New to the forum and the .450

[Kev_lar]

Hi everyone. I just recently picked up a .450 upper from Mifway and am basically trying to learn all I can about this new platform. I have owned a number of 5.56 ARs over the years, a couple I bought as complete rifles but the vast majority have been assembled peacemeal over time. My .450 however is sitting on a DPMS lower with magpul furniture. My current optic is an eotech, but I am really leaning towards a scope.

I have been hunting with a Browning BPS 12 gauge with a rifled barrel for the past 20 years. I have taken quite a few deer with it here in Michigan. I was introduced to the .450 last year at a fun store and decided it was time to make the switch.

With that being said, is there anything off the bat that I should be aware of? I haven't even had a chance to run any rounds thru her yet. From what I have read here is to expect a break-in period (which is typical of a lot of firearms) and so I have been slowly accumulating a decent amount of ammo in the meantime.

I plan on feeding her an exclusive diet of Hornandy SSTs since I don't currently do any reloading

Thanks for the advice!

-Kevin

[plant_one]

welcome from michigan

[commander faschisto]

Welcome to the asylum! You'll be amazed by the power and accuracy of the 450b...you chose wisely. As for optics, that'll depend on the shot distances you usually run into, of course. Your Eotech is probably just fine for shorter distances in heavy cover, and it can be extended with a magnifier if you more often shoot medium-ish distances in more open areas. The somewhat limiting thing with a red dot optic is the dot covering more and more of the target, which appears to get smaller as the range increases. If you decide to switch to a scope, usual shooting distances are the guide once again...for short to medium distance I use a 1.5-5X variable, and for medium to longer shots I'll use a 3-9X variable. The 450b is capable of taking deer-type stuff with no major sighting fuss out to 200 yds, and can go much farther out than that if you learn the hold-over adjustments.

As with any magazine-fed semi-auto shootin' iron, the key to happiness is the magazine(s)...Brand new rigs occasionally have a problem with following-shot feed reliability from random new magazines. Just as a quick rule of thumb for the 450b, load up your mags with a few rounds each, then check the front-to-back orientation of the top cartridge relative to the side of the mag. The 450b wants to be fed with the bullet tip pointing slightly upward, "slightly" being a judgement call. We have pics somewhere in the threads here that show what it should look like...I'll add them here if I can find them. What you want to avoid is having the top cartridge either perfectly level, or pointing too far up. Kind of like The Three Bears porridge...it needs to be "just right" before the 450b will eat it.

Have fun...you'll be glad you bought it!

[Kev_lar]

Thanks for the welcome and the input! I am hunting from an elevated blind overlooking a crop field up in the Thumb. Last year it was Winter wheat I think..I could easily go out to 300 yards, but all of my kills have been much closer. I got a nice solid 8point last season and he was about 40 yards away. One season I shot a doe that was so close I saw the slug impact and then the wadding hit her. I have never actually shot anything at any kind of real distance. Every deer I have ever taken has been under 100 yards.

There is a thicket of overgrown cedars behind me that the deer tend to move through quite a bit, I have just never taken anything in it.

Last season after taking the 8point, the following day I figured I would fill my doe tag. I saw a nice looking girl out in the distance but when I went to zoom in on her with the el cheapo Tasco I had on my shotgun, the whole dang reticle turned clockwise with the zoom. I was amazed the zero held the previous day to work the first time to be honest. So instead of buying a new optic, I bought a whole new gun instead.

[commander faschisto]

I understand...what else could you do?

[Seedyn]

Save all that brass. It is not easy to come by. I built mine 450 bushy in January and I do reload. I have found the factory 250 ftx actually give me the best 5 shot groups consistently below .75 inches with a couple groups below .5". I actually have not achieved this same level of accuracy yet with my handloads although my last batch of ladder loads using 225gr ftx's was looking like I might have a couple loads nearing .5". Like you I am looking forward to putting my 12 gauge away this fall and hunting some of the open fields I hunt in Western Michigan.

[TonyRumore]

I think the only issue you might have with the 450 is magazines. The cartridge is really too small in diameter to feed correctly in many standard AR-15 magazines. I have a few D&H Arms magazines that work perfectly, but when I bought another batch, the mag lips are farther apart and don't work well. Even "factory" 450 mags can have issues.

Tony

[Cutright]

I too live in MI and was able to use the 450 last season. There is a very good thread here on choosing optics. I put a 2-7x ML scope on it and the hash marks line up perfectly with 250gr factory loads out to 300yds. The accuracy with this round was so impressive that I wish I had more magnification to dial in reloads, but for strictly hunting the 2-7 is perfect

[BayShoreBallistics]

I have built a number of 450's and so far I have not had any real issues of reliability. For my own hunting rig I have used both a modified magpul 20 round magazine (not recommended) and a Bushmaster 5 round factory mag. Last fall I built a rifle and had less than 10 rounds through the pipe before taking a nice buck at about 100 yards. I have not experienced any issues during break in at all. Prior to that I took two does during the early doe season with a different 450 that I built for a buddy and had not delivered it to him yet. That one had less than 20 rounds of testing before harvesting the does.

This is a great caliber for those in the southern part of the state that had been restricted to muzzies and shotguns. I would not suggest using a 450 to hunt deer with beyond the 250 yd range. It is really a good 200 yard and under caliber using factory Hornady ammunition though. Congratulations on your purchase.

[commander faschisto]

If you want to try a polymer mag that we know works well with the 450b...these used to be sold as SIG-556 mags...the link below is to one source of IMI Defense mags, which are exactly the same as the old SIG-556s. They generally work right out of the box, with no modifications needed, although I have not tried the IMI yet, but have one on order to check it out. Another reviewer I read said they work just fine:

https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product ... rom=Search