mcb
Member
Rambling post with lots of pictures warning...
So 450 Bushmaster is one of my current favorite hunting cartridges. Works in the AR-15 platform and others. Has more than enough terminal effects for deer under 200 yards, and that is more than enough for the property I hunt in middle TN. The recoil impulse is stout but very manageable especially from a semi-auto, more of a push than a snap. It's a straight wall cartridge for those that need that and I am an Ohio native that still has hunting property back there.
So first the deal. My favorite bullet for 450 Bushmaster is the Barnes 275gr TSX. MidwayUSA has them on sale 20% off.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/330426/barnes-triple-shock-x-tsx-bullets-450-bushmaster-451-diameter-275-grain-hollow-point-flat-base-lead-free-box-of-20
Hodgdon has good published data for that bullet that includes pressure data too.
I am loading it with Hodgdon H110 and had worked my load up using Quickloads before Hodgdon had published their data thus my load (being conservative cause I like my fingers and eyes-balls intact) ends up at the bottom of Hodgdons data.
Hodgdon's Publish Data (there is data on other powders and bullets on their web-database too):
Hodgdon H110
OAL: 2.225"
Start
Charge: 33.4
Velocity: 1,869*
Pressure: 33,500 PSI
Max
Charge: 37.6
Velocity 2,036*
Pressure 36,100 PSI
*24-inch barrel
My personal load is:
Brass: Hornady once fired
Primer: Winchster Small Rifle
Powder Hodgdon H110
Charge 33.5 gr
OAL 2.260"
Crimp .474"
Velocity: 1845 fps**
**Velocity from my Bushmaster upper with a 20-inch barrel.
Accuracy is good for 450 BM. I am getting a very consistent ~2 MOA on 5-shot groups @ 100 yards.
I have not killed a deer with them yet (not for lack of trying) but I have little doubt its going to work well when I finally get a shot. The bullet has proven very very destructive on the raccoon and two armadillos I have shot with it. This was a bullet recovered from the raccoon after it passed through the raccoon and about three feet of forest floor.
100% weight retention and nearly a perfect expansion of the bullet.
To end a rambling post a final picture of my 450 BM from one of my favorite stands from early last season.
So 450 Bushmaster is one of my current favorite hunting cartridges. Works in the AR-15 platform and others. Has more than enough terminal effects for deer under 200 yards, and that is more than enough for the property I hunt in middle TN. The recoil impulse is stout but very manageable especially from a semi-auto, more of a push than a snap. It's a straight wall cartridge for those that need that and I am an Ohio native that still has hunting property back there.
So first the deal. My favorite bullet for 450 Bushmaster is the Barnes 275gr TSX. MidwayUSA has them on sale 20% off.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/330426/barnes-triple-shock-x-tsx-bullets-450-bushmaster-451-diameter-275-grain-hollow-point-flat-base-lead-free-box-of-20
Hodgdon has good published data for that bullet that includes pressure data too.
I am loading it with Hodgdon H110 and had worked my load up using Quickloads before Hodgdon had published their data thus my load (being conservative cause I like my fingers and eyes-balls intact) ends up at the bottom of Hodgdons data.
Hodgdon's Publish Data (there is data on other powders and bullets on their web-database too):
Hodgdon H110
OAL: 2.225"
Start
Charge: 33.4
Velocity: 1,869*
Pressure: 33,500 PSI
Max
Charge: 37.6
Velocity 2,036*
Pressure 36,100 PSI
*24-inch barrel
My personal load is:
Brass: Hornady once fired
Primer: Winchster Small Rifle
Powder Hodgdon H110
Charge 33.5 gr
OAL 2.260"
Crimp .474"
Velocity: 1845 fps**
**Velocity from my Bushmaster upper with a 20-inch barrel.
Accuracy is good for 450 BM. I am getting a very consistent ~2 MOA on 5-shot groups @ 100 yards.
I have not killed a deer with them yet (not for lack of trying) but I have little doubt its going to work well when I finally get a shot. The bullet has proven very very destructive on the raccoon and two armadillos I have shot with it. This was a bullet recovered from the raccoon after it passed through the raccoon and about three feet of forest floor.
100% weight retention and nearly a perfect expansion of the bullet.
To end a rambling post a final picture of my 450 BM from one of my favorite stands from early last season.
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