using 200 grain bullits in 450

Talk about the AR15 style rifles chambered in 450 Bushmaster.

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using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby tackleberry63 » Thu May 15, 2014 9:39 am

I am a new guy here I have a 450 and I am looking for any insight on using 200 gr bullets to shoot longer distance for hunting. I am trying to reach the 300 yard max
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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby Hoot » Thu May 15, 2014 6:51 pm

I've had great luck reloading using both the 200gr Hornady FTX and Barnes XPB. The 225 FTX will serve you well also, at about half the price of the 200 or 250. Most 450b bullets are lethal to 200 yds and some members use them beyond that distance. The 200s do hustle downrange a little faster than their heavier siblings. With careful load progression, out of the full size 20" barrel, you can kick them up to around 2500fps.

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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby tackleberry63 » Thu May 15, 2014 9:38 pm

Thanks for the info what powder do you use on the 200 and 225 I would also need the grains so I can try to make some as I am new to reloading this caliber 8-)
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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby Hoot » Fri May 16, 2014 4:02 am

tackleberry63 wrote:Thanks for the info what powder do you use on the 200 and 225 I would also need the grains so I can try to make some as I am new to reloading this caliber 8-)


You can skip the foreplay and go right to 38gr of Lil Gun as a starting load. It is the perfect powder for this caliber across the greatest range of bullet weights. I don't prefer it at bullet weights above 275gr, but that leaves you a lot of bullets to choose from. I prefer using Remington 7 1/2 primers also. Meticulous attention to detail WRT case prep and the all important crimp will pay off in maximum accuracy. manventureoutpost.com has great prices on bullets, with reasonably priced and expedient shipping. Remember to post your range results. We eat that up. ;)

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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby tackleberry63 » Fri May 16, 2014 6:23 am

I'll start at 38 grains since I have a pound of lil gun powder on hand, what should be a safe max load.
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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby Hoot » Fri May 16, 2014 7:34 am

tackleberry63 wrote:I'll start at 38 grains since I have a pound of lil gun powder on hand, what should be a safe max load.


I forgot to mention that this thread would be better placed in the Reloading for the 450b sub-forum.

As for maximum safe load, as a matter of personal practice, I do not make that call. Some reloaders are lazy and will skip right to the posted maximum load, rather than work up to it while carefully watching for signs of excessive pressure. That topic has been covered ad nauseum in the aforementioned sub-forum. Though very similar, no two rifles are the same in terms of fit and adherence to spec. What is safe in your rifle may not be safe in mine and vise versa. 38gr of LG will put you right in the sweet zone for accuracy and more power than the bullet needs for optimum expansion. This caliber is very effective at moderate load levels. I have posted reloading results in great detail for all three FTX bullets over in the aforementioned sub-forum, along with in-depth reloading results for the Barnes 200 and 275 XPB bullets.

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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby tackleberry63 » Fri May 16, 2014 7:43 am

Thanks for the info I will check the other post and use this load data in my 20 inch bushy and see how it performs.
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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby pitted bore » Fri May 16, 2014 8:25 am

.
For tackleberry63 and other interested persons:

Be aware that Barnes manufactures two very different bullets that are both labeled "XPB Bullets 451 Diameter 200 Grain Solid Copper Hollow Point".

One of these was developed for the 45 Colt revolver; the other for the 460 S&W revolver. It's likely that Hoot was referring to the bullet for the 460 S&W, which has a nice pointy nose. The 45 Colt bullet has a gaping flying-ashtray type of hollow point.

The 45 Colt bullet has a Barnes product number of 30556. The 460 S&W bullet is numbered 30554.

Below are some images linked from Midway USA, which at the moment has both bullets available. Be sure when you order the bullets from whatever source that you are ordering the correct one for your intended use.

--Bob
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#30554 - 460 S&W
Image
.
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#30556 - 45 Colt
Image
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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby Hoot » Fri May 16, 2014 6:21 pm

pitted bore wrote:.
...snip... It's likely that Hoot was referring to the bullet for the 460 S&W, which has a nice pointy nose. The 45 Colt bullet has a gaping flying-ashtray type of hollow point....snip


That's correct. I've never tried those blunt hollow points. I don't recall ever hearing about them until now though. As Bob said, always make certain what you want is what you're ordering. I bought some Barnes 30 cal 110gr Tac TX bullets for my 7.62x40WT and they wound up being for the 300 BO. They would not fit in my mags until I seated them below the ogive, which was a non-starter. Always do your homework.

BTW manventureoutpost has those 200gr XPB for 32% less cost than Midway and they're also in stock. Regardless of where you buy them, they are not cheap, but they sure do perform. Image

Image

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Re: using 200 grain bullits in 450

Postby pitted bore » Fri May 16, 2014 9:05 pm

Hoot wrote: ... I don't recall ever hearing about them until now though. As Bob said, always make certain what you want is what you're ordering. I bought some Barnes 30 cal Th110gr Tac TX bullets for my 7.62x40WT and they wound up being for the 300 BO. They would not fit in my mags until I seated them below the ogive, which was a non-starter. Always do your homework. ...

I learned about the existence of the 45 Colt bullets the hard way. A year ago I was trying to find the 460 S&W version on line when most Barnes .451 bullets were out of stock everywhere. I managed to find some 451 200-grain Barnes bullets at a relatively obscure on-line vendor, I got excited, and submitted the order really rapidly. I was unhappy when the bullets arrived, but the merchant supplied only what I'd ordered. OOOPS! So, now I've got two full boxes of the deep & wide hollow point 45 Colt version.

They might be really fine performers for some subsonic shooting, but probably not for normal 450B velocities, and definitely not for the higher velocities I use with the bolt rifles. They would be spectacular for plinking at grapefruit or watermelon at high velocity, but at $0.80 to $1.00 per bullet, I'll pass on that endeavor.
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