Windham Weaponry

Talk about the AR15 style rifles chambered in 450 Bushmaster.

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Windham Weaponry

Postby wild_weasel » Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:12 pm

Hello,

Just ordered a 450 Bushmaster Upper Kit from Windham Weaponry and reloading components from MidwayUSA. I took advantage of the generous Military/Veteran discount of 10% Off and Free Shipping offered by Windham. For reloading I'll be using H110, Lil'Gun, Hornady 230gr .451 FMJ & 250gr .452 FTX bullets, Starline brass, and Lee Dies w/Factory Crip.

Cheers,
W-W
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Wed Mar 14, 2018 9:10 pm

Welcome aboard!
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby wild_weasel » Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:58 pm

Hello,

I'm very pleased with my Windham 450B kit. It mated perfectly to a S&W lower that I have built up with a standard rifle length buffer tube & buffer; I also added a set of Magpul 'poly' sights, that I zeroed before installing. The magazine provided with the kit was a 20 round 5.56mm Okay magazine, which looks to be built on Viet Nam era tooling, fitted with a blue single shot follower and a pop rivet added to the spine to limit it to 5 rounds of 450B. Since factory ammo was unavailable in my area I hand loaded 25 each of the following using Lee dies w/ factory crimp. 1) 250gr Hornady FTX, Starline brass, CCI #41 srp, 37gr Lil'Gun 2) 230gr FMJ, Starline brass, CCI #41 srp, 37gr Lil'Gun. At the local indoor range (25 yards) after minor adjustments to the sights both rounds shot to the same point of aim, there were no failures to feed or extract. One of the reasons I chose the 450B over the 458 Socom was the potential to use 230gr FMJ (45ACP) bullets to reload inexpensive plinking ammo, which in my case the Windham 4150 1:24 barrel shoots accurately.

Cheers,
W-W
Last edited by wild_weasel on Fri Apr 20, 2018 5:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:18 pm

wild_weasel wrote:Hello,

I'm very pleased with my Windham 450B kit. It mated perfectly to a S&W lower that I have built up with a rifle length buffer tube & buffer; I also added a set of Magpul 'poly' sights, that I zeroed before installing. The magazine provided with the kit was a Viet Nam era 20 round 5.56mm Okay magazine fitted with a blue single shot follower and a pop rivet added to the spine to limit it to 5 rounds of 450B. Since factory ammo was unavailable in my area I hand loaded 25 each of the following using Lee dies w/ factory crimp. 1) 250gr Hornady FTX, Starline brass, CCI #41 srp, 37gr Lil'Gun 2) 230gr FMJ, Starline brass, CCI #41 srp, 37gr Lil'Gun. At the local indoor range (25 yards) both round shot to the same point of aim with minor adjustments to the sights, there were no failures to feed or extract. One of the reasons I chose the 450B over the 458 Socom was the potential to use 230gr FMJ (45ACP) bullets to reload inexpensive plinking ammo, which in my case the Windham 4150 5R barrel shoots accurately.

Cheers,
W-W

Welcome. You’ll find another accuracy node around 39.5 grains of LilGun if you use the LeGendre side crimp. Take a moment and check out my range reports. Although I would not advise going above 40.0 grains of LilGun, like I did. They have plenty of killing power at 40.0 grains of LilGun.
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:20 pm

wild_weasel wrote:Hello,

I'm very pleased with my Windham 450B kit. It mated perfectly to a S&W lower that I have built up with a rifle length buffer tube & buffer; I also added a set of Magpul 'poly' sights, that I zeroed before installing. The magazine provided with the kit was a Viet Nam era 20 round 5.56mm Okay magazine fitted with a blue single shot follower and a pop rivet added to the spine to limit it to 5 rounds of 450B. Since factory ammo was unavailable in my area I hand loaded 25 each of the following using Lee dies w/ factory crimp. 1) 250gr Hornady FTX, Starline brass, CCI #41 srp, 37gr Lil'Gun 2) 230gr FMJ, Starline brass, CCI #41 srp, 37gr Lil'Gun. At the local indoor range (25 yards) both round shot to the same point of aim with minor adjustments to the sights, there were no failures to feed or extract. One of the reasons I chose the 450B over the 458 Socom was the potential to use 230gr FMJ (45ACP) bullets to reload inexpensive plinking ammo, which in my case the Windham 4150 5R barrel shoots accurately.

Cheers,
W-W




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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby wild_weasel » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:42 pm

Dawg,

Great read on reloading and shooting 230gr (45ACP) FMJ bullets. With my loads using Hornady 230gr FMJ-RN, 37gr Lil'Gun, CCI #41 srp, and the Lee Factory Crimp die I'm getting no pressure signs on the primer and soot free cases. I cannot wait to get out to Angeles Shooting Range and try my loads at 100 yards, then tweak the 230gr FMJ's to the same point of impact as my 250gr FTX's.

Cheers,
W-W
Last edited by wild_weasel on Fri Apr 20, 2018 5:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby Bmt85 » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:44 pm

Are you sure it's a 1:24 5R barrel. I checked there website and they say 6 groove 1:24. Only company I know of making a 5R 450B is Satern, and they are 1:20 twist.
Also glad to hear the handloads are working out. While your experimenting try some of the Sierra 230gr FMJ and Nosler 230gr Flat Points. I played with pistol bullets a bit and found those were a bit more accurate. The Sierra are .4515 diameter instead of the usual .451 or less. The Noslers are .451 diameter, but have a longer bearing surface. While those 2 options are more expensive, they usually give better results, and still cheaper than basically any bullet option for .458 Socom.
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby Bmt85 » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:48 pm

Texas Sheepdawg wrote:Welcome. You’ll find another accuracy node around 39.5 grains of LilGun if you use the LeGendre side crimp. Take a moment and check out my range reports. Although I would not advise going above 40.0 grains of LilGun, like I did. They have plenty of killing power at 40.0 grains of LilGun.


Just double checking your numbers Sheepdawg. I seem to remember I needed at least 40gr of Lilgun in my 16" Bushmaster factory upper, just to stop hangfires. And I think at least 36 or 38gr of Lilgun in my Tromix. That's using .451 bullets, and having no pressure signs. Although, you mentioned the Side crimp, which I don't do on the pistol bullets.
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:30 pm

Remember that your twist rates are gonna dictate a lot. I wouldn’t exceed 40.0 grains of Lil Gun in a 1:16 twist in any format, be it AR or pistol or bolt action. And I’ve since backed way off on the loads for my 1:24 twist as well. But each chamber is different. So everyone needs to start low and work up slowly watching for pressure signs. That stuff I was loading back four or five years ago shot okay in my original 20” Bushmaster upper but it was definitely starting to show pressure signs. And in my 1:16” bolt action and single shot from BK guns, that load was insanely too damn hot. 2700 FPS, shot 8” higher than normal at 50 yards and had to use a wooden dowel and hammer to eject the shell. Pressure signs indicated “OMG, it went Nuclear”......
As for the hangfires, that’s why I depend on the LeGendre side crimp. It helps get the powder cooking.
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Re: Windham Weaponry

Postby wild_weasel » Fri Apr 20, 2018 5:08 am

Hello,

I stand corrected the barrel my Windham upper is 6 groove 1:24. I'm using the latest Hornady X manual for guidance.

Cheers,
W-W
Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
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