Well, the .45-70 has attracted a lot of attention to this site, as expected. But we must move on to other .458 cartridges. Before we do that, however, let me just add that one of the great attractions to .458-caliber is the super-abundance of bullets available to handloaders from a vast array of manufacturers and suppliers. And this, in no small way, is attributable to the popularity of the .45-70! In other words, bullets lighter than 500-grains in soft-point configuration have also become popular in .458 magnums due to a vast supply of them being readily available for the .45-70! Now, of course, lighter premium bullets from 300-gr to 450-gr are manufactured specifically for the .458 magnums as they are now being used on thin-skinned game in Africa as well as moose, elk and bear in North America. To bottom-line it: hunters are now using their Big Bores on game other than elephant and Cape buffalo. They’ve discovered they work very well on North American game such as those mentioned as well as bison, deer, wolf, sheep, goats and caribou.
Obviously, there’s an advantage to using one rifle and load for N.A. game! If I were stuck with one rifle it might well be my CZ550 in .458 Winchester Magnum! It’s pic is on the header. But before I talk about my CZ 550, I need to make a few observations/statements about something else…
The .450 Marlin came about because of the obvious popularity of the .45-70 using handloads. Not many 1895 Marlins would be sold if it depended upon weak factory fodder for effectiveness on really big, dangerous game like the Big Bears. But Marlins in .45-70 were being effectively used on such game by handloaders. So Marlin and Hornady conceived a plan to reinvent the .45-70 so it could be safely loaded to higher pressure than SAAMI specs allow (28,000 cup) without the attendant paranoia of blowing up a Springfield, Rolling Block, or some other relic of the past and spoiling some hunter’s appetite for adventure… The .450 Marlin is the .45-70 case with a belt to keep it from being chambered in one of the relics of the past. Understandably so! But, it also has a slightly thicker case – especially in the head area – making it incapable of having as much volume as the various .45-70 cases from several manufacturers.
Being the same rifle as the 1895 Marlin in .45-70, it will never be able to surpass the .45-70 when handloaded. In fact, it will always be “the runner up”, not numero-uno! Hornady makes the cases so there will be no opportunity to choose among various brands as is the situation with the .45-70. Plus, the .45-70 comes in a much broader range of makes and models, and it has history and nostalgia going for it, so I don’t have any anticipation of the .450 Marlin cutting into the .45-70’s popularity, much less taking over from it. My survey of two large local dealerships indicate a 10 to 1 ratio in sales in favor of the .45-70. But the .450 Marlin is almost as good, just not quite. There are a couple of factory loads from Hornady. Both are good enough for deer hunting and smallish black bear but nothing really special. My choice is still the .45-70 in a Marlin and Ruger No.1. And, as already stated, I’ve also owned a NEF Handi-Rifle that for the dollars invested has very high value in my view.
To turn now to the .458 Winchester Magnum. This is my all-time favorite big-bore magnum. I’ve owned a couple of ’em, and the current version is the CZ 550 with a 25″ barrel and double square-bridge magnum-length action. It can be loaded, if wanted, like a .458 Lott. On the other hand, it can be loaded, if wanted, like an 1895 Marlin in .45-70! That’s the beauty and versatility of the .458 Winchester Magnum. It can be used with cast lead bullets at 1000 fps for plinking, or shooting crows, up to screamers like the 300-grain Barnes TSX at 2900 fps! In between I can load it like I’m on safari with 500’s at 2200 to 2300 fps, if a Cape buff gets attracted to my bear baits!
But, my real hunting load for North American big game is Barnes 350-grain TSX’s at 2753 fps and 5890 ft-lbs of ka-smash-like-a-wrecking-ball meeting a moose or bear!
See ya next time… in a week (more or less).
Bob Mitchell
Lovin' The Big Bang 