I have 450 Marlin encore pistol and I am looking for handgun loading info in this caliber. There's lots of loading info for rifles but have drawn a blank with short barrel loads. Can anyone enlighten me?

Maybe because you're the only one crazy enough to squeeze the trigger

You aint Lyin!!! Dang, in a handgun? or maybe a .458 Lott??

Yeah I know that it's one helluva cartridge for a pistol. I bought it for the frame at a steal because somebody else thought they could handle it . I thought maybe I could scale back the powder to a manageable recoil level,around a hot 44 mag load. I tried shooting the factory rifle ammo and I think I might have knocked some fillings loose. But I think with the right ammo and powder combo this thing can be a great shooter. Merry Christmas , Johnny

I shoot an encore in .44 mag regularly. My buddy has one in .454 casull,it's a handfull.He also has a .444 marlin barrel for it.I ain't got brave enough to shoot it yet !

What grips are on your Encore. Pachmyer deaccelerator are a must on the hard recoiling guns. If you scope it 6 screw steel bases like the TSOB are a must.

I have rubber grips but not pachmyr, I think Santa might need to bring me some asap. Have a blessed evening, Johnny

I'd definitely recommend sticking with a 300 grain bullet weight to reduce recoil.

Since 450 Marlin is a straight wall case the powder should burn more completely in a short barrel compared to a bottleneck cartridge, but you could also pick one of the loads in the manual which specifies a faster powder to reduce muzzle blast. If you aren't familiar with the comparitive burning rate most manuals have a chart that compares the burning rate of the powders. You will know if you picked too slow of a powder if you have a huge fireball out the barrel and find a lot of unburned power in the barrel after firing a round.

I read where some folks were loading it down to 45-70 with a reduced load of trail boss , I looked at 45-70 data for a 300 gr bullet as follows off imr website, these were low pressure loads also, I haven't tried this but see no reason why it wouldn't work fine. Good luck

14gr trailboss = 1199fps

16.5gr trailboss = 1285 fps

Reloader 7 may be a good choice, it worked really well when I loaded .375x444 for a Contender. Check your manual but a starting load of 49 grains with a 300 grain bullet may be a good start. Work up from there as needed.

H4198 would work if ya couldn't find RL7. Northern prescion makes projectiles for it.

Thank you for your input fellows, Johnny

According to the Lyman 49th edition, the last section is for t/c contender and encore pistols.

250 gr barnes XFN # 45831
RX7 start at 45.5 Max is 50.7
IMR-4198 start at 44.0 Max at 49.0
OAL IS 2.530

300 gr jacketed HP hornady #4500
IMR-4198 start at 44.5 Max at 49.5
RX7 start at 46.0 Max at 51.5
OAL is 2.530



350 gr Hornady jacketed FP #4503
RX7 start at 43.0 Max at 48.0
IMR 3031 start at 49.5 Max at 55.0
Win 748 start at 56.0 Max at 62.0 (this is a compressed load
OAL IS 2.530

Primer stated in manual is the Winchester Large Rifle
Hope this is of help
Nitro