Marlin 1895MR

This is a big bore rifle, firing the 450 Marlin cartridge, which launches a 350 grain bullet out of the muzzle at 2100 feet per second. It sure makes big holes! This is a great weapon for hunting brown bear, moose, or any large North American game, and with "light" loads, it should do well on elk, black bear, hogs, or even whitetail. It is a handsome lever-action rifle with a four round tubular magazine.

Handloading: .450 Marlin

Only one factory makes ammunition for this gun, and it's slightly on the expensive side. It is only available in two types. Fortunately, I have a set of custom-made Lee reloading dies. I am working on a few loads for this rifle, including some low-recoil plinking loads.

I really need to work on making this thing accurate. I am hoping it was a problem with the optics, which I have replaced.

Optics

I have a Bushnell 1.5-4.5x32mm scope mounted on this thing. It is sighted in (at 100 yards) for the Hornady 325 grain Leverevolution, which turns out to be fairly accurate in this gun.

Accuracy

It is tough to quantify the accuracy of this gun, because it is unpleasant to shoot for extended periods of time. I think I should start bringing it with me every time I go to the rifle range so that I can fire a single group through it.

It appears that the factory 325 grain Leverevolution is the most accurate load for this rifle. How accurate, I have not yet learned. Perhaps after the bruise on my shoulder goes away, I will take it back to the range and fire a five round group at 100 yards.