.450 bushmaster

[Skeeter330]

Anyone loading for 450 bushmaster? If so any good cheap bullet loads with lil gun powder

I have seen people using 45 acp bullets but not sure how they would hold up at rifle velocity

 

[reddog81]

I think Lil Gun is one of the go to powders for full strength loads. I’m not sure how well 45 ACP bullets will do when pushed at twice their intended pressure and velocity.

 

[BW460]

I love my 450 Bushmaster but the words cheap and 450 Bushmaster do not belong in the same sentence. I use a 300 grain muzzle loader bullet that I got on sale for 60 cents each. Incredible accurate.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have a 10” 450 BM, still have not shot it yet

 

[berettaprofessor]

I have a 10” 450 BM, still have not shot it yet

Have a good hold on it if pistol-gripping or wear padding if shoulder-fired!!! My 450 with an 18 inch barrel and padded butt still makes me sore after a few rounds.

 

[mcb]

230 gr FMJ 45 ACP bullets work well with Lil'gun in 450 Bushmaster. They are not super accurate at those velocity but do work for cheaper plinking ammo.

 

[jmorris]

Yeah, I think “cheap plinker using pistol bullets” is something people use to rationalize picking one over a 458 socom, doesn’t really pan out that way. If you want a cheap plinker using pistol bullets a 45 ACP carbine beats the 450bm by a lot.

 

[Roverguy]

IMR 4227 and 250 grs GC cast bullets. Start about 20 grs. Should put you in the 959 - 1050 fps realm from a 16” barrel.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have a 10” 450 BM, still have not shot it yet

when it was on sale 3-4 years ago, I bought all the big 3’s 50BW, 458, 450.

my favorite so far is 50BW and 458!

so much fun in a Small light package

 

[beeenbag]

I have a 10” 450 BM, still have not shot it yet

I have a 7.5" barrel 450 and it is a hoot to shoot! It throws some massive fireballs but when shot over the chrono and into ballistics gel, it didn't perform much worse than my 18'' barrel. I was quite surprised.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have a 7.5" barrel 450 and it is a hoot to shoot! It throws some massive fireballs but when shot over the chrono and into ballistics gel, it didn't perform much worse than my 18'' barrel. I was quite surprised.

can’t wait to make a 450 loaded with 45ACP FMJ! should be a good squirrel load

 

[beeenbag]

the 300g hornady xtp mag bullet works well in the 450 and isn't too expensive when compared with the ftx bullet. I have yet to use any 45 acp bullets but I did email hornady about the use of standard xtp bullets in the 450 and they recommended sticking to the mag bullets due to the velocities and potential for the bullets to lose structural integrity mid flight.

 

[BreechFace]

I'm going the opposite direction. My 450 Bushmaster will get more premium projectiles, Hornady 250gr FTX, Speer 300gr SP, Makers 425 copper subsonic expanding.

My goals are to find a suitable cast bullet in the 425gr (+/- 25gr) preferably in .452" (don't think there is any) or .458 and swage them down. I know there is a 405gr Remington in .458 I believe, need to source some of those and see if they will size ok down to .452".

I bought into the 450 bushmaster with the intention of hunting with it, the only plinking I plan on doing is for sighting in or honing my subsonic dialing which is why I need to find a cheap cast bullet.

 

[AJC1]

Am I missing something? 2 times the speed of a 45acp is basically mag pistol territory. A hardcast bullet in the bhn 15 to 18 range should be cheap and easy.... a gas check may be warranted if it acts like the 454.

 

[BreechFace]

Am I missing something? 2 times the speed of a 45acp is basically mag pistol territory. A hardcast bullet in the bhn 15 to 18 range should be cheap and easy.... a gas check may be warranted if it acts like the 454.

This is his current best route for cheap plinking. It'll be really nice when there are some 400-600gr .452 castings to make some subsonic bullets for cheap. Are you listening Lee, Lyman and all the other casting suppliers.

 

[AJC1]

This is his current best route for cheap plinking. It'll be really nice when there are some 400-600gr .452 castings to make some subsonic bullets for cheap. Are you listening Lee, Lyman and all the other casting suppliers.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/product-category/452-454/452-508-rf-an5/

 

[BreechFace]

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/product-category/452-454/452-508-rf-an5/

Thank you for this, I've been searching but all the molds for .452 seem to end in the 300-350gr range.

I'll be contacting them to get on a list for that.

 

[Crosshair]

I have seen people using 45 acp bullets but not sure how they would hold up at rifle velocity

I have experience doing this with 9mm and 380 auto bullets.

At close range, treat HPs like you would a varmint bullet. They're not gonna hold together when they hit something. Sometimes the core holds together and gets good penetration. Test using 2-liter bottles full of water.

At longer range for this cartrige, where they have slowed down to their designed velocity range, they can perform extremely well. For example: If you know that your shots will be at 100-150 yards range, you can tailor the load accordingly using a ballistic calculator.

Usually you will get good to acceptable accuracy. Load a few and test first.

 

[AJC1]

Thank you for this, I've been searching but all the molds for .452 seem to end in the 300-350gr range.

I'll be contacting them to get on a list for that.

Depending on your available funds you can contact arsenal molds and they will make you exactly what you want. A single mold may be to slow for the volume you need to produce. I waaaaay prefer brass moulds even from noe. I use and prefer a two cavity moulds but some prefer 4 or even 6.

 

[BreechFace]

Depending on your available funds you can contact arsenal molds and they will make you exactly what you want. A single mold may be to slow for the volume you need to produce. I waaaaay prefer brass moulds even from noe. I use and prefer a two cavity moulds but some prefer 4 or even 6.

Contacted Arsenal. Thanks.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Am I missing something? 2 times the speed of a 45acp is basically mag pistol territory. A hardcast bullet in the bhn 15 to 18 range should be cheap and easy.... a gas check may be warranted if it acts like the 454.

You are missing out of the most fun a AR can be… especially for reloaders! PCC cry when the big Bore Flame thrower AR’s come out!

Never seen so many smiles on everyones face!

if you don’t mind polishing and buffing chambers BCA side chargers uppers are the way to go! Cheap and heavy quality

 

[Skeeter330]

You are missing out of the most fun a AR can be… especially for reloaders! PCC cry when the big Bore Flame thrower AR’s come out!

Never seen so many smiles on everyones face!

if you don’t mind polishing and buffing chambers BCA side chargers uppers are the way to go! Cheap and heavy quality

I have a BCA upper and i love it. I have only ran a box of ammo thru it but it was a lot of fun

 

[bigpower491]

I've been loading this cartridge for a bit now, and I have used some Cast Performance gas checked bullets in it. Not cheap, I know, but they did work quite well. I reckon you could load up some decent hard cast,but you'll certainly want a gas checked bullet with those powder charges. Lil Gun wasn't such a good performer with cast in my Ruger American, 22" barrel, but Accurate 9 certainly was. Jacketed bullets did much better with H110/W296 than Lil Gun in my rifle

 

[mcb]

I found Lil'gun worked well under lighter bullets. I got some pretty spectacular performance from Lil'gun pushing Barnes PBX 200gr all copper bullets. 2600 fps, 3000 ft-lbs and good accuracy from my 20-inch barrel. Recoil was sharp and the muzzle blast pretty harsh but it was a thumper.

 

[bigpower491]

I was using the 300gr Cast Performance,, and the 300gr Hornady XTP Mag