We take a quick look at .450 Marlin, a big and nasty capable performer for any task.
Hornady and Marlin announced the .450 Marlin at the 2000 SHOT Show. This was the first new chambering from Marlin since the introduction of the .444 Marlin, in mid-1964. The motivation for this cartridge is simple: Handloaders had been souping up .45-70 loads for use in Marlin’s modern 1895 since the day that gun was introduced. Owing to the many weaker .45-70 rifles still in use, Marlin could not condone this practice, nor could the company stop it.
Something had to give.
Some have asked why Marlin didn’t simply lengthen the .45-70 case and standardize a new higher-pressure cartridge. That alternative wasn’t tenable, because such a cartridge would have chambered in older (potentially weaker) rifles designed for the .45-90, .45-110, etc.
When one considers a simple approach that could have been taken, this cartridge design is a poor, second-best choice for chambering in the M-1895 Marlin. The simple adoption of an Ackley Improved version of the .45-70 would have provided a superior case design with a cartridge that would function better through the Marlin rifle and would not chamber in any older factory firearm.
In any case, the .450 Marlin offers lever-action fans a factory chambering with significant ballistic potential. Shooters in this country have a long history of fascination with large-bore lever-action rifles. Except for caliber, Marlin’s cartridge recalls Winchester’s circa-1903 .50-110 Winchester High Velocity load, which originated for the same reason; muzzle energy is essentially identical. This cartridge and rifle make a fine and versatile combination for those who hunt dangerous game under the worst possible conditions.
Given correct bullet choice and shot placement, this is a capable performer for any task.
Interestingly, Lewis Potter, proprietor of Potter & Walker (Evasham, Worcestershire, UK), reports that, around the time the .450 Marlin was being introduced, he—quite coincidentally—successfully shortened and reformed .375 H&H Magnum cases to something quite similar to the new Marlin number, for use in a client’s modified Ruger No. 1. Potter’s wildcat, the performance of which fell somewhere between that of a high-end .45-70 and the .450 Marlin, was playfully christened the .45-70 Nitro Express.
.450 Marlin Load Data and Factory Ballistics
| Bullet (grains/type) |
Powder | Grains | Velocity | Energy | Source |
| 250 Barnes TSX/FN | H4198 | 54.0 | 2,493 | 3,446 | Barnes |
| 300 Nosler PPP | H335 | 67.0 | 2,282 | 3,465 | Nosler |
| 350 Hornady FP | RL-7 | 51.5 | 2,000 | 3,105 | Hornady |
| 400 Speer JFP | H335 | 55.0 | 1,953 | 3,383 | Hodgdon |
| 325 FTX | FL | – | 2,225 | 3,537 | Hornady 82750 |
| 500 FMJ FN | FL | – | 1,625 | 2,900 | Buffalo Bore 22C/20 |
Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt of Gun Digest’s Cartridge’s Of The World.
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