Anyone have experinece with the 450 Bushmaster? First hand comparisons to the 458 SOCOM and 50 Beowulf would be greatly appreciated. Also any inside info on widespread ammo availability in these calibers would help to. I reload but I wonder if those 3 calibers would still be widely manufactured in say 10 years or so. Not really looking for a SHTF/Home Defense rifle more for hunting and DMR.
Anyone have first hand experience with the 450 Bushmaster?
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Craigman
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I have a 450 bushmaster and have bought my ammo at dunhams and even gander one time. dunhams seems to stock one or two boxes and it goes as soon as its put out. (i frequent my local store on my lunch break.) i know there is a P/N for some core lokt remington stuff but never seen it anywhere. ive seen a deer shot by a Beowulf and it was very impressive. it actually made me buy my 450, not because i didnt like the 50 but because they are pretty comparable for deer hunting, but the 450 is much easier to get ammo for. as for the socom.... ive never seen one, never seen ammo or know anyone who has one. i hear ammo is super hard to get for 50 or socom but bullet selection is huge for socom. with the 450 i just slowly bought 1 box at a time until i felt i have enough brass to las me for quite a while (200) and for plinking you can use handgun bullets and i think the hornady flex tip bullets are great for white tail or pretty much anything else i would ever shoot
rodensouth
Member
What is the recoil comparable to?
Craigman
Member
hard to say really..... maybe 20ga target load or a little more than a 30-30. i dont know how many people have shot a 35rem 336 but I guess it would be pretty close to that as well
I think you will love any big bore AR you get.
I think you will love any big bore AR you get.
Welding Rod
Member
I like the cartridge... powerful, available, not too expensive. It proved accurate in my Bush Master.
However I do not like it in an AR platform. The diameter of the 450 is a very poor fit in an M16 magazine. The outer diameter is only slightly bigger that the space between a standard milspec magazine.
This mismatch causes the top round to attempt to push the mag lips outwards, with considerable leverage. Looking at mine, it appeared that as each round fed from the magazine, and next would be at a different elevation and angle. This due the the decreasing spring pressure in the magazine causing less outward bowing of the mag lips with each round fed.
I tried several different types of mags but came to the conclusion this is just a basic design problem that can't be properly fixed short of the manufacture of an entirely new purpose built magazine.
Additionally, the taper angle of the case isn't properly compatible for stacking within either a straight or 30 round milspec mag.
I sold mine. I am shocked really that BM would put this on the market. It is incredibly irresponsible IMO as someone may depend of the gun for self-defense.
However I do not like it in an AR platform. The diameter of the 450 is a very poor fit in an M16 magazine. The outer diameter is only slightly bigger that the space between a standard milspec magazine.
This mismatch causes the top round to attempt to push the mag lips outwards, with considerable leverage. Looking at mine, it appeared that as each round fed from the magazine, and next would be at a different elevation and angle. This due the the decreasing spring pressure in the magazine causing less outward bowing of the mag lips with each round fed.
I tried several different types of mags but came to the conclusion this is just a basic design problem that can't be properly fixed short of the manufacture of an entirely new purpose built magazine.
Additionally, the taper angle of the case isn't properly compatible for stacking within either a straight or 30 round milspec mag.
I sold mine. I am shocked really that BM would put this on the market. It is incredibly irresponsible IMO as someone may depend of the gun for self-defense.
Craigman said:
I have no experience with the 450 Bushmaster but a few months ago I was at the range with my chronograph and a young chap with a 458 SOCOM (and Super Sniper scope) let me shoot five rounds through it after I let him use the chrony. Recoil was unremarkable and certainly nothing to worry about. Accuracy was ok with his reloads. The scope was horrible.
bang_bang
Member
On paper, the .458 Socom looks awesome for what I would use it for. Having a short barreled, or even a standard for deer hunting, would be pleasurable.
Too bad it seems to be non-existent compared to the .450 or .50 Beowulf...
Too bad it seems to be non-existent compared to the .450 or .50 Beowulf...
I have no experience, but I was looking at them for a while and one important distinction is that the .450 Bushmaster uses .452" pistol bullets while the .458 SOCOM uses .458" rifle bullets. Since you reload, I imagine you can appreciate the difference. To me, that gives the .458 SOCOM a big nod for versatility, especially with hunting.
petergriffin
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I'm a happy owner. I spent a lot of time digging into the big bore cartridges before I took the plunge. I settled on the 450bm because it was the only SAAMI recognized round, you can buy ammo and reloading components easily, and the bullets could be used for my .45ACP reloading.
The Beowulf looked interesting but have to pay huge price on gunbroker for ammo and components; ditto for the .458SOCOM. With Hornandy and now Remington making ammo, its simple to find 450bm almost anywhere online, and even in gun shops.
All three replicate the 45-70 so "power" isn't an issue. But I like I can load up the same 230FMJs I use in my .45ACP in the 450bm but with fps in the 2500 to 2700+ range. Yee hah, that'll solve any zombie problem!
@ Welding Rod and others: You can use stock GI mags, but you need to either install a single shot follower or simply take a dremel to the standard follower and grind it down to look like a single shot. Wa lah, fully functional magazine.
There is a bunch of load data, tips, tricks, etc at
450bm.com
and a discussion forum is here:
450bushmaster.net
Good luck with your shopping
The Beowulf looked interesting but have to pay huge price on gunbroker for ammo and components; ditto for the .458SOCOM. With Hornandy and now Remington making ammo, its simple to find 450bm almost anywhere online, and even in gun shops.
All three replicate the 45-70 so "power" isn't an issue. But I like I can load up the same 230FMJs I use in my .45ACP in the 450bm but with fps in the 2500 to 2700+ range. Yee hah, that'll solve any zombie problem!
@ Welding Rod and others: You can use stock GI mags, but you need to either install a single shot follower or simply take a dremel to the standard follower and grind it down to look like a single shot. Wa lah, fully functional magazine.
There is a bunch of load data, tips, tricks, etc at
450bm.com
and a discussion forum is here:
450bushmaster.net
Good luck with your shopping
Lloyd Smale
Member
ive got a 50 beo and love it. my buddys also got one and he just bought a 450 too. The 450 is a very accurate rifle, probably more accurate then my beo and the recoil is much milder.
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