Hi guys,
I want to thank you all for the excellent and sage advice. I appreciate that people took the time to respond, and I carefully considered every response I got. Just FYI, I also got some private messages with some links and good advice, as well. And based on all this advice and communicating with other folks offline, I have decided on a Browning BLR in .450 Marlin, which will allow me to hunt any big game species if I ever do decide to try something besides whitetails.
I’m going to have it shipped straight from my FFL to gunsmith Neil Jones for a trigger/action job. I’ve read too many reports of BLR triggers being rough and heavy. I’m sure I could get used to it, but being a 1911 guy (with a penchant for custom trigger jobs), I’m just not going to deal with a bad trigger.
I will mount a Trijicon AccuPoint 1-4X24 scope on Badger Ordnance Max 50 rings on a Talley rail. That should be rock-solid and good for shots that are up-close-and-personal out to 200 yards. Total cost for the whole shebang should be approximately $2,300 shipped.
The one issue with the .450 Marlin caliber is that I don’t hand load and there are very few commercial loads available. The loads that are out there seem to be a bit too much for whitetails. In widely-available commercial loads, I basically have the choice between Hornady 325 gr. FLEX-tip ammo at 2225 FPS and the Buffalo Bore choices. The 325 gr. seems to get stellar reviews, but I’ve read complaints about overpentration on whitetails. Regarding Buffalo Bore, I communicated with Mr. Sundles at Buffalo Bore for advice, and he told me that even his 405 gr. JFN would mostly overpenetrate whitetails. I found an ammo manufacturer named Load-X that makes .450 Marlin ammo, but their loads are also pretty hot. There are some boutique ammo makers who work with .450 Marlin, but they also trend toward hotter loads. It appears that manufacturers have decided that this is a big game round for elk, bear, moose, and African species. .444 Marlin and 45-70 have commercial rounds loaded down to whitetail levels, so I’m not sure why those same manufacturers don’t make .450 Marlin rounds loaded down -- maybe because they figured that other rounds already fit the niche, so they decided to focus on the .450 Marlin as a big game hammer.
I found a company called Custom Ammunition, LLC in Tampa, Florida, which lists .450 Marlin as one of the cartridges they work with. I initially hesitated to reach out to them because they mostly work with competition shooters and safari hunters with very special needs, but I decided, “What the heck.” So I gave them a call and spoke at length with Jimmy, the owner, and we had a great chat. He agreed to work with me to develop a load that was more appropriate for whitetails in the BLR with its 20” barrel and 1:20 twist. We settled on a 300 gr. Hornady Hollow Point at 1800 FPS that produces 2158 foot pounds of energy. (Note that the Buffalo Bore 405 grain bullet leaves the muzzle with 3507 foot pounds of energy). So this load should be more appropriate for whitetails and will kick a lot less, too, as an added bonus.
On that note, the more I read, the more interested I am in hand loading myself, but I cannot at this point. I’m overseas, my stuff stays in storage with Uncle Sam, and I only get a few weeks to go home for deer rifle season. In a few years, I might be back stateside, and maybe then I will be able to get into hand loading, but it’s just not possible right now.
Come deer season, I’ll post some pics of the rig and let you guys know what I think about it, how my choices worked out for me, and how the Custom Ammunition, LLC load performs. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even get a deer. All that said, I’m sure I would have done well and been happy with any of the fine suggestions I received here. And there’s nothing stopping me from getting another rifle if the need arises. If I ever do go hunting western whitetails with Rob in VT, I’ll get that 300 WM with a 14x scope.
Thanks to all for taking the time to reply to this thread.