450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

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450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby PyroRobby » Wed Jul 10, 2019 2:40 pm

Looking for the next hog hunt and for the next size bullet with which to do my hog thumping.
Ammo that isn't the Hornady black 250 grain seems scarce and or pricey.

Anybody try this and what do you think: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain (https://bearcreekballistics.com/product ... rain-ammo/)

Everywhere I look for the Barnes 275 factory ammo I see discontinued. Does everybody with a 450B just reload?
Any recommendations for the best way to learn reloading, acquire the equipment and all that?

Oh look I just found this place, dang prices don't seem that bad either: (https://ammoseek.com/ammo/450-bushmaster)
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby Bmt85 » Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:01 pm

Hornady custom and black are the same. From everything I've seen, the Winchester 250gr is also the same. You now have Federal with a couple offerings and that's about it for affordable factory ammo. Don't waste your time with Remington. Accuracy isn't there and the bullet performance is subpar. After that, you have custom ammo made from small companies, and that can be pretty pricey. Only a few years ago, there was only Hornady and Remington offerings, that was it, so most of us got into reloading it. There is a wide variety of bullets available for the 450B, so IMHO, reloading makes sense. on top of that, you can reload plinking ammo with decent to excellent accuracy for much cheaper than factory ammo.

Reloading really isn't that hard, and you don't need a whole lot to get started. Start slow, and small, and work your way up. Whole lot of info and help available here and other places, depending on what your doing.

The 275 TSX Barnes factory load was never actually released. They for some reason decided to eventually release the bullet, but not ammo. Off the top of my head, only Black Butterfly offers the 275 XPB ammo.

That 285gr load is listed as a bolt action only load, and I think one or two people here have tried it. Can't remember for sure.
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby PyroRobby » Wed Jul 10, 2019 8:05 pm

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, nearly $3.00 a round gets pricey fast. Just bought a box of 20 and (2) x 5 - pack samples. Doesn't take many purchases like this to pay for loading equipment. I think I will be getting that .308 though (Savage MSR10), cheaper to operate and better range of utility. $.68 a round vs $2.75 a round and I am not really sure how well the .452 will punch through brush, then through a charging predator. Maybe once I start reloading the utility and cost of operation of the 450B will make it all workout just fine. The reason I decided to not use my shotgun as much is the cost of copper sabot slugs. Bites going to the range to maintain proficiency, fire 30 slugs and blow $100. Of course I don't mind firing one round and bring home 100 pounds of meat, so we shall see. Reloading does sound like a good hobby, just a little apprehensive because it is dangerous and I have zero experience with it. Although I was an A+ student in college in chemistry, across the 4 semesters I took those classes, so having a cook book and patience will probably work out just fine. Looking at this receipt and knowing I paid ~$200 for 150 rounds of that Hornady Black 250 grain, 30 rounds at ~$90 seems ... well kinda ouch like. Hunting ammo is expensive though and I want to figure out the reality of the 450B for hunting hogs, and practicality of using it in a self defense roll against large predators.

Item Name Description Qty Taxable Unit Price Item Total

Black Butterfly Ammunition, Pre BBA-450-275-BARNES XPB-SAMPLE P 1 N $13.74 (USD) $13.74 (USD)
Black Butterfly Ammunition, Pre BBA-450-250-P-GPM-HVHP-SAMPLE - 1 N $10.96 (USD) $10.96 (USD)
Black Butterfly Ammunition, Pre BBA-450-275-MAKER-HEX-1x20 -D-1 1 N $49.99 (USD) $49.99 (USD)
Shipping: $12.84 (USD)
Total: $87.53 (USD)
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby Hoot » Wed Jul 10, 2019 8:51 pm

For the cost of a Rock Chucker Master Press kit, which is on sale at Midway right now for $323 (might do better elsewhere) and free shipping offer for probably the rest of the week, along with a set of dies from my favorite online retailer ManVenture Outdoors for $49.71, You can recover the cost of your capital equipment in a couple of years if you like shooting as much as it sounds. Add to that is the fact that you can find recipes that match your rifle's characteristics and equal or exceed factory ammunition quality.

Of course, that's a lot of money up front, but so is a set of Dewault Power tools that will enable you to save countless amounts of money doing things yourself instead of hiring it out. You get the idea. I consider the time spent down in my reloading room to be quality time doing what I've grown to love.

Food for thought...

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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby PyroRobby » Wed Jul 10, 2019 9:46 pm

Hoot wrote:For the cost of a Rock Chucker Master Press kit, which is on sale at Midway right now for $323 (might do better elsewhere) and free shipping offer for probably the rest of the week, along with a set of dies from my favorite online retailer ManVenture Outdoors for $49.71, You can recover the cost of your capital equipment in a couple of years if you like shooting as much as it sounds. Add to that is the fact that you can find recipes that match your rifle's characteristics and equal or exceed factory ammunition quality.

Of course, that's a lot of money up front, but so is a set of Dewault Power tools that will enable you to save countless amounts of money doing things yourself instead of hiring it out. You get the idea. I consider the time spent down in my reloading room to be quality time doing what I've grown to love.

Food for thought...

Hoot


Thanks Hoot for the information on that sale. I shall do some more hunting maybe in a month, then again in the colder weather. Will test the results with the 275 grain and the 200 grain, non-lead options. If I get the devastation on a hog I am looking for, then the 450B will be a keeper for sure. The .308 I have always had a great affinity for, I sold the collectors rifle I had, so I know I am going to get another more modern version .308 too. Ammo is getting expensive anyway, so it is time to get into reloading. Having a 10mm, 450B and 308, merits reloading. Just need to figure out what I don't know, maybe look for a class that teaches the basics. This is Texas, should be easy enough to find a reloading instructor some place near me.
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby PyroRobby » Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:46 am

This is reassuring, have been wondering and wanting confirmation regarding a hunter's consensus to what is big enough for Texas hogs and does the 450B fall into the consensus of the master hunters.

(Article mentions opinion regarding 450B hog hunting)
https://brycetowsley.com/hunting/hoggish-opinions

(I just returned from an interesting trip in Texas where I tested the .450 Bushmaster with some engineering samples of the new Remington Hog Hammer ammo featuring the 275-grain Barnes XPB Bullet with an advertised muzzle velocity of 2,175 ft/s. I shot eight hogs, ranging from a large boar to a few eating-size pigs. I gotta say, the .450 Bushmaster is a true AR-15 hog hunting cartridge. I have some prior experience with the cartridge using the softer cup and core bullets that were previously available in factory loads. They were great for deer, but a bit soft for tough stuff like big hogs. The Barnes XPB Bullets that Remington is loading in the Hog Hammer Ammo change all that. The Barnes XPB Bullets expand to nearly double diameter and out of the nine hits all but one exited. I had to shoot largest boar a second time because I hit him too far back with a running shot the first time. The second bullet hit the shoulder and was lodged under the skin behind the opposite shoulder. All other bullets exited, as they should. Another bandwagon I never jumped on was “leave the bullet in the animal and dump all the energy.” I prefer a bullet to exit with a lot of remaining energy. That way the wound channel is large right to the exit. If I can get a long, large, hole through any critter I don’t care how much bullet energy is “wasted” on the ground behind them. Energy doesn’t kill big game animals, tissue damage does. That’s why I favor big, heavy bullets with plenty of power driving them for hunting hogs. AR-15 cartridges like the .450 Bushmaster with the new Hog Hunter ammo and Barnes XPB bullets are just about perfect.)

There was another article I read regarding shot placement, said heart shot with a proper round. This implies these hunters from this hog hunting group have blessed the 450B with 275 grain Barnes as "a hog rifle"? seems so to me.
Last edited by PyroRobby on Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby Al in Mi » Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:00 pm

I never seen that Remington ammo ever hit the shelves, was a lot of chatter and hype, then nothing.
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby teddy_d » Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:34 pm

PyroRobby wrote:This is reassuring, have been wondering and wanting confirmation regarding a hunter's consensus to what is big enough for Texas hogs and does the 450B fall into the consensus of the master hunters.

(Article mentions opinion regarding 450B hog hunting)
http://texaswildhoghunting.com/services.html

(I just returned from an interesting trip in Texas where I tested the .450 Bushmaster with some engineering samples of the new Remington Hog Hammer ammo featuring the 275-grain Barnes XPB Bullet with an advertised muzzle velocity of 2,175 ft/s. I shot eight hogs, ranging from a large boar to a few eating-size pigs. I gotta say, the .450 Bushmaster is a true AR-15 hog hunting cartridge. I have some prior experience with the cartridge using the softer cup and core bullets that were previously available in factory loads. They were great for deer, but a bit soft for tough stuff like big hogs. The Barnes XPB Bullets that Remington is loading in the Hog Hammer Ammo change all that. The Barnes XPB Bullets expand to nearly double diameter and out of the nine hits all but one exited. I had to shoot largest boar a second time because I hit him too far back with a running shot the first time. The second bullet hit the shoulder and was lodged under the skin behind the opposite shoulder. All other bullets exited, as they should. Another bandwagon I never jumped on was “leave the bullet in the animal and dump all the energy.” I prefer a bullet to exit with a lot of remaining energy. That way the wound channel is large right to the exit. If I can get a long, large, hole through any critter I don’t care how much bullet energy is “wasted” on the ground behind them. Energy doesn’t kill big game animals, tissue damage does. That’s why I favor big, heavy bullets with plenty of power driving them for hunting hogs. AR-15 cartridges like the .450 Bushmaster with the new Hog Hunter ammo and Barnes XPB bullets are just about perfect.)

There was another article I read regarding shot placement, said heart shot with a proper round. This implies these hunters from this hog hunting group have blessed the 450B with 275 grain Barnes as "a hog rifle"? seems so to me.


8-) Thanks for the information, I have a couple of questions.
1. What were the shooting distances?
2. Were shoulder blades or leg bones involved?
3. The hog requiring an additional shot what bones were involved with the second shot placement?
4. what was your typical point of aim?

Thanks in advance :mrgreen:
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby PyroRobby » Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:41 pm

teddy_d wrote:
PyroRobby wrote:This is reassuring, have been wondering and wanting confirmation regarding a hunter's consensus to what is big enough for Texas hogs and does the 450B fall into the consensus of the master hunters.

(Article mentions opinion regarding 450B hog hunting)
http://texaswildhoghunting.com/services.html

(I just returned from an interesting trip in Texas where I tested the .450 Bushmaster with some engineering samples of the new Remington Hog Hammer ammo featuring the 275-grain Barnes XPB Bullet with an advertised muzzle velocity of 2,175 ft/s. I shot eight hogs, ranging from a large boar to a few eating-size pigs. I gotta say, the .450 Bushmaster is a true AR-15 hog hunting cartridge. I have some prior experience with the cartridge using the softer cup and core bullets that were previously available in factory loads. They were great for deer, but a bit soft for tough stuff like big hogs. The Barnes XPB Bullets that Remington is loading in the Hog Hammer Ammo change all that. The Barnes XPB Bullets expand to nearly double diameter and out of the nine hits all but one exited. I had to shoot largest boar a second time because I hit him too far back with a running shot the first time. The second bullet hit the shoulder and was lodged under the skin behind the opposite shoulder. All other bullets exited, as they should. Another bandwagon I never jumped on was “leave the bullet in the animal and dump all the energy.” I prefer a bullet to exit with a lot of remaining energy. That way the wound channel is large right to the exit. If I can get a long, large, hole through any critter I don’t care how much bullet energy is “wasted” on the ground behind them. Energy doesn’t kill big game animals, tissue damage does. That’s why I favor big, heavy bullets with plenty of power driving them for hunting hogs. AR-15 cartridges like the .450 Bushmaster with the new Hog Hunter ammo and Barnes XPB bullets are just about perfect.)

There was another article I read regarding shot placement, said heart shot with a proper round. This implies these hunters from this hog hunting group have blessed the 450B with 275 grain Barnes as "a hog rifle"? seems so to me.


8-) Thanks for the information, I have a couple of questions.
1. What were the shooting distances?
2. Were shoulder blades or leg bones involved?
3. The hog requiring an additional shot what bones were involved with the second shot placement?
4. what was your typical point of aim?

Thanks in advance :mrgreen:


This specific article doesn't provide the details of each shot placement or distances, those are good questions.
After reading through several articles, it finally surface from those that tend to push the .270 and 30-06, and disfavor the AR15 rounds including the .223, 5.56 and 300 blackout, push for traditional heart shots, it was a happy moment to see them say they approved of the 450B in the 275 grain barnes. Most of those articles, which I am having trouble finding again at the moment, thought they would only use the 450B inside 100 yards, so that implies the traditionalist, that like heart shots and 30-06s, think the 450B 275 was acceptable for big hogs.

Here is the article, seems I posted the wrong link, corrected.
https://brycetowsley.com/hunting/hoggish-opinions

Sorry for the confusion, I just realized it might seem I was posting a link to where I hunted and then comments regarding results. The link of the hunting site was an error on my part, I think that is where I am going next and when I was reading the article which the parenthetical post was extracted from, it maybe seemed I was posting results I had from hunting there. That isn't the case, I meant to post the link to the article, which I extracted parenthetical post. Somehow I copied the link to where I have been considering my next hunt, instead of the link to the article. I updated the original post to show the intended link to the quoted article. Been trying to be sure next hog I shoot in a traditional manner from maybe 40 yards, I wind up with in my freezer. So I have been searching for opinions from master hunters, what drops a hog, do I need to use a different rifle or what is the reality of the 450B and big Texas hogs. Conclusion, I will continue on the path to the next hog with my 450B and the 275 grain ammo I have ordered.
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Re: 450 Bushmaster 285 Grain - is more better or less more

Postby teddy_d » Thu Jul 11, 2019 7:34 pm

I don't think you'll have any negative issues with that round shooting less than 150 yards at a large hog. Proper shot placement is everything imho. Enjoy TEXAS!
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