450Bushmaster.net

I’m contemplating breaking out my rifle press to reload 450 Bushmaster. Factory is way too expensive. Even if I hunt with factory ammo, I’d like to be able to spend some range time for less than a buck-something a shot!

But Hornady FTX bullets make the reloading price much less competitive. Still want to shoot a jacketed bullet, but for target practice I don’t need the same expansion. What can i use for punching holes in paper for less?

Smithjdsr wrote:I’m contemplating breaking out my rifle press to reload 450 Bushmaster. Factory is way too expensive. Even if I hunt with factory ammo, I’d like to be able to spend some range time for less than a buck-something a shot!

But Hornady FTX bullets make the reloading price much less competitive. Still want to shoot a jacketed bullet, but for target practice I don’t need the same expansion. What can i use for punching holes in paper for less?

If you just want pumpkin or cantaloupe busters, the 230gr FMJ's work fine and are a few pennies less than the 225gr FTX. If like me, you get your jolly's seeing small groups, then get the 225 FTX bullets. For my AR based, 24 twist barrels, they fly the most accurate and cost less than the 250 FTX's, especially if you catch a sale. With them, you should be able to keep you reloads down to around $.50 each, less if you catch a sale.

Hoot

EDIT: Move fast and buy the 225 FTX bullets MarkCO just listed in the Market sub-forum!!!

Well looking at current prices for reloading supplies, you can load 225 FTX with Lil Gun, and any primer for about 50 cents a round. The 225 FTX is a very good option for the 450B. I like it as a plinking bullet, but you should be able to use it as a hunting bullet, if you wanted. If you do, I wouldn't push too hard on it, as it was meant for the 45 colt. Still tough enough for the 450B, though. If your going to reload and hunt, I would choose something else. There are a lot better options in my opinion.

If you want cheaper reloads, you could try pistol bullets. accuracy usually suffers, but if your just looking to shoot the 450b for cheaper, that's how. Last time I played around with FMJ's, I had better results with the Sierra and Nosler 230 fmj's. The Sierra's are a typical fmj profile, but have a diameter of .4515. The Nosler's are standard .451, but they are flat nosed and a lot more bearing surface then normal fmj's. Haven't played with them in a while, so I'm going off of memory.

If you keep an eye out, you will usually find sales every so often. Discounts, free shipping, free hazmat, etc. So if you can hold out, you can save a bit of money. Even if you don't, you should still do a lot better than factory ammo at over $1 a round. I have some pulled 225 FTX's that will cost me about 32 cents a round, and some standard fmj's that will cost me about 26 cents a round. I love shooting my 450B's, and now it only cost's about the same as my other calibers.

Saw Hoot just beat me, and touched on the same point's. Too lazy to change it. lol

i'll throw a +100 on the 225's. those are the ticket.

last batch of blems i got was like 22 cents each. they'll show up on the board here when midway gets another batch.

buy em cheap, stack em deep

Ok when I get ready to go, I’ll check back on other loading info.

Maybe not the right place? What about factory ammo? I read a guy who said “If I was to compete with 450 B, I’d buy a case of Remington ammo...and hand out boxes to all my competition!” Not a problem for me since I’m not a big fan of Remington... well, ANYTHING.

What about Hornady ammo? I’ve seen that the ‘Custom’ and the ‘Black’ are the same. True? If not, which for deer? I’m pretty partial to Hornady, but is there any other choice?

Smithjdsr wrote:Ok when I get ready to go, I’ll check back on other loading info.

Maybe not the right place? What about factory ammo? I read a guy who said “If I was to compete with 450 B, I’d buy a case of Remington ammo...and hand out boxes to all my competition!” Not a problem for me since I’m not a big fan of Remington... well, ANYTHING.

What about Hornady ammo? I’ve seen that the ‘Custom’ and the ‘Black’ are the same. True? If not, which for deer? I’m pretty partial to Hornady, but is there any other choice?

I played with Remington, before reloading. Very inconsistent! Different coal's, different amounts of taper crimp, and some bullets flop around loose in the case. I still had some left over when I got into reloading and decided to play with them. I sorted a few out, set same coal, and crimp to same diameter. It helped a lot, but still wasn't great. Also, from what I've seen, the performance of the bullet isn't that great either.

Hornady seems to be pretty accurate in most rifles, and the bullet performs well. The custom and black are the same as far as i know, just different packaging.

So far, the Winchester load seems to be as accurate as Hornady. Don't know about the bullet, though.

For folks looking to load with the 225 FTX, a quick check shows the best street price to be $.38/bullet shipped. Figure $.14 for a 38gr charge of Lil Gun powder and based upon the local reloading shop, figure $.04 for a CCI 450 or Rem 7 1/2 (my favorite) primer. So it's a little north of $.50 per reload. Still hard to beat the combo for satisfaction when you approach the target board.

As already mentioned, you can reduce your cost by catching sales, free shipping offers or private sellers. Best of all, these bullets transition from target shooting to deer, behind the shoulder, through and through, lung shots seamlessly!

Smithjdsr wrote:
What about Hornady ammo? I’ve seen that the ‘Custom’ and the ‘Black’ are the same. True?

According to Hornady, the only difference is the packaging.

I've shot custom and black side by side in the 10 twist #1, no difference in accuracy.

There are a couple custom places offering different loads, 240gr xtp mag and 275gr Barnes.