Wildcats on the .450 Marlin? And...

5849 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by alyeska338, Dec 6, 2002

andy

Discussion Starter · Nov 24, 2002 (Edited)

Hi, I'm not a wildcatter or even (I hate to admit it) a handloader, but it seems to me that the .450 Marlin has a lot of possibilities as a parent case. With the belt to control headspace, it would be ideal for a neck down to .400-.416 (it is my understanding that headspace is a concern on the .400 Whelen). Also it seems to me the case would be ideal for a short bolt rifle for those who don't care for lever rifles. I think about the Gibbs Enfield in 45-70 and wonder if it would handle the .450, advantage would be not worrying about someone stuffing your hot 45-70 handloads in a Trapdoor Springfield or original black powder lever rifle. Besides, wouldn't a short woods rifle on the Model Seven or a Featherweight or Ruger Ultra light be cool?

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Charlie Z

· #2 · Nov 24, 2002

Winchester's Custom Shop offers a neat .450 in its short action. Neat. Pricey. Probably would hold its value, though, since it's an odd, but desireable duck.

http://www.winchester-guns.com/prodinfo/catalog/cstmguns/short_action.htm

The .400 Whelen is based on the 30-06 bumped up to where there isn't much shoulder to headspace on.

There would probably be enough shoulder to headspace .450 sized case necked to .40 w/o the belt, though the belt might help boltguns feed.

The Gibbs would be my choice, except it seems that they do not want you shooting full zoot 45-70 loads, which are equivalent to .450 Marlin. So, the enfield's strength at the high end (.450 level) might be in question. Someone may supply additional facts on that.

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