Help me pick a big bore rifle and caliber...

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Southern Raider

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Yes, it's another one of those "help me pick a rifle" threads...:rolleyes:

So, please help me pick a rifle. :D

Anyway, I've had a hankering for a big bore rifle of some kind. I don't hunt elephant, but I'd like something for giggles, grins and busting rocks out in the desert. I'm looking for something slightly exotic, but still in the fringes of the mainstream.

Criteria:
  • Rifle sights, as I don't want to scope it
  • Must have a cartridge loadable on a Dillon 550B

What caliber/rifle would you select?
 
Well you could go for something like a .458 Winchester Mag., bolt action with sights, I use this one for pig and coyote hunting:

458Mauser4.jpg

Or for something a little more traditional an 1885 Browning or Winchester in 45-70, I've been punching pare with this one for a week now and it's a lot of fun to shoot:

1885-2.jpg

That's the traditional hunter which comes with a tang sight and curved steel buttplate. In any case you need to stay over a .40 cal. to keep within the traditional realm of a big bore. The cheapest option might be a CZ in 416 Rigby or 458 Win.
 
Second that. Marlin 1895 guide gun in .45-70. Very nice, particularly with ghost ring sights on them. WIDE power range available to the reloader.
 
If/when they neck up the .375 Ruger to .416 . . .

there you have it! Really, the shorter, non-belted .375 Ruger seems to have a lot going for it (H&H ballistics in a shorter non-belted case with much better shoulder headspacing ability). I'm sure it'll be necked up (and down?) with some success.

see ya
 
Dude that Lever gu in 454 or 500 s&w is money!!! I don't know much about Wild West guns. Do they make a pretty nice product? I am assuming it is nice with that kind of a price tag.
 
CZ
I spend many hours drooling at this site. Nothing like precision power without completely murdering your wallet.
 
Southern Raider said:
I'm looking for something slightly exotic, but still in the fringes of the mainstream.
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You might like a Ruger No.1 in .405Win then. A fine cartridge and one of my favorites, it's not one that everyone else has. It has the iron sights you want and in this strong action you can work up hotter handloads than for the old levers too.
 

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I really like my CZ550 American Safari in .375H&H

It also comes in larger calibers.
 
Dude that Lever gu in 454 or 500 s&w is money!!! I don't know much about Wild West guns. Do they make a pretty nice product? I am assuming it is nice with that kind of a price tag.
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They are basically the Wilson Combat of leverguns, custom made modern versions. They usually are based on marlin actions, or they are their own custom actions, similar in function to marlin. I got to shoot one of their co-pilot rifles, it kicked like a SOB, but was amazingly accurate, smooth as glass, and very well made. I haven't been able to find a stubby stock bushwacker, but it fires 457mag, 45-70 or .410 shells, basically it's Ye olde tactical entry SBR. Or a jb customs mare's leg, its a browncoat thing.
 
I really like my single shot H&R in .500 S&W magnum. I can handload rounds that are barely going over 750FPS... but at 500 grains, it's still a thumper. With full-power loads, it hurts to shoot.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions!

I notice that there is a strong contingent of Marlin 1895 lever action fans here. The three basic caliber choices there are 45-70, 444 Marlin and 450 Marlin. This particular gun is pretty strong, so I could certainly handload nuclear powered rounds in 45-70. That being the case, do the 444 Marlin and 450 Marlin rounds really give the careful reloader any advantage over 45-70? I understand there would be an advantage in those rounds using most factory 45-70 ammo.

For those in the know, does the 458 Winchester Magnum have a significant power edge over the above lever rounds when hand loaded in a strong action such as the Marlin 1895?
 
That being the case, do the 444 Marlin and 450 Marlin rounds really give the careful reloader any advantage over 45-70?
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Simple answer is "no". A 400 grain bullet at 1,800 fps is the same no matter what the name of the caliber was that it was fired from. Guys get way too torqued up over the caliber wars. Whatever you shoot at will never know the difference. It's just a lot easier and cheaper to find .45-70 brass.

I've got an 1895 Marlin in .45-70. I use 400 Speer SP's over 55-60'ish of Varget, loaded on my 550. Don't remember exactly. There are "Ruger/Marlin" loads listed in the Lyman book. I used Varget 'cause that's what I had on hand. Works for a lot of stuff.

First thing I did was get a Decelerator pad installed. Recoil is quite tolerable for something that I'd take grizzly hunting. Remember, these killed buffalo at 600-800 yards.

While the thought of excessive recoil may be a rush, reality sets in after the first few rounds and shooting becomes punishment instead of fun IMO. Gritting your teeth and closing your eyes every time you pull the trigger doesn't aid accuracy.

If you really want a hoot, get some 1/2" plate steel in about 2' diameter, hang it from some kind of holder, and see how far you can get back and still make it ring.
 
I do like the 45/70 myself .
There is a wide range of available guns . I myself have a older repro H+R trapdoor officers carbine with the tang peep. I also have an beat up original trapdoor fullsize. Of course I am limited to the mild trapdoor loads/reloads
I have shot some of the marlin lever guns , they can be real rip snorters with full loads . With most any lever gun I am a big advocate of peep sights over glass for most uses .
I have known folks with 458win bolt guns that speak highly of them as cast bullet guns . Great accuracy,long case life , and if you are a hunter they will throw big chunks of lead . You also have the ability to shoot regular jacketed bullet loads but of course you realise that even the bullet heads come at a fearsom high cost after you go to anything bigger than 30 cal .
 
CZ 550M... you can still have that safari look while busting rocks. Jaunty hat or pith helmet available down at the surplus store. Enjoy and post pics!
 
444marlin

I have had a 444 since 1968. It is a great can and small game killer when loaded with light power loads of 240gr hard casted flat nose in a 44 mag case. The rifle works well on larger game with full load 444 case with the norma 236gr soft point and 44gr of IMR 4198. Hornady makes a 265gr and 300gr if you want or need heavy weight bullets. Extra long case life seems to rule with the longer cases.

One word of warning ,scrub out your chamber hard after firing short cased ammo in any weapon (38 in a 357,22 short in a 22lr).

Hell is in the details
 
Well, the .416 Rigby is always a classic. Or the .458 Lott. My personal choice for a sledgehammer was the .375 RUM, which packs more punch at range than most any other boomer. I also found it more brutal at the back end than the .416. Very sharp recoil when you're pushing 300 grain pills at 2970 FPS; calculated for the 8.1 pounds of my scoped M700 SS, 78 ft/lbs at 24 MPH.
 
if you're liking the 45-70 levergun, but want something slightly exotic, but not a "me too!" S&W500...

look into the 475 linebaugh. It would be a difficult search, but rumor has it that marlin once sold a lever action in this caliber.

It's extremely easy to reload, and you might be surprised how cheap you can load it.
 
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