What "big" caliber in an H&R?

[three50seven]

I have a desire to buy another H&R Hand-Rifle. I want it to be what I would consider a "big" caliber. I know that H&R is more or less gone now, but there are still several to chose from on Gun Broker and other sites. The 3 calibers I am choosing between are .35 Whelen, .444 Marlin, and .45/70 govt. Of these 3, which would be the easiest to reload and find components for? I know the Whelen is kind of the odd-ball of the 3, but I still think it is a really cool cartridge. I don't have a specific use in mind for it, but when has that ever stopped a gun purchase

[badge176]

my $.02... on Brass availability- .444 and .45/70 is tough to come by while you can form up .35 Whelen from .30-06 cases which are Easy to obtain...

That said, I really love my .45/70s!

[GhostHawk]

I went with the .444 Marlin myself recently. I have been happy with my choice.

I've been shooting the Lee .430 310 grain bullet over 13 grains of Red Dot and getting good accuracy.
3 in the same hole at 25 y sighting my scope in. 1" group at 50, 2 in the same hole at 75 y with a third less than an inch away.

Good enough for my needs.

I do want to shoot at least 1 5 gallon bucket of water. And I'll make the 45 min drive out to my own land to do some long range testing.
I suspect around 200 would be as far as I'd expect good results from that load. But, it is easy on my shoulder.

[jmort]

.45-70 or .500 S&W

[Bohica793]

45-70 here also

[three50seven]

Thanks all for the input so far, all valid points. Like badge176 said, 35 Whelen can be formed from '06 brass, and 35 cal bullets are everywhere, but I already have a Handi in .357 Maxi...

I think I'm kind of leaning towards the .444...

[dogmower]

500 s&w. can load it from 275 grains to 600 grain boolits and everything in between. I shoot a 600 grain mountain molds cast GC over longshot at about 1100 fps. hits like a freight train at 200 meters.

[jmort]

The 500 S&W really shines in a rifle.

[Mr Peabody]

Has the 38-55 crossed your mind? A fun round to shoot.

[three50seven]

Neither the 500 S&W or 38-55 had really crossed my mind. In fact, I wasn't aware they offered the 38-55.

[oldred]

What? You don't already have a 45/70????? Shame on you! Definitely you NEED one of those in 45/70 then maybe you can choose something else later on, get what's necessary first!

[Artful]

I'm with the 45-70 crowd.

[tdoyka]

i'd go with the 444 marlin. i have the 45-70 handi and the 444 in tc encore with a MGM 23" barrel. the 45-70 for the most part, just sits there. the 444 tho, goes out as much as it can. i use trail boss and 200gr xtps and h4198 for 265gr hornady fn. soon the 265gr(280gr) ranch dog is going to get a work out. it has become my favorite caliber!

[dualsport]

They're all good. Want iron sights on that? Narrows down choices. Bud's is selling two barrel combos pretty cheap. .35 Rem. and a .444 for a song.

[pworley1]

I have the 35 Whelen and the 45 70 both are great rifles. I am sure that the 444 would also be fine. As stated above the brass availability for the 35 Whelen is much better than for the other two. They will all kill anything you want to hunt.

[three50seven]

dualsport- I'm not seeing those combos anywhere....but they do have some really good prices!

[koger]

Get the 45 70, shoot bullets from 300-600 grains, will do anything the .444 does better, more types of brass available, and I see it for sale every day. My 2 handis in 45/70, will literally shoot cloverleaf's at 100yds with cast or jacket, are not finicky!

[GhostHawk]

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...+1+Synthetic+S

Buy a couple of reasonably priced scopes and you have 2 guns for the price of one.

[rfd]

absolutely the .45-70

[Rustyleee]

If you're looking for the biggest thing around get a .45-70 and ream it out to a .45-120.
Your shoulder will not be happy with you.