1.  400-500 bucks
2.  Reliable
3.  Good for whitetails on up to Grizzlies
4.  Compact and light
5.  Accurate (1-2" groups at 100 yards)
6.  With a 45/70 load of 300 grain hollowpoint at 1300 fps, a good home-defense gun
7.  With the same load, not bad for plinking, use cast lead instead of hollowpoints

All in all, my absolute favorite gun.  A close second would be my AR15.

Just my 0.000002 cents.

I want one real bad, but Im torn between the  45-70 and the new .450 Marlin. Im leaning towards the 45-70 just because it has proven itself many times, been around over a hundred years. But there is still something that tells me to go for the bigger boomer.
why did you go with the 45-70?

The 45/70 can be loaded to be ballistically identical to the 450.  In fact, all a 450 marlin is is a 45/70 loaded to its full operating pressure.

The issue is that 45/70 factory loads are loaded down because most people who shoot the 45/70 do so in antique guns that were built before the advent of smokeless powder.  Their actions are weaker and can not take the higher pressure of the 45/70 loaded with a full load of smokeless.  The marlins can take the higher pressure of a fully loaded 45/70.

Basically what marlin did was, in order to get around the antique gun problem, added a belt to 45/70 brass so that it will not fit in a antique gun and then loaded the round to its potential and called it the 450 marlin.

Basically, there were more factory loads for the 45/70, and I could handload it to be identical to the 450 marlin.  Also the ammo and components of the 45/70 were cheaper, so I could shoot more.

One thing, however, I do not know if the 450 marlin can shoot 45/70 safely.  The brass and bullet dimensions should be the same, and the belting on the 450 marlin case should keep a 450 out of 45/70 but not the other way around.  If this is the case, I would go with the 1895m so you can have maximum flexibility.

I had one in 45-70 except it wasn't the guide gun, it had the 22" barrel.  I sold it before I had my surgery.  Something about a big fat cartridge raises the testosterone level. [:D]

I might just go with the .450 IF its possible to shoot botrh. But I have not heard anything about it eother way. I dont reload right now, so who makes the hottest 45-70 loads? Are any loaded over pressures tolerances of the old springfield trapdoor?

If you reload, Hogdon has some hot data. I was in doubt that they were safe for my Browning 1886. I e-mailed Hogdon and they replied that the loads were safe for a Trapdoor Springfield!! Some loads were over 2200 fps with a 300 gr jacketed bullet. I  wouldn't shoot them in a Trapdoor, but I did in my 1886..A grizzly killer if the ever was one. Plus, for fun you can load with black powder...thats always a blast. The 45-70 is an all around fun cartridge.

Buffalo bullets makes some awesome loads for the 45-70

Garrett makes the hottest loads for the 45-70. DO NOT try to fire a 45-70 in a 450 Marlin, they headspace differently.

Go with the 45-70. It will do anything the 450 Marlin does plus it will be here tomorrow. The 450 Marlin is just a lawyer-designed imitation of the 45-70.

I used to shoot 500gr swaged lead bullets in my 45/70 Marlin lever gun and I'll tell you that it didn't hold up too long after about 200 of my Ruger #1 reloads with the 500gr bullets that thing auto cycled and nearly tore my fingers off.I really do like that guide gun though I have thought about about doing the .450 Marlin thing just because it's made to live at those pressures and is a stronger case and since I reload anything except military calibers it would be a smart move.I especially like the idea of the little porting job they did on them.I wonder if it really works that well?

A 300 grain 45 caliber projo travelling at 2200 fps, will kill anything that walks on land.

If you need more power than that, then you need to look at something like a 458 win mag, or weatherby 460.

The 45-70 is a prolific round that can be down loaded to plinking levels.

I suspect the 450 will fade to black.

You need to go check out the price for 450 ammo, OUCH!!

Waterdog

What is the current price for a box of 20 for the 450? Isnt Hornaday the only ones produceing ammo for it right now?
What does a box of 45-70 go for?

I also recommend the 45-70 over the .450 Marlin:

- Cheaper ammo
- More available ammo (try finding the 450 in the X-Mart!)
- Brass easier to get for reloading
- 45-70 can be loaded to 450 levels in the proper firearm (i.e. Guide gun or Ruger #1).
- I think its a good bet that the 45-70 will be here the next 100 years

I love my Guide Gun.  Great for hogs too!

Merlin

A 20 round box of pmc 405 grain is $12-13 around these parts.  The hornady is about $20.  

Garrett Cartridge
www.garrettcartridges.com

makes the really hot loads.  

I highly suggest getting into reloading if you are going to shoot the 45/70.  It can shrink the cost of a round to about $.10-.20 as well as allowing you to load for whatever you are going to do with the round, from plinking to grizzly bear.