I have a left hand Ruger Ranch in 450 BM. I handload the Barnes 250 grain T-EZ bullets (and Remington versions of the same) at about 2400 fps. They can even be pushed to about 2500. I have also loaded the 200 grain Barnes at 2850 fps, but prefer the 250s.
The Hornady factory ammo sucks. The bullets are crap. There are countless bad reports of bullet failure with that load this year. The 450 is the most popular cartridge in Michigan now, not just in the restricted gun area either, so it gets lots of use. And the Hornady loads are what dealers mostly stock. Hopefully that will change next year. Some are getting into handloading just because of this.
In the Marlin, the 45-70 can be loaded quite hot, but the bullets are flat and cool off pretty quickly.
In my Marlin, I shoot the 250 grain Barnes flat TSX at about 2550 fps. I wouldn't have any problem shooting 175 yards with that if sighted in for that range. That load shoots incredible in my 1895 SBL at 100 yards.
