T-Test
solid fixture here in the forum
https://gunandsurvival.com/2020/09/25/enduring-legend-evolution-of-the-lever-action-rifle/
lever action rifle designs are almost exclusively an AMERICAN,design.
most lever actions use a many decades old rear locking bolt design limited to about a 42K cartridge pressure level,
only a few modern designs like the browning BLR are designed to handle the modern 50k-55K cartridge pressure levels safely
and there's absolutely zero question that many of the cartridges available in many lever actions like a 45/70, 30/06, 358 win significantly outperform cartridges like a 30/30 or 44 mag.
most lever actions were and are designed to provide a hunter with the potential for several rapid repeat shots, accuracy is generally very good in the more modern lever guns, certainly a 2" or smaller 100 yard group with the better ammo is available from most brands currently made.
the older cartridge options like the 30/30 are effective but no where near the potential of many of your options in modern lever actions like the BROWNING BLR, (the cartridges in bold are ones I have hunted with rather extensively and successfully)
the load used for the 450 marlin was a 405 remington bullet over 50 grains of imr 3031 and a 215 fed primer.
the load used for the 358 win was a speer 250 grain over 44 grains of imr 4064 and a 215 fed primer, BOTH lever action BLR rifles,
perform well at ranges under 200 yards or so when sighted in to hit 3.5" high at 100 yards, using the speer 250 grain bullet in
the 358 will be dead on at approximately 200 yards,the 450 marlin with a 400 grain hard cast, bullet will be dead on at about 155 yards and about 7" low at 200 yards
https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/450-marlin/
https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/450-marlin/
the 450 marlin varies a great deal with the bullet used and handload data with a 350 grain with that same 3.5" hundred yard zero,
you'll be about 5" low at 200 yards and about dead on at 160 yards
with ether cartridge in a BLR your certainly well equipped for any elk inside of 200 yards if you shoot well
I've found these to be some of the most accurate loads in my BLR,s and both are certainly is effective even at 200 yards
I speer makes and sells a very similar projectile for the 450 marlin
it's hardly rare to have some guy strike up a conversation, about hunting and once he finds out you're going ELK and mule deer hunting ,
out in colorado or wyoming, almost invariably, the conversation will revolve around the "need" to upgrade to a 7mm or 300 mag once he sees the 450 marlin or 358 winchester BLR, I generally get a chuckle out of that because most of the experienced guys I hunt with all started out with a 30/06 or a 7mm or 300 mag, now damn near everyone's swapped to a remington 7600 in 30/06 0r 35 whelen or a browning BLR in 308 or 358 win, or 45/70
simply because we have all realized the vast majority of the game we see is in heavy timber , aspen , conifer and oak brush and while ranges tend to be well under 150 yards, over the last 5 decades, and realizing that you might need to take quick and accurate shots,
and having a rapid second shot MIGHT be beneficial, carrying a 10 lb bolt action gets old fast in steep canyon country
(especially once your 50-70 plus years old and realize you spend 90% of your time very slowly walking the aspen and oak brush in steep terrain, where the game actually is!
in fact I'm the only guy who still carried a magnum bolt action occasionally (I REALLY LIKE MY 340 wby and 375 H&H sako
)
and recently several guys bought and use marlin 45/70 or browning BLRs in 450 marlin caliber,
as the 458 caliber lever action BLR brownings have developed a reputation for dropping game rapidly
Cartridges available in the Browning BLR:[7]
BTW in the BROWNING BLR chambered in 450 MARLIN ,
View attachment 19272
a good deal of testing having been recently done it seems the HORNADY round nose HORNADY 350 grain bullet is proving to be both exceptionally accurate and consistently deep penetrating.
www.grafs.com
47.6 grains of h4198
or
51 grains of RL7 with a 215 fed primer,
have proven to be excellent loads in the 450 marlin chambered BLR
ever wonder about the 30/30 ballistics, that for decades was considered one of the better,
or at least more popular, standard deer hunting cartridges"
(personally I think the MARLIN 336 in 30/30 was about the best lever action you could own)
in a short easy handling carbine that will rarely be used at ranges over 120 yards
(typical of the areas I hunted hogs and deer in for decades)
I preferred a marlin 44mag throwing a LEE 310 grain hard cast bullet over 21 grains of H110 powder
both the 30/30 and 44 mag carbines are best used as 100-150 yard deer rifles,( sight in to hit 3.5 inches high at 100 yards) (if you think the deers at 130 yards plus aim a bit high on the shoulder, with range practice you'll get the hang of it) and while they will kill elk and bear with precise shot placement neither is nearly as effective as the 45/70 or 450 marlin loaded with 400 grain bullets, both the 45/70 and 450 marlin are also a great option as a defensive carbine , if your in bear country.
(the 450 marlin can generally safely push the same bullet about 150 fps faster than the 45/70)
but I doubt the difference, in velocity or power will mater much on game if you place shots precisely, but what may matter is the BROWNING BLR tends to be more accurate in my testing, thus being both a bit more accurate and a bit more powerful it became my choice.
www.marlinfirearms.com
Id point out that where I've hunted for decades a 100-120 yard shot opportunity was very very RARE
running, or walking game shots made at 30-60 yards were far more common,
If I thought I needed more reach my BLR in 358 win, or my BLR in 450 marlin got grabbed as I went out the door
and I certainly used my marlin 45/70 with hard cast cast check 400 grain bullets rather successfully for decades,
before upgrading to the BLR /450 marlin which has similar ballistics to the 45/70,
but adds about 50 extra yards with any bullet weight used.
typically Id load a 450 marlin with a 405 grain jacketed bullet over 50 grains of IMR 3031
lever action rifle designs are almost exclusively an AMERICAN,design.
most lever actions use a many decades old rear locking bolt design limited to about a 42K cartridge pressure level,
only a few modern designs like the browning BLR are designed to handle the modern 50k-55K cartridge pressure levels safely
and there's absolutely zero question that many of the cartridges available in many lever actions like a 45/70, 30/06, 358 win significantly outperform cartridges like a 30/30 or 44 mag.
the older cartridge options like the 30/30 are effective but no where near the potential of many of your options in modern lever actions like the BROWNING BLR, (the cartridges in bold are ones I have hunted with rather extensively and successfully)
the load used for the 450 marlin was a 405 remington bullet over 50 grains of imr 3031 and a 215 fed primer.
the load used for the 358 win was a speer 250 grain over 44 grains of imr 4064 and a 215 fed primer, BOTH lever action BLR rifles,
perform well at ranges under 200 yards or so when sighted in to hit 3.5" high at 100 yards, using the speer 250 grain bullet in
the 358 will be dead on at approximately 200 yards,the 450 marlin with a 400 grain hard cast, bullet will be dead on at about 155 yards and about 7" low at 200 yards
https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/450-marlin/
https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/450-marlin/
the 450 marlin varies a great deal with the bullet used and handload data with a 350 grain with that same 3.5" hundred yard zero,
you'll be about 5" low at 200 yards and about dead on at 160 yards
with ether cartridge in a BLR your certainly well equipped for any elk inside of 200 yards if you shoot well
I've found these to be some of the most accurate loads in my BLR,s and both are certainly is effective even at 200 yards
I speer makes and sells a very similar projectile for the 450 marlin
it's hardly rare to have some guy strike up a conversation, about hunting and once he finds out you're going ELK and mule deer hunting ,
out in colorado or wyoming, almost invariably, the conversation will revolve around the "need" to upgrade to a 7mm or 300 mag once he sees the 450 marlin or 358 winchester BLR, I generally get a chuckle out of that because most of the experienced guys I hunt with all started out with a 30/06 or a 7mm or 300 mag, now damn near everyone's swapped to a remington 7600 in 30/06 0r 35 whelen or a browning BLR in 308 or 358 win, or 45/70
simply because we have all realized the vast majority of the game we see is in heavy timber , aspen , conifer and oak brush and while ranges tend to be well under 150 yards, over the last 5 decades, and realizing that you might need to take quick and accurate shots,
and having a rapid second shot MIGHT be beneficial, carrying a 10 lb bolt action gets old fast in steep canyon country
(especially once your 50-70 plus years old and realize you spend 90% of your time very slowly walking the aspen and oak brush in steep terrain, where the game actually is!
in fact I'm the only guy who still carried a magnum bolt action occasionally (I REALLY LIKE MY 340 wby and 375 H&H sako
)and recently several guys bought and use marlin 45/70 or browning BLRs in 450 marlin caliber,
as the 458 caliber lever action BLR brownings have developed a reputation for dropping game rapidly
Cartridges available in the Browning BLR:[7]
- .22-250 Remington
- .222 Remington
- .223 Remington
- .257 Roberts (Discontinued)
- .25-06 Remington (Limited run of 150 for Kones Korner)[8]
- .243 Winchester
- .270 Winchester
- .270 Winchester Short Magnum
- .284 Winchester (Discontinued)
- .30-06 Springfield
- .300 Winchester Magnum
- .300 Winchester Short Magnum
- .308 Winchester
- .325 Winchester Short Magnum
- .358 Winchester
- .450 Marlin
- 6.5mm Creedmoor
- 7mm Remington Magnum
- 7mm Winchester Short Magnum
- 7mm-08 Remington
BTW in the BROWNING BLR chambered in 450 MARLIN ,
View attachment 19272
a good deal of testing having been recently done it seems the HORNADY round nose HORNADY 350 grain bullet is proving to be both exceptionally accurate and consistently deep penetrating.
Hornady 45 Caliber (.458 Diameter) Bullets 350 grain Round Nose Box of 50
Hornady's traditional line of bullets feature exposed lead tips for controlled expansion and hard-hitting terminal performance. Most have their pioneering secant ogive design — one of the most ballistically efficient profiles ever developed. Most feature Hornady's exclusive InterLock® design — a...
www.grafs.com
47.6 grains of h4198
or
51 grains of RL7 with a 215 fed primer,
have proven to be excellent loads in the 450 marlin chambered BLR
ever wonder about the 30/30 ballistics, that for decades was considered one of the better,
or at least more popular, standard deer hunting cartridges"
(personally I think the MARLIN 336 in 30/30 was about the best lever action you could own)
in a short easy handling carbine that will rarely be used at ranges over 120 yards
(typical of the areas I hunted hogs and deer in for decades)
I preferred a marlin 44mag throwing a LEE 310 grain hard cast bullet over 21 grains of H110 powder
both the 30/30 and 44 mag carbines are best used as 100-150 yard deer rifles,( sight in to hit 3.5 inches high at 100 yards) (if you think the deers at 130 yards plus aim a bit high on the shoulder, with range practice you'll get the hang of it) and while they will kill elk and bear with precise shot placement neither is nearly as effective as the 45/70 or 450 marlin loaded with 400 grain bullets, both the 45/70 and 450 marlin are also a great option as a defensive carbine , if your in bear country.
(the 450 marlin can generally safely push the same bullet about 150 fps faster than the 45/70)
but I doubt the difference, in velocity or power will mater much on game if you place shots precisely, but what may matter is the BROWNING BLR tends to be more accurate in my testing, thus being both a bit more accurate and a bit more powerful it became my choice.
Lever-Action
www.marlinfirearms.com
running, or walking game shots made at 30-60 yards were far more common,
If I thought I needed more reach my BLR in 358 win, or my BLR in 450 marlin got grabbed as I went out the door
and I certainly used my marlin 45/70 with hard cast cast check 400 grain bullets rather successfully for decades,
before upgrading to the BLR /450 marlin which has similar ballistics to the 45/70,
but adds about 50 extra yards with any bullet weight used.
typically Id load a 450 marlin with a 405 grain jacketed bullet over 50 grains of IMR 3031
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