from the way it sounds the 45-70 is my better choice, i appeciate all of your replies (except allcamo, gosh hes a pain in the a$$) I do have the dilema of being lefthanded and having trouble finding calibers besides the normal 06,270 7mm stuff that all the manufacturers limit themselves to, it is nearly impossible to get a standard production gun in lefthand in a less than popular caliber, so i decided to go with a lever action and be done with it. thanks again guys!!!

Seems you've decided on 45/70, guess I agree there. There is notihing the 450 can do that the 45/70 can't with handloading. I think PMC has come out with a pretty decent 300 gr. load, that is quite a bit better than the other big MFRs standard offerings.

My only advice to you would be to get a rifle, and not a guide gun. I have the 1895 SS with a 22" barrel. I just like it better than the 18.5" barrel on the guide guns, mine has a better feel, more velocity, and probably less recoil with the added barrel length/weight. One more thing, no ports on the barrel. If you're thinking about guns in this class, you can't be too scared of some recoil. The 45/70 isn't all that bad. Get the gun first, and if you need to tame recoil, go with a better pad, not ports. Them's my $.02.

I went through the same thing and read all I could about both chamberings before deciding on the 45-70. This was tough since I am a magnummaniac and like to have the latest and greatest. What I found though was that the .450 Marlin was a factory offering of what 45-70 handloaders had already been doing in modern rifles. The .450 Marlin allowed them to produce in essence a "45-70 magnum" without worrying about someone dropping the cartridge in an old Trapdoor and blowing it up. Being a handloader, I had to give the nod to the 45-70 due to availability and versatility.

Currently I am having good results with 48.5 gr. H-4198 and 350 gr. Hornady FP Interlocks. 10 shots through my Guide Gun chronographed 1934 to 1948 fps. I wish all loads were that consistent.

The .450 because its the newest Sounded good to me, and I even went against the grain and got it with the short barrel and ports. Shows what I know. Boy its a blast to shoot. (and handy in my box blinds). I didn't need it, I WANTED it oh year, I haven't killed a deer with it!!!

This will be my 4th season hunting with the .450 Marlin. I have 8 deer and counting, best of which is 115 9 pointer. I have used factory loads the previous years, but this year I'm reloading some 300 grain Nosler Partitions with H322. I should be get about 2000 fps at the muzzle of the 18.5" barrel. That should be plenty.

I can only say that I truly love this gun for whitetails, given the way I hunt them in the thick places from ground blinds and low (15ft or less) ladders. Of course, it also helps to have the Reddot mounted scout style to enhance my enjoyment. That makes it quick pointing and quick shooting and allows me extra seconds to judge the animal. The last whitetail I shot was 20 yards away in thick pines and the gun performed flawlessly.

Yeah, you could do the same thing with the .45-70, but it's an old boring cartridge. I wanted something new and also something not many people have. This fits the bill for me, but you'll have to decide.

formula1, shoot a 405gr bullet at 2000fps and tell me its boring! I think the .450 is just fine, but I wonder if brass will be available fifty years from now?

I know it's not boring to you nostalgic guys, so enjoy it!!! I just prefered the newer cartridge. They are ballistically identical given the same loading. I think the brass will be around forever. After all, the .45-70 brass has been around awhile, and it's the ugliest case I've ever seen!!!

Seriously, to each his own!!! As long as you'll stand with me on our 2nd amendment rights, I don't care what you shoot!!!

In the data I've seen the .45-70 can pushed slightly hotter than the .450 (make that very slightly) so I'd say the .45-70. This was looking a max loads with the same bullet. Probably everyone on this board knows this, but approach max loads with caution.

I'll stand till I can't no more!!!!!!!

I feel the 450 marlin will wind up just like its little brother the 444 marlin, very popular when it first come out but over the years it becomes just another cartridge with no place in the shooting community. From what I understand the 444 marlin was supposed to give a 45-70 a good run which back in the day when it came out it would have, But no prevail now today with the 450 marlin, Marlin decided they were gonna surpass the the 45-70 rather than just exceed it. But once again I think marlin will fail. The 45-70 is unreplaceable.