I use one for Hogs and they work great. Basically they are are hot loaded 45/70. When you hit something w/ them it doesn't go far. I haven't used it on deer yet though it should work great for deer or moose. The only limitation is you need to keep your shots to 200 yards or less because the bullet really drops fast past 200 yards.
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Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling a pig, sooner or later you will realize they both like it.
The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.
One of my brothers isn't into balistics at all!!! He's NOT "one bit" interested in any of it!! He buys a gun, buys some ammo for it, sights it in, and goes hunting!
He shot a LOT of deer with a 444 Marlin and liked it! He said it killed deer quite good! He still has it.
Then he bought a 45/70 and after shooting 5 or 6 deer proclaimed it a DUD!!! It kills them, but too slow for his taste!! He sold it!!!
Now he has a 450 Marlin and has shot about 15 or more deer with it. He really likes it, and said it really does the job on them!!!
DM, I got myself a 45-70 last week, and only reason I picked that, I knew I could juice it up to close to 450marlin. If I didn't reload, I would have picked the 450marlin. I guess he was shooting the slow stuff.
For the reloader there is nothing that the 450 Marlin or 444 Marlin can do that the 45-70 can't do. If you don't reload then one of the others may be better.
An unexpanded .450 has three times the frontal area of a .270. It's also got some weight behind it to carry it through bone and tissue that would stop a smaller round. Combined, it's heck of a lot of hurt.
DM, I was thinking the same exact thing. All I could think of was, HUH? LOL Maybe math has changed a lot since we've been in school. Unless he meant the actual tip of the slug? I don't know, my brain hurts. LOL