of H322 for just over 2,000 fps. My most accurate load for the .450 Marlin is a relatively mild one which uses the RCBS 45-405 FNGC over 46 grains of AA2495 for just under 1,400 fps. It'll put three shots in 1/2" at 50 yards. Whether you select the .45-70 or .450 Marlin is strictly a matter of personal choosing. No game animal in the world can tell one from the other, and with full power loads in either rifle any four-legged creature in Alaska or Africa or anywhere else is at a definite disadvantage. Heavy-duty factory loadings with 400-grain bullets in both cartridges are available which are virtually identical.

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.444 Marlin

The .444 Marlin does with a 300-grain bullet what the other two big bores do with 400-grain bullets. It started out very strangely back in the early 1970s. Any of these three big bores are basically close-range, heavy bulleted leverguns for use on large game animals. I especially like any one of the three with barrels around 18-1/2" and slicked up for easy handling. The first .444 Marlin came with a 24" barrel, a buttstock with a high cheekpiece designed for scope use, and the original ammunition was loaded with a 240-grain bullet better suited to a .44 Magnum sixgun and only for use on deer-sized game.