Bear protection bullet...

Silverado

Silverado

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I'll try to phrase this to avoid yet another spiral into the abyss...

My bear protection gun IS a Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70. No other calibres or firearms need apply to this thread, thanks.

I'm wondering what bullet you'd load for Grizz protection... I bought some Speer Hot-Cor 350gr for the toughness, but can't load them short enough for the GG. (I think they're made for the 458WM.)

Would y'all use a commercial bullet like the X, the Hornady, or maybe cast some lead? And what weight do you think? Slow and heavy, or a little less slow and lighter? :p

I think I can get the 300-350 grainers up around 1900fps...
 
350gr Hornday Flatnose doing 2150fps has stopped a few for me, out of my .450 marlin.

only bullet I shoot out of my marlin. exit holes everytime, and unlike a hardcast, expands.
 
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....This plain based 405 grain lead cast is what i would and am betting my life on for this years stream fishing adventures. Pushed to 1600 fps.

DSCF0910.jpg
 
Amphibious said:
350gr Hornday Flatnose doing 2150fps has stopped a few for me, out of my .450 marlin.

only bullet I shoot out of my marlin. exit holes everytime, and unlike a hardcast, expands.
Click to expand...

Although I don't run mine that hot out of my 1895, that bullet will do just fine.....
 
45/70 fodder

480 gr. wfn gc cast hard......LBT or comparable......Available from M.T. Chambers' supply......crimp groove is in proper place for feeding in the Marlin. 1800 fps should be possible with proper doses of rel.#7. Recoil will cause you to back off at some point!!
 
I have a gun test on the 450 Marlin.

In that article the 300 gr Nosler Partition out penetrates all other bullets. It was loaded at around 2200 fps.

A distant second was the 300 gr Barnes X and third was the 400 gr Swift A-Frame bullet.

One good thing about the 45 caliber is that there is no shortage of good bullets.:D
 
^ I think I saw that one. The Nosler penetrated so well because the petals broke off, and it sailed through as a solid would.

Just going by SD's, I'd start at 405 gr, and go heavier
 
45-70 loads

420 grain GC cast bullets chronied at 1706 fps oughta do the trick.:p 45 caliber going in, 46 caliber going out. :) I haven't got any big game with my 45-70 yet but a shoulder shot that breaks bone should work fine.:D
 
A live 14-15" tree :D It cleared right through and I found it in the ground on the other side.

I would not hesitate to use this bullet on anything, and will be using this load this fall for a few things ;) ;).

All the animals that have been shot with this load between the few guys I hunt with have always been nice clean one shot kills with a broom handle sized hole through them. Never seem to get a bullet recovery, which I guess is a good thing :D
 
crazy_davey said:
A live 14-15" tree :D It cleared right through and I found it in the ground on the other side.

I would not hesitate to use this bullet on anything, and will be using this load this fall for a few things ;) ;).

All the animals that have been shot with this load between the few guys I hunt with have always been nice clean one shot kills with a broom handle sized hole through them. Never seem to get a bullet recovery, which I guess is a good thing :D
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I used the Remington 405 gr. bullet in both the .45-70 and in the .458. I never experienced a bullet failure in either caliber when using this bullet. I also thought the 400 gr Speer, which seemed to have similar construction as the Remington bullet, was a good choice.
 
"^ I think I saw that one. The Nosler penetrated so well because the petals broke off, and it sailed through as a solid would.

Just going by SD's, I'd start at 405 gr, and go heavier"
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Yeah, just sailed on through with a frontal diameter of .53". :eek: It penetrated 26"

The 300 gr Barnes X penetrated 19" with a frontal diameter of .70"

The 400 gr A-Frame penetrated 18" with a frontal diameter of .75".

Awesome performance. Interestingly the bullets with the lower SD penetrated deeper.

So which bullet is best?
 
Keep in mind that the SD changes as diameter does. Therefore, a low SD bullet that does not expand much will penetrate farther than a high SD bullet that opens right up right away. You have to compare apples to apples.

For the record, I'd probably go with the hornady 500gr sp interlock. Not exactly the most premium of the premiums, but it's going slowly enough that it won't matter a great deal. I don't have to worry about feed issues with my 45-70
 
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liberty said:
One good thing about the 45 caliber is that there is no shortage of good bullets.:D
Click to expand...

Weeelllll ..... I'd sure like to find a 350 gr spitzer. And I've written to Nosler and Hornady asking that they consider production, as the 45/70 (without tube magazines) is regaining popularity.
 
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