Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 450 Marlin bolt action

I would like to have a bolt action made for a 450 marlin or a 45-70,and was wondering what action I can use as a donar for the project. I know the Siamese mouser will work but I was looking to use something a little more modern.

Pretty much any WSM-chambered action will work with a .450 Marlin. Screw a barrel in and get the feeding right.

With the 450 marlin having a belted case, should I avoid anything with controlled round feed? Not sure if that belt would interfere or not.
Bill

Just something to add to your consideration is the fact that the .450 Marlin has a unique case which cannot be easily made from other more common cases.

I'd go with the regular 45-70 and load it to the highest level published in the reloading manuals.

No, it will not interfere.

nsaqam brings up a good point about cases. The .450 will more than likely not be in stock locally.

.450 Marlin would be the easiest conversion, but cases could be an issue in the future.

If you're going to reload (surely, you are!) just bite the bullet
and get enough cases to last the lifetime of the barrel (or you).

That's what I did when getting a 7mmWSM, as the popularity was
going south. Figured 500 cases should do it for the WSM.

Why not just get a .458 Win Mag and load it to 45-70 levels with cast bullets? Brass is no problem, they feed well, and they fit into a standard Mauser action if that's what you want.

For what is is worth I have them both ways - three Siamese Mausers converted to 45-70 and just acquired a pre 64 Win Mod 70 in 450M. I also have a pair of Charles Daly custom safaris in 375H&H and 458 Win Mag.

I have had one of Siamese Mauser to Namibia (last year)and used max loads of H4198 and Horn 350gr JFP and 330gr Barnes Banded Solids for the 458 SOCOM. They both shot at 2400fps through the PH's chrono and where very effective on PG with one of the BBS passing end to end through a medium sized zebra. Over on AR, the BBS was tested in a 458 Win Mag at 2350fps and it went dead straight through 63 inches of wet newspaper. I really don't think any animal can tell if a 330gr projectile at 2400fps is being launched from a 45-70/450M or a 458 Win Mag.

I am so happy with the hot 45-70/450M that I am planning on putting both of the CD's up for sale.

If you look on Gunbroker long enough you will find some Siamese Mauser conversions for $500 or so and if you are very patient you can hit a 450M conversion of some kind too.

If you look over on GB, there are a couple of Siamese Mauser 45-70 conversions listed.

There is a few siamese action 45-70's and 450 marlins on there now, but I am looking for more of a modern set-up, which is why I will probably end up getting a WSM donor action.

Don't discount the Siamese Mausers. Yes, they are old in manufacture but if you research them you will find that they were made for the Siamese (modern Thailand) by a Japanese manufacturer. At the time, the Japanese metallurgy was "state of the art" and these were some of the strongest Mauser 98 LR actions ever produced.

I will also say though that the Pre 64 Win Mod 70 Custom in 450M I just got a few months ago is very SWEET!

If you look back at some of my previous posts from about 6-8 months ago I was asking the same question - bolt action in 450M.

There are really only a couple of ways to go - a Styer Pro Hunter in 450 that aren't made any more - missed out on one of these on GB about 6 months ago. It sold for $750-$800 and it was new without box. When Styer was producing them they were upwards of $2000.

Another is to buy one already custom built - could be a long wait to find what you want and could be a bit more spendy, or lastly have one build for you. Advantage there is you will get it exactly as you want but could be VERY spendy.

I wanted to do the bolt 450M mostly because I love the 450M in my Marlins mostly because they feed better/smoother than my 45-70 Marlins and because of the higher pressure/velocities the 1895M can run over a 1895 in 45-70.

But, if you go out to the Hodgdon Load Data web site and compare the Modern Rifle loads for the 45-70 and the 450M you'll see the 45-70 can be loaded hotter in a Modern bolt/falling block rifle.

As I previously posted, the two big advantages of a 45-70/450M in a bolt action are a) the higher pressure levels you can safely run and the longer COL you can run - 3"+ vs. 2.54". The biggest advantage I found/used was I can use the 330gr Barnes Banded Solid for the 458 SOCOM with a COL of just over 3" and loaded to a chrono'd 2400fps that I would not hesitate to use on anything on the planet.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Marlins but I am also loving the bolts but for different reasons.

A few years ago, I had a 450 Marlin made up on a P14 Enfield action. The conversion was simple and works well. I'm very pleased with the rifle.

btoeps74,

I have the Winchester prototype (Thumper) of the 450 Marlin and if I remember correctly I just took a 300WSM, rebarreled it and opened up the barrel channel. You could build one out of any WSM.

Headache

I wish the 450M cartridge had been developed when all the Siamese Mausers where being brought into the US and being converted to 45-70. Could have just been a re-barrel, headspace and bolt handle turn down without having to machine/open up the bolt face to accept the large 45-70 rim. Who knows, could have been a whole different future for the 450M.

btoeps74:

Don't know if you are still looking for a bolt 450M but I just ran across this one over on GB.

Bolt FN in 450M

Just for the record - I have no financial interest in this rifle nor do I know nor have I ever contacted the seller. Just trying to help out a fellow CF member.

I successfully converted a 1908 Brazilian Mauser to .450 Marlin recently. It took a bit of work, but it feeds slick as a whistle.

Clemson

If the future of the .450 Marlin and its brass leaves you unsure, do as someone once suggested to me when I was considering the EXACT same thing. Run the .458x2" instead. Brass would never be an issue and you could probably even get away with using the Marlin dies (maybe).

I just listed a custom .450 marlin I built on gunbroker

I've got a buddy that has built about half a dozen .450's on Mauser actions. He built his, and everyone else he knows wants one now.

There's lots of choices that would work for you. Clark Custom built me a .450M bolt using a Ruger 77 action. At the time they were doing them I believe they also offered it with a Remington or Winchester action too. Friend of mine did his own on a Siamese Mauser.