Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 350 Rem Meg or 450 Marlin

I have a Mauser 48 custom chambered in .350 rem mag. I started the projecet during the Remington 673 fad. I absolutely love the cartridge and don't mind hand loading, but I am not thrilled about not being able to pick up a box in a pinch.

My solution; re-barrel to .450 Marlin. Its the only belted magnum that is short enough to fit in that action.

Or, sell it the way it is.

Any thoughts?

I believe even Marlin has stopped making rifles in .450 Marlin now. Your ammo-supply situation might not be any better with the .450 than it is with the .350 you currently have.

It does look like Marlin has dropped the 450. Browning still has it listed in the BLR.

I have to agree that 450 Marlin ammo availability isn't going to be enough better to warrant a rebarrel. 6.5 Rem Mag? Maybe not.

I think you can do a lot more with the 350 RM than the 450 Marlin. The 350RM has much better trajectory with lighter bullets and still can be loaded with heavy bullets for close and nasty encounters.

I am selling my Marlin Guide gun in 45/70 and will replace with with a 350RM, 338RCM, 35 Whelen, 338-06, or 9.3x62. I'm struggling to decide which cartridge.

how about 458x2"? That should fit and you can cut down just about any belted mag brass.

The .350 Remington Magnum is a much more versatile round than we give it credit for. Like Quickdraw stated it can be loaded with a variety of bullet weights, increasing trajectory. I use mine often, and had a BLR .450 too. I sold the BLR and kept the .350. With so many companies doing custom ammo at reasonable prices you really do not have a problem finding ammo for it. Look at Wisconsin Cartridge, Custom Cartridge, etc. I just used it over the weekend for wild boar with the 180 Barnes (Lead Free- Condor Range California) with great success. It is a favorite for big woods whitetail, bear and moose. Recoil is relative but I believe the .350 recoils less than the .450.

Pretty similar to the 450 Marlin and it won't solve his desire to be able to buy easy to find factory ammo.

I have both

The 350RM is very versatile. A genuine 300 yard light thumper. If you reload you can make cases from any magnum case.

The 450 Marlin has a unique case with an extended belt. I have 200 cases for it as it will be hard to find in a few years and nearly impossible to make from anything else.

Buy or make 200 350 cases. Load up 100 rounds for the 350 RM and put it away. Use another 100 cases for practice and shooting. You'll always have loaded rounds this way. Factory ammo? Who cares?

Sounds like a step backwards. The 450 marlin has been dropped, and it uses a unique case, so will be even harder to feed in the future.

I can't think of a single application where I'd choose a 450 over the 350, but can certainly of picking the 350 for most applications due to it's ability to shoot much flatter than the 450.

If I were to re-barrel my 350 rem mag, I'd go with a 300 wsm.

"..the only belted magnum that is short enough to fit in that action.."
"...not thrilled about not being able to pick up a box in a pinch.."

I don't think the belt is as much the issue as is the bolt face, you can fit non belted short mags in that also ya know.

Although most shelves will bear 30-06 and 270 cartridges as though they are the only cartridge ever used by man, the 300 WSM would be your best bet as far as "in a pinch" availability when relying upon retailers stock...

Now if you like the 350, and you really don't mind reloading (which you should do with that cartridge)then roll with it.

Trust me, I'm not finding too many dealers selling the 358-WSM, but I've not run out of ammo yet for it.!

Do your "pinching" on the bench.

Don't over look the 325 WSM

I left out the part about my extreme hatred of the WSM's and SAUM's. I didn't know Marlin was dropping the 450. That wouldn't fix my problem. If Wisconsin Cartridge has it, I'll just leave it alone. I believe the WSM's have a slightly different head size than the belted magnums.

Wisconsin Cartridge does not carry the .350

keep the 350 and use the $$ it would cost you to rebarrell and go put it toward the 8 boxes or so of ammo you will be able to buy..that should take care of any future "pinch problem" for a good while and have a more versatile caliber, IMO

Awwwwww...., come on now Cuddles, don't be a hater... <G>

...and Welcome to the 'Fire..!


I think it's been well said already, "Keep your 350 and don't fret." There are "pinch" solutions.

As for there being a "slight" differance between the belted rim dia. and that of the WSM...well, you are right. I've got one of each right here, one a 350 RM and another 300 WSM, and there is a .0915" differance. So it is "slight" but not enough to effect interface with the bolt of your 350. More than one 350 RM has been the donor for WSM builds, without any work to the bolt face.

EDIT to add...
But as for finding medium bore (short action) ammo on shelves, I don't think the odds are realistically in your favor.
As much as I like the 350 and it's level of .358" performance, I'd not let the retailers determine what I run.. Load up, prepare, and hunt on.

You've got a keeper with your 350RM. Let it be and load up ammo for your shelf. If you want a rifle to best fit ammo on the store shelf, get a used bolt gun chambered for the top five being 22lr, 308win, 30-06, 243win, or 7mm Rem. Outside of those, you need to reload, or in a worse case, you purchase in case lots.

Best

Superior ammo would probably do either and their prices seem like they'd end up similar

You can make 458 American, AKA 458x2" out of just about ANY belted magnum case including your old 350 RM brass...so unless the world stops turning you will NEVER run out of 458 American ammo.

Why the jump from 35 cal to 45 cal...there are plenty of short 40, 416 and 44 cal wildcats out there that would work...and there is always the Ruger case if you can't run with those hated "fatties".

Get a grip on reality...you have PLENTY of excellent choices out there that would give you more bullet weight and diameter AND longer range ballistics. Check out some of the wildcat related books like "Wildcats of the World", or goto CH4D and look at all the reloading dies.

LUCK

I've already spent over $2,000 on this pile. It's staying the way it is for now. I have no interest in cutting cases and wildcatting. I have come to the realization that I'm handloading for the 350 now. I'm probably going to use the 200 grain Triple Shock. When i find a load that works, I'll just load up a [bleep] load of them.

Nosler has just started making 350 Rem. brass.