I bought a 405 win thinking brass would be no problem.Better think twice.Its rarer than hens teeth .I thought maybe I could find 30-40 krag brass no dice.If you are a 405 win shooter call both Winchester and Hornady and get them to make more brass.Its demand that keeps it going.Marlin just drpped the 450 marlin and i heard Hornady was going to quit making brass.I would not buy a 338 or 308 marlin because it a few years you will hove a nonshotable firearm.I would be weary about buying a new 348 win model 71 also.I dont know why there is still a brass shortage but there is in many calibers.I hope Hornady and Winchester and starling get off their butts and make enough brass to have a decient supply.There 30-40 krag shooters should speak up too its impossible to find. Alot of these calibers can be made from no other cases so your stuck.Alot of pistol cases are the same way just look at starlines website.

I bought a old belgium made .405WCF double rifle at 2001. Only available brass was the bertram. I orderes 20 cases for nearly 90.-DM. Then, a short time later, Kynoch made loaded ammo. I ordered twenty rounds. I don´t know the price, but it was a very, very expensive ammo. Then, Hornady introduced the new .405WCF ammo. I ordered 200 rounds. After two years delivery time, I got the ammo. Now, I have only a rest of 60 rounds. The empty brass, I hope, is enought for the rest of my life.
Thats the life with rare ammo.
I have a .450Marlin too. I don´t know what should I do. I´m loving my .45-70 rifles, so I was thinking about selling the Marlin. But now, it´s discontinued. It will be a rare thing in the next years, especial in Germany.

Martin

When I buy an odd ball caliber such as my 7SAUM I pick up 500 pieces of brass, so I will have a life time supply. That may be wise with the others. Also, it could be that it is just a seasonal run, like the 300 Savage is.

I was lucky when I bought my Winchester 95, 405.
Ebay had not gone crazy and banned the sale of cartridge brass from their site.
A fellow was selling Hornady 405 brass, once fired, in lots of 100. I bought my brass at prices that ranged from $25.00 to $35.00 per hundred. I bought several life times worth, even picked up a hundred unfired Bertram cases for the same price.
I think this Hornady brass was from the factory doing test firing.
I didn't think it would become scarce again now that there are new rifles being made and sold.

Jim

I don't know where you get the idea that the .450 Marlin has been discontinued. I just went to the web site and found it in the 1985 XLR configuration.

On the website, you can find the 1895MXLR, but in the new 2011 cataloge the rifle is discontinued.
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/PDFs/Marlin_2011.pdf

Martin

as said above, buy ammo or brass when its available.
for example-- i have 500 30-40 cases, a case of 308me ammo, 400 307 winchester cases on hand. if bass or ammo is gone tommorow-- i'm in good shape.

Marlin lists the 450 in firearms today. It's a huge seller.

Hornady makes the best x405 brass, and it is a run, not continuous production.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
Marlin lists the 450 in firearms today. It's a huge seller.

Hornady makes the best x405 brass, and it is a run, not continuous production.

When I called Marlin about the continuation of the 450 they said they built the "last" one in September last year in New Haven. They mentioned that it will continue to show on their website until the distributors are out. It is not any longer listed in their print catalog.

Wonder how long before the 45-70 gets the ax?

I'm guessing that they'll discontinue the .45/70 in another 100 or so years...

They will keep what sells for sure.