Description
Product Info .450 Marlin Ammo
While ballistically similar to the .45-70, the .450 Marlin was not developed from the .45-70. Rather, the .450 Marlin was developed from the wildcatย .458ร2โณ American, which was based on theย .458 Winchester Magnum.[4]ย This places the .450 Marlin in the .458 Winchester family of cartridges, though it is more easily understood as a โmodernizedโ .45-70. It is possible toย handloadย the .45-70 to levels that can destroy older firearms such as theย Trapdoor Springfield. The .450 Marlin offers the ballistics of suchย โhotโ .45-70 loads without the risk of chambering in firearms that cannot handle its higher pressure.
The belt has been modified to prevent it from chambering in smaller-bore 7ย mm Magnum or .338 Magnum rifles.[5]ย The .45-70 and .450 Marlin cannot be cross-chambered, but rifles chambered for the American can be modified to fire the .450 Marlin.[6]
Visually, the case resembles that of the .458 Winchester Magnum with a wider belt.[7]ย The cartridge is most useful for hunting big game at short ranges, being accurate at ranges of 150 to 175 yards (137 to 160ย m).[4]ย The cartridge is capable of taking any large game animal in North America including large elk, brown bear, and moose.
One potential advantage of the .450 Marlin was its ability to chamber easily in bolt-action rifles, essentially becoming a โ.45-70 bolt actionโ cartridge. This idea, however, was only utilized by one company:ย Steyr-Mannlicher. However, many companies such as E.R. Shaw Inc.ย and EABCO have helped numerous owners convert their existing bolt-action rifles to .450 Marlin, fulfilling the cartridgeโs inspired purpose.