If you’ve run lever guns, you know what a straight-walled cartridge is, but if not, you might be wondering. A straight-walled cartridge has a case with straight sides as opposed to the taper found at the top of bottleneck cartridges. And while it’s most commonly found in lever-actions, there are plenty of other guns chambered in these cartridges as well.
We’re going to check out some popular and useful straight-walled cartridges and consider what their ideal applications are. These are our top five picks for straight-walled rifle cartridges we think you should consider adding to your collection.
450 Bushmaster
When it comes to straight walled cartridges that run well and have a huge following for the AR platform, you’re looking at 450 Bushmaster.
This one’s been around for a while, although not as long as many. 450 Bushmaster was designed in 2007 by Tim LeGendre and has been in regular production since 2009. You could credit the late Col. Jeff Cooper for the events leading up to its creation because Cooper wanted what he called a Thumper rifle. The Thumper idea was for a rifle with far greater ballistics than the standard 223 Remington semi-automatic rifles capable of dropping game animals out past a couple of hundred yards. While 450 Bushmaster is heavy enough, it doesn’t maintain as flat a trajectory as hunters want at 250 yards.
So, what’s the 450 Bushmaster most commonly used for? Although it’s used by deer hunters, it’s heavily favored by gun owners invested in building their own AR-15s. It’s a heavier, harder-hitting cartridge and a fun one to run, so it makes sense it would be a welcome addition to a growing collection. 450 Bushmaster has an effective range on deer of around 200 to 250 yards, a distance that works better if the rifle is zeroed beyond 100 yards. Even then its trajectory depends on the specific load. Does it outdo the 45-70 Gov’t? Although that depends on the specific application, generally speaking, the 45-70 Gov’t has a better overall performance for hunting.
350 Legend
The 350 Legend hit the gun world in 2019 courtesy of Winchester Ammunition. Of all the straight-walled cartridges out there, it’s one of the smaller ones, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful.
This is a great cartridge for hunting small to moderate-size game and predators, and it does allow you greater capacity than the bulkier straight-walled cartridges do. Winchester created the 350 Legend specifically for deer hunters to use in restrictive states where using an AR-15 chambered in something like 223 Remington isn’t possible. Despite its more diminutive size, this is a round that’s more than capable of dropping deer and feral hogs.
If you’re not a hunter, you might be wondering what other uses 350 Legend might have. It could certainly be used for a truck gun or for home defense as long as the user had the gun loaded with the appropriate ammunition. In addition, this is a fun cartridge for plinking and general range time. Felt recoil is less than that of the bigger straight-walled cartridges and, generally speaking, more rounds fit in a single mag, too.
Fun fact: the 350 Legend doesn’t have a parent case.
444 Marlin
We have to include the 444 Marlin. Not only is it a classic that’s been around for a long time but it’s an extremely effective option for hunting (or self-defense, if you were so inclined).
The 444 Marlin was designed in 1964 by Marlin, of course. Although it isn’t as popular as it once was it does have a dedicated following among lever-action rifle enthusiasts. This cartridge has a .429-inch diameter bullet and an effective range on deer of around 150 to 200 yards, depending on the specific load. It’s extremely effective, too. This cartridge can push 335-grain bullets thousands of feet per second down range, although you might be better off going with something like a 240-grain bullet for a somewhat flatter trajectory.
It’s not accurate to say the 444 Marlin is strictly the realm of lever-action fans, but at the same time, it’s not wrong. This is a cartridge that can make a fantastic brush gun or truck gun as long as you are keenly aware of its potential to over-penetrate. Yes, literally anything can over-penetrate, but some are certainly more likely than others to go beyond your intended target. Just be aware 444 Marlin creates quite a wound channel.
45-70 Government
A straight-walled cartridge list can’t exist without the 45-70 Government. After all, it’s been in production since 1873 and is still being used for everything from range use to self-defense to hunting. And while it’s typically found in lever actions, there are some break-action and single-shot guns out there chambered in it.
This cartridge uses a .458-inch diameter bullet. It’s effective on deer out to around 150 yards. Although it can work beyond that, you need to be familiar with its drift and drop rate (as well as how the wind will affect those things).
Odds are 45-70 Government is what comes to mind when you think of levers of the Old West, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. The 44-40 Winchester entered production the same year the 45-70 Government did. In fact, the (lever) Gun That Won the West was chambered in 44-40 Winchester, so it’s safe to say the 45-70 Government had some competition. If you just want to have one lever action in your gun collection, the 45-70 Government is the one we’d highly suggest. It’s a classic, it’s incredibly effective, and it’s enjoyable to shoot. Does it produce noticeable felt recoil? It does, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.
360 Buckhammer
Believe it or not, the 360 Buckhammer isn’t the newest straight-walled cartridge around although it is pretty new. The 360 Buckhammer was created by Remington in 2022 and entered production in 2023.
Like the 350 Legend, it was created for deer hunting. It proved to have slightly superior ballistics to the 350 Legend. Its parent case is the 30-30 Winchester and it uses .358 caliber bullets. That means yes, this is another somewhat slimmer straight-walled cartridge. Although it’s currently strictly the purview of hunters, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be used for tactical or range use.
This is a lever-action cartridge, whereas the 350 Legend is found in both levers and AR-15s. How do you know which one’s right for you? It’s going to come down to personal preference and availability, for the most part. 360 Buckhammer is a great deer hunting round and also works well on feral hogs. With a 180-grain bullet it produces more than 2000 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Its effective range on deer is 200 yards. Remington points out this is a cartridge that was carefully crafted for use in lever-action rifles. So, if you want an AR-15 chambered in a straight-walled cartridge, you’re out of luck for now with the 360 Buckhammer.
What straight-walled cartridge do you think we left out? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
