450Bushmaster.net

Hey gents, new here and thought I'd start by saying there's a ton of awesome
Info on the forum. Really appreciate the trials and errors that have been shared for learning purposes.

Now onto my issue. I recently got into the 450BM game and am very impressed. I'm shooting the ruger American 16" barrel. I'm a handloader and have done countless hours of reading and research to find that perfect bullet for large whitetail and black bear. I know many of you may say just get one into the pump station and it doesn't matter what bullet you're using, and I agree to a point. My thought process is, I hunt in northern New York where deer are few and far between. But if the stars are alighted just right, when you do see a buck, its a beaut. I don't want that time to come and that deer standing at 150 yards and not shoot because he isn't broad side.

Not a real issue right? There's 10 bullets on the market that will achieve that goal! Well hang on.

Part two of my condundrum. I want to find a bullet that I can achieve max energy and is "flat shooting" in the world of 450BM.

So from my research Iv discovered a lot of the load data that is published is for AR style actions, which are not built to handle the pressures that a bolt gun can. So I don't think it'd be a dangerous venture to exceed max load data, in small increments checking for pressure signs of course.

Iv considered the Bonded Shock wave but didn't like the reviews on that. The 200gr XPB seems decent but I'm not thrilled with its 150 yard performance. I love how the FTX's group however I have had jacket separation on almost all of my test shots into wet news paper. My next attempt with be the Harvester Scorpion PT gold in 260gr.

So again, I understand I may be trying to accomplish the unaccompishable and at this point I'm just trying to get every bit of performance I can out of this awesome round. If anyone has any guidance or input or experience or has been on this same search any opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks guys!

What about Barnes TSX. They make a 275 gr bullet specifically for 450BM. That bullet will not loose its jacket since it has a monolithic construction. Though it might not be the flattest shooting given its weight.

Flatness is nice but I will take tight groups and consistency over a flat trajectory that is not consistent any day. With a good ballistic-reticule scope and a range finder you can compensate for an arcing trajectory.

mcb wrote:What about Barnes TSX. They make a 275 gr bullet specifically for 450BM. That bullet will not loose its jacket since it has a monolithic construction. Though it might not be the flattest shooting given its weight.

Flatness is nice but I will take tight groups and consistency over a flat trajectory that is not consistent any day. With a good ballistic-reticule scope and a range finder you can compensate for an arcing trajectory.

Barnes TEZ or TMZ muzzleloader are a good choice. I've shot a bunch of the TEZ from my 460 Encore, just not much of a boat tail fan like on the TMZ

Part of bullet selection is picking a mission. If you will be engaging that "turdy point buck" out at 100 yds and beyond, its hard to beat the 200gr FTX. Inside of 100 yards then the 200gr XPB. Either one will put 5-shots inside a silver dollar at 100 yds, and you can hustle them up to 2500fps without getting into excessive pressure signs. That's in a 1:24 AR upper. Might take some experimenting to get them to where a 1:16 bolt action is sweet on them, but not much. One added benefit is its easy to recover from a shot and get back on tagert if you have to, than with heavier bullets. Keep in mind that the frontal area is the same regardless of weight. My go-to deer load is the 200 XPB at 2500fps, but then my hunting is in fairly thick woods. I've never been afforded a shot beyond 75 yds in my entire hunting career up here. The challenge is when you have to cover both close up and far off.

Hoot

You may consider the Hornady 45 caliber 250 grain Monoflex they make for muzzle loaders. Slightly longer than the lead core FTX, but shoot about same. Wish Hornady would offer these as components. So far they come with a sabot making them pricey. Sometimes Midway has them as factory seconds. (not enough)!!

To the guys shooting the 200gr XPB and FTX, are you seeing consistent pass theoughs? And what's the result if you've experienced a shoulder hit?

IMHO, if you want a bullet that will expand at longer distances, go for the 275 TSX. Minimum velocity of 1200fps. Used one on a 220lb black bear in Maine and it was incredible. It was only at about 40yds, though. I think a member here shot a doe at 150yds with really good results.

As to the 200gr xpb, I have used it with great results. It was only a button buck at about 20-25yds, but it still did better then I guessed for the angle I hit him at. Complete pass through, while taking out a rib going in and coming out. I would have no problem taking anything up to (and including) black bear with this bullet out to 100yds.

I have no experience with the 200gr ftx, but a guy I see at work from time to time does. He uses a TC Encore in 460S&W and only runs that bullet. He usually takes deer at 60-120yds, IIRC. He loves the performance.

Even if you go below the expansion threshold on any bullet for the 450B, its still a 45cal projectile punching through.