i bought my dad a guide gun and he loves it nice and compact and esy to carry

I bought a Marlin 1895 in .450M with 18,5"bbl in 2001 and I love it.It�s a light, compact and easy to handl rifle. My handloads are the 300grs HP with 2250fps and the 350grs FP with 2100fps. At 50m it shoots groups under 0,8" with a 4x scope.

Big Bore Fan,

Wow - those are good numbers. Can the .45-70 be loaded that strong? By the way, what case is the .450 based on? Or, is it it's own case?

I'll probably just stick with my 18.5" barrel.

Thanks again,
Scott

I have observed a difference of 15-35 fps depending on the load and gun. On average its 200 fps between my 22" barreled Marlin 1895 and my 32" barreled W&H 1871 Buffalo Classic. So its probably around 70 fps difference between a 22" barreled 1895 and the 18.5" barreled 1895G. At practical hunting ranges neither you or the animal would know the difference.

Hodgdon #27 lists Marlin 1895 45-70 loads that yield 2310 fps with 300 grain bullets, 2080 fps with 350 grain bullets and 1890 fps with 400 grain bullets in an 18.5" barrel.