450Bushmaster.net

I went to the range last weekend to check out my new MagnetoSpeed V3 chronograph. I also wanted to find out velocity and check pressure of some hand loads from my RAR 450BM.
I shot 15 rounds of Barnes 200gr XPB bullets over Lil-Gun and CCI 450 primers. I started with 40gr at 2447 FPS and ended with 47gr at 2583 FPS.
Next I shot 7 rounds of Hornady 240gr XTP Mag bullets over Lil-Gun with CCI 450 primers. I started with 34gr at 2156 FPS and ended with 37gr at 2306 FPS.
Next I shot 7 rounds of Hornady 240gr XTP Mag bullets over H110 with CCI 450 primers. I started with 36gr at 2039 FPS and ended with 39gr at 2230 FPS.
Lastly I shot 10 rounds of Barnes 275gr XPB bullets over H110 with CCI 450 primers. I started with 36gr at 1952 FPS and ended with 40.5gr at 2245 FPS.
I only shot 7 rounds each of the Hornady 240gr strings as Hornady recommended that they shouldn't be loaded over 2200 FPS.
I had no signs of over pressure by checking primers or over swelling of case above case head which I measured with a blade micrometer.
The chronograph worked great with no missed shots. I hope this information will be useful for anyone wanting to reload for the 450 Bushmaster in the Ruger American Ranch.

yup! once you dial them in, that magnetospeed is a great tool.


manipulating the data can be a bit of a chore once you have the card in your PC due to its saving format, but otherwise i love the hell out of mine.

Is there any chance that you could find c.o.l of these loads from some notes of yours?

CJP1 wrote:I went to the range last weekend to check out my new MagnetoSpeed V3 chronograph. I also wanted to find out velocity and check pressure of some hand loads from my RAR 450BM.
I shot 15 rounds of Barnes 200gr XPB bullets over Lil-Gun and CCI 450 primers. I started with 40gr at 2447 FPS and ended with 47gr at 2583 FPS.
Next I shot 7 rounds of Hornady 240gr XTP Mag bullets over Lil-Gun with CCI 450 primers. I started with 34gr at 2156 FPS and ended with 37gr at 2306 FPS.
Next I shot 7 rounds of Hornady 240gr XTP Mag bullets over H110 with CCI 450 primers. I started with 36gr at 2039 FPS and ended with 39gr at 2230 FPS.
Lastly I shot 10 rounds of Barnes 275gr XPB bullets over H110 with CCI 450 primers. I started with 36gr at 1952 FPS and ended with 40.5gr at 2245 FPS.
I only shot 7 rounds each of the Hornady 240gr strings as Hornady recommended that they shouldn't be loaded over 2200 FPS.
I had no signs of over pressure by checking primers or over swelling of case above case head which I measured with a blade micrometer.
The chronograph worked great with no missed shots. I hope this information will be useful for anyone wanting to reload for the 450 Bushmaster in the Ruger American Ranch.

was 47gr at the top end right? just not a lot of velocity gain for 7gr.

But this was the way it went down cjp does it well

swampbug wrote:But this was the way it went down cjp does it well

Al's right in questioning the non linear velocity change for such a charge change. I've never seen Lil Gun behave that way over the past 8 years myself in this caliber. I have seen plateaus span a grain change but usually not more than that. I usually wrote it off to inconsistent neck tension. I have however seen similar behavior with slower burning powders in bottleneck calibers. Its actually useful for spotting an accuracy node, which usually occurs by backing away from the flat topped charge a little, FWIW. It just goes to show that you never have it all figured out.

Hoot

This is going to be lengthy but here goes. Aug. 15 I went to range with unknown charges because of Pact powder dispenser/scale puking. Infared between the two wasn't working right as I found out later when testing old and new scale against each other. Pact doesn't repair them anymore. Aug. 23 I loaded 96 rounds with 3 different bullets with the Pact dispenser/scale. Still no knowing that there was anything wrong with Pact equipment or loaded rounds until I took other rifles to the range on Sept. 10 with known powder charges and had excessive pressure signs. Between Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 I pulled all 96 bullets that I loaded on Aug 23. because I didn't know how much powder was in each round as I had been using the Pact equipment. I purchased new RCBS ChargeMaster Lite Scale and dispenser combination. It arrived Sept 15. but I didn't reload any rounds right away. I don't know exact dates that I reloaded the 96 rounds with my new RCBS equipment. I went to the range on Oct. 29 but only tested the 200gr loads as I was running out of daylight. That is when I found 47gr. of Lil-Gun to be most accurate load with the Barnes 200 gr. XPB bullets, CCI 450 SR Mag. primers and new Hornady brass out of my RAR. I hope this clears things up for everyone.

I returned to the range on Thursday Dec. 27th to test my loads of Hornady 240gr XTP Mags and Lil-Gun. I had to go over the Hornady recommended MV of 2200 FPS to get my most accurate load. It was 37.0 gr. of Lil-Gun at 2332FPS. I'm going back to the range tomorrow to sight-in with my 200gr XPB loads and my Leupold VX2 3-9X40 scope for a Jan. late doe hunt in Southern Alpena County here in MI. I already know what kind of devastation the 200gr bullets cause with a head shot. I want to know how they perform on a broadside shot.

keep in mind, you'll want to test those loads again come late spring/early summer.

lil gun isnt super temp sensative that i'm aware of, but its not one of the 'extreme' powders either thats temp-insensative. you could easily do some restesting with 2 or 3 shot strings of the lower charges you tested to see how much of a difference you get

plant_one,
I'll probably wait until just before the early doe season before testing again as it could be quite warm at that time of year.