I ordering a LH 1999 barrelled action in a 450 marlin. I was going to put a hi-tech stock on it, and a simi-heavy contour barrel on it. Has anyone out there done one? What would you do on it? I'm building a hog gun and brush deer rifle.

liled

That rig might be barrel heavy. Might want to consider a Boyds laminated stock.
JCN

How long a barrel and what pad?

the kickeze will haul the weight back, a pac will point it front, but, remember, a semi heavy barrel is going to have a big hole in it... myself, I like a nose heavy gun...not crazy out of balance, but front loaded... i find it easier to shoot offhand

but... like JC said, the boyds stock... for me, because it's DIRT cheap... order from the directly, NOT from double priced midway

jeffe

I have one built on a Rem 700 short-action with 22" PacNor barrel. It also has a Bansner stock that I had Mark beef-up a little (solid forend)...lot of fun to shoot as long as you don't try to make it into a baby-458 WinMag.

Ballistically, what is the 450 Marlin match? 45-70? Anything?

What are they used for? Sounds sort of like a "woods" type cartridge to me.

They sound neat though. Maybe someday I'll have a spare action to play with and try one.

Thanks,

Tex

LILED,

I have one built on a M70 short action with a 25" Shilen barrel, Royal Arms Classic stock and express sights front/rear to go along with the Burris scope. Excellent cartridges for anything you will likely run into in North America. In a both action the .450 Marlin really shows it�s stuff. Getting great accuracy with the new Barnes TSX bullets. Make sure your action/magazine is long enough to handle loads using the longer/heavier spitzer and round nose bullets without having to load them too deep in the case. Lawdog

Jeffe,
thats right I find it easy to shoot off hand to with a slight barrel heavy gun. I think I'll stick with a 21' barrel but might consider a boyds stock. I'll see if they will put a crossbolt or two in it. Good idea on the long chamber (I guess you would call it freebore) Lawdog. What is yours at? What type of proformance are ya'll seeing out of the 450.

liled

Liled,
in a bolt gun.. there's "no reason" that you can't load it to higher pressure than in a levergun... look for the 458 american, (x2") and it's loaded a tad hotter/faster than the 450 marlin... the only recognized difference is the belt.

350s at 2200 should be easy in a 21" bolt gun.

as for cross bolts.. I am certain they could.. and do... just question if they are really needed... but, you know, *I* would install them, so that answers that, right?

cheers
jeffe

AAs 2002 Reloaders Guide lists 62 grs of AA2230 with the 350 gr Speer at 2247 fps in a 24 inch bbl, held to the Marlin pressure limits and COL 2.550. This is 3930 FPE, so you don't need more than that. My computer says this load only needs a 19 inch bbl, so your 21 inch should still make the velocity.

I plan to get a 450 Marlin bbl for my Savage Hunter, currently in 300 WSM. This has a 3 inch magazine, and will cycle 450s with no changes other than about 8 grs of extra case capacity, OR enough room to use Barnes X Spitzers. I expect that these will make it useful out to 250 yards.

LILED,

When I ordered the barrel from Shilen I ordered it with a 1-14" twist so it would stabilize the heavier 400 - 500+ grain bullets. Same twist as used with the .458 Win. or Lott according my gunsmith. My M70 action was originally chambered for the .300 WSM cartridge. I loaded up a couple of dummy rounds using the 500 Gr. Barnes X bullet just to make sure it worked through the action. No problem but a friend used a short Remington M700 BDL action(chambered for the RSAUM) and those dummy rounds wouldn�t fit in he magazine. Another guy I met over at HuntAmerica.com used a Howa action and had the same problem. Guess it all depends on the make action. The following is a couple of my favorite loads for either of my .450 Marlin�s(also built a Ruger No.1).

Barnes 300 gr. X bullet, 55.8 gr. of IMR 4198 for 2,381 fps., 0.607" @ 100 yards
Barnes 300 gr. X bullet, 51.6 gr. of IMR 4198 for 2,194 fps., 0.852" @ 100 yards

I am going to try the new Barnes TSX bullets soon. Hope to get even better results. Lawdog