Explain the purpose of 450BM

jmccracken1214

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Ive known about the round for a good while but never gave it any thought... And here I sit for who knows why, watching videos about it.. in AR's and bolt guns... Cool round for sure.

What is the purpose of this? I havent done math, but im betting factory ammo aint cheap and probably cant handload all that cheap either. I see it great for hunting, but does it really serve a purpose outside of that? Max effective range, is what? 250?
 
For a while there were a ton of new cartridges being created and wildcats being made official. It's an evolving process to make something bigger and better..... I think...…. the 450 Bushmaster one of the first 45 caliber heavy bullets that could be used in an AR, that was it's niche. Around the same time the 458 SoCom and the 50 Boewolf came around that would fill a similar role .

In a bolt gun..... there are lots of other cartridges that will do the same thing, but given the size of the cartridge, it's easy to make it fit into bolt rifle action. Since it's factory cartridge, and a company can make it fit into a rifle, make some and see if they sell! It's impossible to know if a new cartridge will get popular or not, but you don't know until you try.

Oh yeah...…. a 250 grain bullet at 2000 fps or so.... no more than 200 yards would be practical.
 
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I had a 450BM and sold that sucker after shooting it 3 rounds. It kicked like a mule and was not what I wanted.
 
The people I know who have 450 and 458 AR's use them to hog hunt. After taking 3 soft point 270's to anchor my hog, they may be on to something.
 
I wanted one. One problem is bullet choice, 45 cal bullets are of a pistol design. A 46 cal (like a 45-70 & 458 SOCOM) have bullets designed for higher velocity and penetration.
 
Big bore ARs are simply put, a BUNCH of fun to shoot, I went with .458 Socom for my boomer and it puts a smile on the face of everyone that shoots it!

IMO you really can’t go wrong with any of the big bore calibers, the 450BM, .50 Beowulf or .458 Socom all have advantages and disadvantages for one reason or another but all three cartridges will take everything from deer, pigs to large bears out to 200 yards with ease.

You’re welcome to take my .458 Socom for a spin if you want to shoot a boomer before you build one.
 
The people I know who have 450 and 458 AR's use them to hog hunt. After taking 3 soft point 270's to anchor my hog, they may be on to something.
After 3 270s I bet your problem ain't the bullet, it's where you are putting the bullet. I use a 62gr 5.56 out of a 7.5in barrel. Out of 10 that I shot, 9 of them were DRT the 10th was my fault, bullet didn't go where I wanted it to go, the follow up one did though.
 
Ive known about the round for a good while but never gave it any thought... And here I sit for who knows why, watching videos about it.. in AR's and bolt guns... Cool round for sure.

What is the purpose of this? I havent done math, but im betting factory ammo aint cheap and probably cant handload all that cheap either. I see it great for hunting, but does it really serve a purpose outside of that? Max effective range, is what? 250?

To sell stuff that people don't already have?
 
I wanted one. One problem is bullet choice, 45 cal bullets are of a pistol design. A 46 cal (like a 45-70 & 458 SOCOM) have bullets designed for higher velocity and penetration.


You can get some extremely serious .45 handgun bullets today. That will do just as well as the .458s available at the velocities 45/70 and 458 Socom can run............ Take a look at the Raptors and Solids from CEB (Cutting Edge Bullets) and from North Fork there are some expanding CPS (Cup Point Solids).

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I have a 450 BM upper coming soon along with an updated Hornady loading manual and some Redding dies, I got some Starline cases from UPS today and have plenty of 452 jacketed bullets of various configurations. It should be interesting. I have not searched too much for loading data but did see some data that called for H110. I have some of that. What other powders would you folks suggest. The upper will probably go on a Rock River lower. Do I need to change spring or buffer to make it work well? I get the idea from several sources that the ones that came with the rifle will do fine. Also, where can I get magazines that hold more than 4 or 5 rounds? Can I just get new followers and use the bodies of some of the magazines I use for 223? And advice is appreciated.
 
I took it out yesterday and shot about 30 rounds of factory and handloads. What a hoot. No glitches. I still have to fine tune my sight in settings and get the components I really want to use, but so far so good.
 
Allows people in states with a "straightwall cartrige regulation" to use the AR platform.


Beat me to it. Last time I was in Michigan I helped a couple buddies that most would call FUDDS build their first ARs using this caliber. Southern Michigan requires straight walled cartridges for deer.
 
Beat me to it. Last time I was in Michigan I helped a couple buddies that most would call FUDDS build their first ARs using this caliber. Southern Michigan requires straight walled cartridges for deer.
Help me out, what is the logic behind the straight wall cartridges for deer?
 
Help me out, what is the logic behind the straight wall cartridges for deer?
I was curious as well, so did a search. Seems like it’s that way in quite a few places. Best explanation I could find was this:

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Help me out, what is the logic behind the straight wall cartridges for deer?


Growing up there it was always “pistol, shotgun or muzzleloader only” in Southern MI. It was also illegal to hunt from an elevated platform/stand.

The “logic” was that in the more densely populated areas these were the safer options.

Eventually, after I moved here, elevated platforms were allowed in the hopes that a downward trajectory would improve safety. And, improved opportunity to actually harvest game was meant to bring more hunters out.

The “straight walled rifles” rule was intended to allow PCC weapons - .357, .44mag, etc. - with the intent of getting more hunters in the field after years of declining numbers.

Then....folks got creative and made bigger and better straight walled cartridges. The beauty of a market meeting a demand.
 
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