Has anyone tried loading for the 450 Bushmaster? I have a 16” bbl upper on order that will hopefully be here in less than two weeks. Current price is $789… I bought mine on a VERY short sale directly from Bushmaster for $499. Not bad! Especially considering the price of the separate pieces… upper receiver, bolt, carrier, handguard, barrel, etc. I mainly bought it to play around with, but I do have a twisted fantasy of f-ing up some pigs that are bound and determined to destroy our fields every chance they get. Grrrrr…

Anyway, I was thinking about the following loads using Hodgdon’s Lil’ Gun and a combination of bullets. For any “serious” big game (ie something I would actually eat), I think I will sick with the Hornady 250 gr. FTX. It has a thicker jacket than the other bullets I’ll mention next, so it should hold up to the alleged 2,200 fps launch and hopeful impact. I am very familiar with this bullet because it is the exact same one used with the SST sabot in my muzzleloader at 2,190 fps when using 3 pellets of Triple Seven or IMR White Hots. I don't want to sound like I'm braggin', but it has been very effective on deer so far, to say the least.

Data from Hornady:
www.hornady.com/assets/files/f...0_bushmaster_ftx.pdf



The next two choices would be purely for plinking purposes or devilishly smoking vermin. Overkill? You bet!

I can get data for the above 250 grain, but I don’t have anything for the following:

-Hornady 225 gr. FTX (.452 cal) - used in 45 Long Colt

-Hornady 240 gr. XTP (.452 cal) – used in the 454 Casull, 460 S&W, and the like

Using pistol bullets designed to work in markedly reduced velocities compared to the 450 Bushmaster will undoubtedly result in dramatic fragmentation of the thin skinned bullets. However, I think using pistol bullets is an ideal combination of both price and (theoretical) reduction of ricochets.

I think I can wing it for the 240, but do you think the Lil’ Gun can be used safely with the 225? The answer is likely yes, based upon readings of a guy who did his level best to blow up his gun with ever increasing maximums of powder. Using a 200 or 225 gr. bullet, a sandbagged rifle, a large oak tree, and a long string, he eventually got to around 55 grains before he couldn’t get any more powder into the case and still seat the bullet to magazine length. His velocities reached a plateau around 2,800-2,900 fps with no change from about 49 grains on up. Crazy bastard. He claimed there was no extractor groove expansion and no difficult extractions, malfunctions, flattened primers, or ejector marks. Whatever. I’m not gonna try it.

What do you think? Any suggestions or recommendations?

Hornady 240 gr. XTP (.452 cal)



Hornady 225 gr. FTX (.452 cal)