When shooters hear the words “guide gun, big game, and lever action rifles” used in the same sentence, most will immediately think of the 45-70 Government. And for good reason too, as the 45-70 was one of the cartridges that won the West and can take down virtually any North American game animal.
As powerful as the 45-70 is, problems arise when modern ammo is used in older firearms that are not rated to handle higher pressures created by smokeless powder.
Recognizing an opportunity to modernize the 45-70, Marlin teamed up with Hornady to release the 450 Marlin in 2000. The 450 Marlin was designed to mimic 45 70 ballistics but could handle higher pressures that would otherwise destroy older 45-70 rifles.
The 450 Marlin offers big game hunters a level of safety when handloading incredibly hot ammo, but the round has fallen out of favor in the shooting community as most view it as unnecessary. This begs the question: Is it worth upgrading to a 450 Marlin or if the stalwart 45-70 is good enough?
In this article, we will evaluate the 450 vs 45-70 to help you understand the differences between the two and give you a clearer idea of which cartridge is best for your shooting needs.
What is the difference between 450 Marlin and 45-70?
The difference between 450 Marlin and 45-70 is that the 450 Marlin uses a belted case and is designed for use in modern firearms while the 45-70 is rimmed case designed for black powder. From a ballistic standpoint, both rounds are incredibly similar.
Cartridge Naming, Load Variations, and Smokeless Powder
One thing that can be confusing to new shooters is the older naming system used for black powder cartridges, which is different from modern ammunition. This is not surprising as the 45 70 was developed in 1873.
The original name for the 45-70 Govt was 45-70-405 and here’s what that means:
- 45: The cartridge fires a 0.458” diameter bullet
- 70: The powder charge is 70 grains of black powder
- 405: The bullet weight is 405 grains
The .45-70 was developed by the U.S. Army’s Springfield Armory for their new Model 1873 rifle which came to be known as the “Trapdoor Springfield”.
The original Springfield load was designed to fire a 405-grain hard cast lead flat nose bullet at nearly 1,400 fps with 1,748 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Although these numbers are not impressive by modern 45-70 loads that can exceed 2,200 fps and 3,400 foot-pounds of energy, it’s important to remember that the original loads utilized black powder as opposed to the smokeless powder loads used today.
The advent of smokeless powder showcased the versatility of the 45-70 and its massive case capacity, since less smokeless powder is needed to achieve the same ballistic results as black powder. This means that the 45-70 is only limited to the strength of the firearm chamber shooting the cartridge.
Seeing an opportunity to improve on the cartridge, new lever action rifles like the Winchester 1886 and Marlin 1895 were chambered in 45-70 and were capable of handling higher pressure loads.
However, after WWII the 45-70 had all but disappeared from the United States big game hunting scene as there were no companies manufacturing rifles for the aged cartridge by the 1960’s. Seeing the need and utility of big bore cartridges, Marlin introduced the 444 Marlin to fill that gap.
Although the 444 Marlin was essentially a modified 44 Remington Magnum case, it was moderately successful. Sadly, Marlin proverbially “shot themselves in the foot” by reintroducing the 45-70 in their new line of lever action rifles in the 70’s.
The new Marlin rifles reinvigorated shooters’ love affair with the classic 45-70 as it quickly gained traction in the Cowboy Action Shooting scene.
Today, modern metallurgy and firearm design has allowed the 45-70 to reach what many online shooting forum members refer to as “nuclear loads”, which are incredibly powerful and exceed pressures that older rifles can safely handle. The Ruger No. 1 and No. 3 single shot rifles are two examples of modern rifles that are capable of handling hot 45-70 loads.
Most custom ammo manufacturers will specify what type of rifle their 45-70 loads are appropriate for. However, this has not stopped some tragic accidents from occurring, where a modern 45-70 load was fired in an older Trapdoor Springfield rifle with disastrous results.
These accidents were the genesis for the development of the 450 Marlin, as Hornady and Marlin wanted to create a round that would replicate incredibly hot 45 70 ballistics but be safe to fire in all firearms made for the cartridge.
Cartridge Specs
When evaluating centerfire cartridges, it’s a good idea to analyze the cartridge specs to gain more knowledge of each.
The 45-70 Govt has no parent case and was a unique design when it was released in 1873. In contrast, the 450 Marlin draws its roots from the .458x2” American which is a wildcat cartridge based off the 458 Winchester Magnum.
Perhaps the most striking difference between these two cartridges is that the 45 70 Gov is a rimmed cartridge while the 450 Marlin uses a belted case. The belt on a 450 Marline is thicker than typical Winchester Magnum cases and was deliberately chosen to prevent cross-chambering between the two cartridges as a safety measure.
The belted case makes the 450 Marlin a better candidate for use in bolt-action rifles. However, outside of a limited run of 450 Marlin-chambered Steyr-Manlicher rifles, the 45-70 and 450 Marlin are predominantly found in lever guns, and to a lesser extent, single shot rifles.
Another major difference between these cartridges is the maximum safe chamber pressures per SAAMI specs. The 450 Marlin is rated at 43,500 psi compared to 28,000 psi for 45-70 Gov.
This is where the differences end, as the 45 70 and 450 are more similar than they are different.
The case length for both rifle cartridges is virtually identical, with the 45-70 measuring 2.10” compared to 2.105” for the 450 Marlin. Furthermore, the overall length of both cartridges is identical at 2.55”.
Both cartridges fire the same big bore 0.458” diameter bullets. As such, there is a lot of bullet weight overlap between the two with 325 gr, 350 gr, 405 gr, and 500 grain bullets being the most common in factory loads. However, both cartridges are capable of firing bullets between 200 and 500 grains.
Although the case capacity of both cartridges is similar, the 45-70 has a slight edge over the 450 Marlin at 81.8 gr vs 74 gr, respectively.
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