Winchester's Model 94 Trails End Takedown Part 2

Since Part 1, when I was taking a preliminary look at the Winchester Model 1894 Trails End Takedown, I’ve had a chance to reflect on the rifle’s performance. We do quite a bit of work with the 45-70 Gov’t round, pushing it just a tad more than standard 28,000 PSI ammunition, until its performance is pretty spectacular. The 450 Marlin, a near ballistic twin to the 45-70 Government’s high pressure loads, gets to about the same place with a SAAMI maximum pressure approaching 48,000 PSI.

The 450 Marlin has the same casehead and rim diameter dimensions as the litany of popular H&H belted magnums, 0.532″. The purpose of the 450 Marlin’s belt is as it was when it showed up in 1905 on the original belted commercial cartridge, the 400/375 H&H Belted Nitro Express*. The belt maintains proper headspace where a very shallow angled shoulder, crimped case mouth or imprecisely cut chamber would not be effective in accomplishing the same. In fact, a belt is nothing more than a compact rim, a form that facilitates reliable magazine feeding of a bolt action rifle

While the 450 Marlin has been with us for 13 years, it is still sometimes difficult for guys like me to accept this upstart… this new kid on the block. I have been friends with the 45-70 Gov’t since Trapdoor Springfield rifles were selling as surplus for $20-$30 a copy. Besides, the 45-70 Gov’t is taller, 2.105″ to the Marlin’s 2.080″ and the 45-70 Gov’t holds a bit more powder at 79 grains compared to the Marlin’s 74.0 grains. Still with a rim diameter of 0.608″, the 45-70 Gov’t takes more design effort to feed between the sides of a compact lever action rifle or fit comfortably inside of bolt face. In this last regard, mechanically, the 450 Marlin clearly holds an edge.

We sort of drove them to it…

The 450 Marlin cartridge is a creative way for firearm manufacturer to give gun owners a stout 0.458″ gun, while having a SAAMI spec cartridge to design guns around and without having to worry about relic firearms that are chambered for the same cartridge. Handloaders have pushed the 45-70 Gov’t to its limits, and specialty ammunition makers have done the same, but without working to a common industry maximum pressure standard. By introducing a SAAMI standard 450 Marlin cartridge that operates in the 48,000 PSI range, manufacturers can safely offer rifles that match the high performance potential of the 45-70 Gov’t while maintaining control over approved ammunition.

In the case of Winchester selecting the 450 Marlin for its Model 1894, rather than the 45-70 Gov’t chamber they offer in their Model 1886, my best guess is that mechanically the 450 Marlin was a better match for the Model 1894’s more narrow receiver sides and its bolt face capacity.

450 Marlin handloads and my personal preferences…

OK, so I caved on my resistance to the 450 Marlin, stopped calling the round a 45-70 Short, but  retained the right to bullet and smokeless powder preference as a carry over from the 45-70 Gov’t.

Brand	Type	Weight	Bullet Length	Cartridge Length	Net Grains Capacity
Nosler	Partition	300	0.842	2.510	56.5
GS Custom	FN Solid	300	0.920	2.550	55.1
Hawk Precision	0.035″ Jacket	350	0.890	2.530	54.8
Swift	A-Frame FN	400	1.145	2.550	45.0
Cast Performance	Hard Cast FN	460	1.120	2.550	46.1

Now that was invigorating…

The Winchester is a hunting rifle and, therefore, made to be shot from a human held shooting position; standing, kneeling, sitting, or prone where the body moves with the rifle and dampens recoil. Shooting from the bench with the rifle pretty much anchored, the small lever loop played ping pong with a my knuckles. While I didn’t cry like a girl, I did whine to my wife. Translation – the Winchester Trails End is a fun little gun to shoot and recoil is of no consequence while actually hunting. Not so much fun touching off a hundred rounds while hunkered down over the rifle on a low shooting bench.

My selection of handloads did not sail along quite as smoothly as I anticipated… now there is a phrase with a familiar ring. While I probably have 6 or 7 million Nosler 300 grain Partition bullets in my personal inventory, they are no longer in production. Yes, that was an exaggeration used for dramatic effect. I’d appreciate it if recently graduated engineering students, fans of The Big Bang Theory, wouldn’t email plausibility charts and Power Point presentations to express doubt for the veracity of my statement.

The 400 grain Swift must have been the liberal bullet in the bunch because it way was too intrusive to be useful. The long bullet, with gradually tapering ogive, displaced much needed powder capacity when forced to comply with overall length specification. Seated to the cannelure only in a 45-70 case, and to a significantly longer than spec COL in a throated Ruger No.1, it produced 458 Winchester Magnum like performance. So we’ll save that bullet for another project.

All assembled ammunition listed on the handload data sheet fed into the Winchester’s magazine and easily cycled to chamber and eject. The only load that took a little extra effort was the 460 Grain Cast Performance. The blunt tip and wide ogive bumped the far wall of the receiver when loading the magazine and required a bit of finesses when loading. Feed and ejection was not a problem in any respect and all empties ejected at an angle to the right, easily clearing a scope and the shooter.

Essentially, with two bullets that could no longer be recommended, either because of lack of availability or a lack of performance, some backups were added.

Brand	Type	Weight	Bullet Length “	Cartridge Length “	Net Grains Capacity
Remington	JHP	300	0.813	2.455	57.8
Hornady	FTX	325	1.100	2.590	51.5
Speer	FN	400	0.975	2.480	52.3
Hawk Precision	SP	400	0.985	2.550	54.6

The 450 Marlin, as produced by Hornady, is a bit of an odd duck. The SAAMI case length specification is 2.100″ +0.000 / – 0.020″. However, to meet the 450 Marlin’s overall length specification of 2.550″ with the long Hornady 325 grain FTX bullet, Hornady manufacturers the cases to a length of 2.040″ and adjusts their recommended “trim to” length to the same. Seems like a lot of trouble to go through, because Hornady’s assembled ammunition and handload data lists a cartridge overall length of 2.590″, 0.040″ over the published SAAMI maximum. Doesn’t matter, they clear the Winchester in use with lots of room to spare.

And when the dust settled and my teeth stopped chattering from recoil…

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These are maximum loads in my firearms and may easily be excessive in others. All loads should be reduced by 5%,  and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.   Cartridge: 450 Marlin  Rifle: Winchester Model 1894  Max COL: 2.550″  Bullet Diameter: 0.458″  Primer: CCI 200  Barrel: 20 ” (Factory Ported)  Reloading Dies: Hornady  Max case length: 2.100″  Group distance: 100 yards Maximum Loads – Not Starting Points

Like making metaphorical jelly beans…

Reloading was done with Hornady dies, full length resizing after each use, no annealing done for the couple of cycles the brass passed through.

The brass was surprisingly stabile throughout. The case head, belt and adjacent case body dimensions remained essentially unchanged. The case mouth expanded from 0.481″ to 0.488″after coughing up a bullet and resized and crimped where required without incidence.

The brass also didn’t ring like a bell from work hardening after its third firing. I get the sense that brass is long lived although I’d anneal after its third use to prevent case mouth splits.

Virtually all charges were full case, none really compressed.  IMR 4198 consistently out performed Reloder 7… hate Alliant’s misspelling of Reloader. It reminds me of people who spell phonetically even when not texting. Maybe I could have pushed the loads more, but I didn’t particularly feel comfortable doing so. In doing a sanity check of the loads appearing here, I scanned mainstream manual data to see if anything was wildly inconsistent and found it was not so safe, rather than sorry ruled the day.

In regard to the Winchester Model 1894’s performance with the 450 Marlin in comparison to Winchester’s 1886 in 45-70 with 22″ barrel, all 450 Marlin ammunition, factory or handload exceeded, standard pressure 45-70 ammunition by  300 – 400 fps, yielding more than twice as much kinetic energy. However, 45-70 modern high pressure ammunition from high performance factory loaders like Buffalo Bore, exceeded 450 Marlin performance by 50-70 fps, even when comparing Buffalo Bore’s own 45-70 and 450 Marlin ammunition. The price of getting this high performance level from factory ammunition is $30 – $35 per box for the 450 Marlin and $50 – $60 per box for the .45-70.

OK, I think I’ve got it now…

The Winchester Trails End Takedown is what a good woodland hunting rifle should be, light, accurate and powerful, particularly at ranges inside 200 yards. It has more than enough power for the largest North American game including large bear. The difference between the 450 Marlin and hyper loaded 45-70 ammunition, in cost and performance, is mostly academic. Its like listing to early Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis versions of Johnny B. Good. Berry’s guitar is better than Lewis’s piano, but Lewis’s aloof rockabilly vocal is better than Berry’s teen pandering pop.

From a hardware perspective, the Winchester is a beautiful little rifle, balanced, nicely finished, something to be proud of owning and something that instills pride and confidence. The steel bluing and walnut finish are flawless, exceeding any expectation based on price tag and the rifle feels and smells like an original Winchester. It is a good shooter. There is something about big bullets and hard kickers that make shooting a satisfying experience. Nice gun and one worth a serious look. For more information visit www.winchesterguns.com.

Winchester’s Model 94 Trails End Takedown Part 1
Winchester’s Model 94 Trails End Takedown Part 2