Need a bear gun...Marlin Lever?

I started reloading over 25 years ago with an RCBS Starter Kit. I still use it today, actually I loaded about 130 454 Casull bullets and 100 45-70's yesterday.

I totally recommend the RCBS Starter kit........

The first mistake I did when learning how to reload was I got to much lube onto the cases which resulted in dents around the shoulder when I was resizing the brass.

Simple solution use less lube...... :p
 
IF you get into reloading, and choose the .45-70, take a hard look at the Hornady 350gr FN's. this is the only bullet I will shoot in my marlin. has preformed flawlessly on game from 2yrds - 150yrds (4 bears and 2 moose).

350gr FN + 53.5gr RL7 = 2150fps. 3500ft.lbs ME.

Stay away from the 405gr Rems if you want to push past 1800fps MV. they are very lightly constructed. Hardcasts are Cheap, but come no where close the terminal proformance of a modern controled expansion bullet. they may have an edge in penitration, but you can only penitrate an animal once, so this becomes a mute point.

Good luck!
 
From what I can understand about Marlin"s new leverlution ammo is that the tip is quite pliable ,so that it can be used in a lever gun with out setting off the primer in front of it. When it is levered into the chamber it resumes it"s shape. Dont"t forget that these new guns have a 24" barrel and that is what makes them more accuate at longer distance and gives them a little more umph down range. I THINK!!!!
 
Lets see ---the last bear I shot with my 444 was shot at a distance of 3 feet while he was charging me. The 444 stopped him in his tracks instantly.
Works well for me

Dave
 
bob347 said:
From what I can understand about Marlin"s new leverlution ammo is that the tip is quite pliable ,so that it can be used in a lever gun with out setting off the primer in front of it. When it is levered into the chamber it resumes it"s shape. Dont"t forget that these new guns have a 24" barrel and that is what makes them more accuate at longer distance and gives them a little more umph down range. I THINK!!!!
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All hail Marketing! All Hail reiventing the wheel! All Hail Lever Revolution!
 
Dave my 45-70 would have stopped him faster........:eek:

Sorry I couldn't resist.....:D

OK that's it I'm leaving now and will not be back for a couple of days.

I've got my G20 10mm and Marlin 1895GS 45-70 packed and I'm going hunting for gold......

Well maybe a bear as well......

Hope one comes close..... :cool:
 
Amphibious said:
All hail Marketing! All Hail reiventing the wheel! All Hail Lever Revolution!
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Speaking of smartguy's, why not help the new guy out. I see the new evolution as benefitial and not gimmicky at all, in fact Marlin has designed a new rifle around this ammunition. The XLR I think, in a .444, 45/70 and another which escapes me - .45 maybe.
If there is something I am missing about this please feel free to edjumacate me and others cause this gun has gone to the top of my list for deer season this year with the ammo I am in mention of. Thanks in advance.
 
do a search on this forum for Lever revolution. has been covered Ad Nausium.

so you;re goign to load your .45-70 with a hot loaded 300gr poly tipped bullet that will reliable expand & preform at 300yrds at .45-70 speeds? what is that lovely Lever revolution bullet going to do @ 50yrds? will prolly preform like another bullet hornady markets with a red tip ;) and it aint the innerbond.
 
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The .444 chapter in Ken Waters "Pet Loads" is very telling. Yes he claims that the 265 Hornady is leaps and bounds over the 240 gr bullets, he also says that they are no where near enough and recommends a 310 gr bullet as being the heaviest that the Marlin will be able to stabilize in it's 1:38 twist barrel. He concludes that the .444 needs a heavier tougher bullet if it is to be used on "larger" big game - one can only assume by larger he means larger than deer. A little further along he states that he would like to see a 275 gr bullet with a strong jacket loaded to 2200 fps for moose and elk.

How about that - I didn't check the twist of the .444 Marlin to see if my recommended bullet weights would stabilize, but at least - according to Ken Waters - I could recognize the cartridge's short fall without actually shooting one.

So Salty - enlighten me - what kind of penetration do you get in game, with body shots? Do you get exit wounds on bears? If you do what was your shot. My .44 Ruger penetrates pretty well, but it's shooting 300 gr slugs at half your velocity and no bullet upset.
 
Hard cast bullets in the 444 wouldn't expand at all, and should get phenonimal penetration. But you'll only have a 44 cal hole in the game. (A .30, for example, usually expands to around .600)
 
boomer=balony

read the article a little closer. waters recommended the 275-290 grain bullet weight as it is optimal for energy. after that, the powder capacity available decreases so that you will actually see a decrease in performance in pure energy terms. just read a different article this morning claiming that a hot 45-70 recoils worse than a 338 mag. never shot a 338 but 400 gr bullets at 1800 are not fun. also, since we are talking north american game here, and bears in particular, let us be realistic and state that the 265 is plenty for black bear, or any other bear you are likely to encounter as well. there are a good many articles out there where the writer has used a 444, with either 265 grain or 300 grain hornadys and i have NEVER seen anyone complain of actual field use of the 265. also, water's never used the words "nowhere near" when describing the 265s, do you really think 10 extra grains will matter? In fact, some even like the idea that the bullet doesn't go sailing through the animal as it deposits its energy inside instead of against a tree.
 
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m1978 said:
400 gr bullets at 1800 are not fun.
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HUH?

350's @ 2150 are great fun!

get a proper recoil pad (limbsaver or Decelerator) and a hot .45-70 is very manageble. I've let 120lb girls shoot mine, and they wanted more.

a 2 .45cal holes kills just fine. one in one out......why waste your time with a shallow diving pistol bullet?
 
i don't know why, but i found the 350s to kick less by a fair margin than the 400s. with a pad, they would be tolerable, though mine were loaded to around 1900 fps in the 45-70.
 
Boomer said:
So Salty - enlighten me - what kind of penetration do you get in game, with body shots? Do you get exit wounds on bears? If you do what was your shot. My .44 Ruger penetrates pretty well, but it's shooting 300 gr slugs at half your velocity and no bullet upset.
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Sorry bud, as said I have no experience with the 444 Marlin. But with my experience with 45-70 and 375 Winchester (even with crappy 200 gr power points) I just can not see how the 444 would only penetrate 12" with a 265 grain interlock. :)
 
m1978 said:
boomer=balony

read the article a little closer. waters recommended the 275-290 grain bullet weight as it is optimal for energy. after that, the powder capacity available decreases so that you will actually see a decrease in performance in pure energy terms. just read a different article this morning claiming that a hot 45-70 recoils worse than a 338 mag. never shot a 338 but 400 gr bullets at 1800 are not fun. also, since we are talking north american game here, and bears in particular, let us be realistic and state that the 265 is plenty for black bear, or any other bear you are likely to encounter as well. there are a good many articles out there where the writer has used a 444, with either 265 grain or 300 grain hornadys and i have NEVER seen anyone complain of actual field use of the 265. also, water's never used the words "nowhere near" when describing the 265s, do you really think 10 extra grains will matter? In fact, some even like the idea that the bullet doesn't go sailing through the animal as it deposits its energy inside instead of against a tree.
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Actually, Waters states that the 240's produce the maximize energy due to their higher velocity - but we all know energy alone is a poor indicator of killing power, and energy without penetration serves no purpose. Each to their own of coarse, but I enjoy shooting 450,s and 500's from a .458. I always thought the .45-70 was a mild cartridge and a joy to carry and shoot. Adding 10 grs to a bullet's weight changes it's characteristics astonishingly. It sounds like you have read articles from lots of people who will never use the .444 to it's optimal level of performance.
 
mdbuckle, take boomer's advice and see how much of a joy it is to shoot. lol. the energy difference between bullet weights is minimal. yeah, 10 grains makes a big difference, so what, now it will pentrate 12.5 inches, hehe.

manboy, good post, made me laugh.
 
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