Anyone have a 450 Bushmaster?

[gbflyer]

I’ve had too much time to think. Seems like a neat cartridge for a bolt gun, almost a 45/70, could even use a pointy bullet if desired. I think it might be a good short range beach gun, with a little more horsepower for the occasional brown biting bear. Couple of examples I have read about seem to be positive in that regard.

Anybody have one? All the bolt actions I see are fairly light, 6-7lbs. Abusive? There is one in a Ruger Hawkeye that really wets my whistle. Just wish it had a front sight.

 

[mdwest]

I dont.. but I have its ballistic sister, a 458 SOCOM...

basically 45-70 (trapdoor) ballistics out of a semi-auto (mine is built on an AR platform).. I built mine with 1 specific purpose in mind... busting sounders of hogs at ranges of 50-150 yards..

If youre not a reloader, the 450 BM (IMO) makes more sense.. there are far more factory ammo options...

If you are a reloader, my preference is the 458 SOCOM.. I prefer the .458 projectiles over the 450's .452 projectiles.. theyre easier to find, have more variety, etc.. and are heavier as a rule..

In a light rifle (6-7 lbs) recoil isnt abusive.. but.. its definitely stout.. Ive got a NV optic on my rifle which brings the weight up to a little over 8lbs.. it will definitely jar your teeth a bit when firing 3-4 rounds right behind one another..

 

[Goose Cracker]

I purchased a 450 Bushmaster upper as a pig thumper. It's fun to shoot suppressed. Only thing I've thumped with it thus far is a coyote.

 

[mdwest]

I missed an opportunity on a suppressor for my 458 recently.. Silencer Central had the Coastal X on sale (50% off) for just $325... I sat and thought about it too long.. theyre now back up to $650.... which isnt unreasonable for a suppressor in the US.. but my cheap Welsh-Irish roots just wont let me pay that much knowing less than a month ago it was $325...

Im definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for another sale though.. I think a suppressor would go a long way in taming the recoil and make the rifle an even more capable hog hammer..

 

[Goose Cracker]

That's a SilencerCo Hybrid 46 on my 450 BM upper. It definitely tames the BM nicely. It's rated to 338 Lapua and safe on a 375 (confimed). It's not light or short, however.

I plan to shoot 375 H&H suppressed from now on.

 

[Jeff 907]

I have the Ruger American Ranch in .450 BM. It’s great for deer and become a popular choice in the restricted states along with the 350 Legend. Recoil is not bad IMO. My 46m is still in jail so can’t answer how well it handles with a suppressor. My uncle who’s pushing 80 uses a CVA single shot and has taken multiple deer with it.

 

[RLL]

450 BM is really limited to pistol caliber bullets as a hand loader. Go 458 Hammr or SOCOM for a bit more versatility as far as bullets go.

 

[revturbo9967]

I have a .458 socom as well. Certainly fun to shoot. I love it.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

I have one and have shot several whitetail deer with it. I use it sometimes because the 1.7" straightwall case fit within the legal limit in lower Michigan of 1.8" maximum case length.

I load 250 Barnes TSX bullets at around 2200 FPS. It not super accurate. 100 yard groups are 2" or more but it puts deer down at 100 yards!

 

[mdwest]

I load 250 Barnes TSX bullets at around 2200 FPS. It not super accurate. 100 yard groups are 2" or more but it puts deer down at 100 yards!

Same with my SOCOM.. its a 2" gun on a good day... closer to a 3" gun on not so good days...

but for my typical hog engagement ranges (50-150yards) its more than adequate for its intended purpose.. and drops them like they have been hit with a sledge hammer

 

[WillMFerguson]

@ChrisG has a thread on this from back in 2018.

I have .458 and .375 AR uppers. I killed a decent black bear 2 years ago with the .458 and a nice cow elk with the .375, last year. Regarding recoil, both of those cartridges suck without a suppressor. A suppressor changes everything.

 

[gbflyer]

That 458 SOCOM recommendation is a good one and jarred my memory. I threaded and chambered a barrel to fit a Savage. It’s a little slow for the big bullets. I played around with it but I couldn’t get it to feed to my liking. I may try it with a modified PMag on one of my Bighorn actions.

 

[Capt_Oscar]

I have a custom 450BM on a Rem700 bolt. Converted from 22-250 Varmint rifle (heavy profile barrel). The Gun absolutely LOVES Hornady Black Label shoot 1 ragged hole at 100yds. In my Hand loads I've gotten sub-moa but nothing as tight as the Hornady Black.

I went with a heavy varmint barrel profile since the stock would accept it, upgraded from the BDL floor plate to an HS Prescision magazine well. Wears a Swaro Z6 1.7-10 on top.

Great gun, there are several exceptional bullet choices out there and with the bolt, you can throttle up considerably over factory ammo as the round was designed for an AR platform. There is an entire forum dedicated to the 450BM. Just do a search online, its in the title.

 

[godwincp]

I’m having one built at Bear Creek Ballistics, from Michigan, to comply with the new Illinois deer hunting regulations. A240 grain HV all copper bullet at 2590 muzzle velocity shooting one inch groups. Should be ready in March. Check them out

 

[1911Fan]

Well, I'd been on the fence for a while, but you guys have convinced me. Just ordered a .450 upper for hog hunting.

 

[michael458]

I recently started playing with the 450 Bushmaster as well. I found myself in need of a couple of 16 inch guns, and tired of the same ole same, so the 450 BM seemed a good choice, especially when I already have a lot of .452 stuff on hand anyway.......... I have been busy doing some load data and trying a few different bullets and I have to say I am rather impressed with the little cartridge. Not being a bolt gun we have to pay a lot of attention to keeping pressures where they are supposed to be, and of course the cartridge is capable of outrunning proper terminals with many common .452 bullets, so you need to watch that as well..........

I have not done terminal work or tests with it yet. I have 200, 225 and 250 gr Hornady Flex on hand, and have been shooting those mostly gathering data. In other calibers the Flex does very well up to or around 2400 fps max...... I have done some research on terminal performance of the 450 BM and the Hornady and it seems to be good at reasonable velocities obtained with the 450 BM..... Until I can get time to test properly, I will have to trust that......... My purposes currently is simply "Zombie Control" and I think they will do fine for that mission....... I am running the 200 Flex at 2400 fps, 225 and 250 Flex at 2250 or so......

I did have some 205 Lehigh Extremes on hand and I gave a quick test with those at 2500 fps. Feed/Function was 100%, but there is much more work that needs to be done with these to be sure.

I am also interested in seeing how the guns do with my favorite design of bullet, SOLIDS....... One quick test with 300 gr CEB #13 Solids gave me just under 2000 fps. Feed issue with first round, but all thereafter feed/function was good. Obviously a lot more work with this to see if it is viable.

Using proper bullet design I can see no issues with the cartridge and rifles designed for it. Earlier in the week I decided it was time to have some shelf Ammo on hand...... I just put in 500 pieces of new Starline brass..... I had been doing all the test work with fired brass to this point. Loading up the NEW STARLINE gave me a bit of a surprise, what should have been 2250 fps ended up over 2500 FPS in the New Brass! I had to decrease the amount of LilGun to get back down to 2250 fps. Tests using the same load, with once fired Starline, gave 125 fps less velocity, than the New Brass. This is a result of capacity, new brass having less, fired having more...... Something you might want to watch for......

All in all, it is a lot of fun.......

 

[michael458]

One thing I am just not impressed with concerning the 450 BM is the "Small Rifle Primer" only option. In a case this size, it should be large primers, end of story. I am getting with some loads just out of my spec extreme spreads, over a 100 fps, and I don't like that. I have tried 3-4 different primers, some ok, some a little better, but all out of my spec range for decent loads. I blame this on that damned small primer.

LilGun seems to be "The Powder" for the cartridge, so far anyway, probably at some point I will look at some others, perhaps Enforcer would be a good choice as well. But for now, LilGun.

I tried some more of those 205 Lehighs, and in my guns here which are sighted dead steady center with 225-250s.. all the 200 gr and close are about 1 inch left of center at 25........ I decided to save those 205 Lehighs for my 45 Colt lever guns.

Graf had some good deals on Lehigh and even a few CEBs, since I had a Lehigh order, I ordered some 240 Raptors as well, the Extremes are 220 and 250 gr, hoping to pull POI back to center, or much closer with the heavier weights. These are on the way........

The 240 Raptors combined with one of the Lehighs really should turn the 450 BM into another animal all together....... we will see........ All good fun for sure.......

 

[MISportsman]

I’ve had too much time to think. Seems like a neat cartridge for a bolt gun, almost a 45/70, could even use a pointy bullet if desired. I think it might be a good short range beach gun, with a little more horsepower for the occasional brown biting bear. Couple of examples I have read about seem to be positive in that regard.

Anybody have one? All the bolt actions I see are fairly light, 6-7lbs. Abusive? There is one in a Ruger Hawkeye that really wets my whistle. Just wish it had a front sight.

My son has a Ruger American ranch in 450 bushmaster and he loves it. He shot a 300+lb pig with it last year high shoulder shot and it went about 10yds and done! I'm impressed as well!

 

[1911Fan]

Got it assembled, but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. May have to book a hog hunt this summer!

 

[perttime]

...

If you are a reloader, my preference is the 458 SOCOM.. I prefer the .458 projectiles over the 450's .452 projectiles.. theyre easier to find, have more variety, etc.. and are heavier as a rule..

...

In my corner of the world, .458 SOCOM meets the legal requirements for Moose, and some have used it with good success. Obviously, they use it at pretty short distances, but that is normal here.
At least 300 grain Barnes TTSX has been mentioned as a good bullet for Moose.