![Bushmst450](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Bushmst450.jpg)
The .450 Bushmaster is a
rifle cartridge
A rifle cartridge is a firearm cartridge primarily designed and intended for use in a rifle/carbine, or machine gun.
Types Full-powered
A full-powered cartridge is a rifle cartridge used interchangeably between service rifles, sniper rifles ...
developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, and licensed to
Bushmaster Firearms International
Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC, was an American firearm manufacturer and distributor. The company's product line revolved around semi-automatic pistol and rifle variants of the M4/AR-15 design. The company is currently defunct; it merge ...
. The .450 Bushmaster is designed to be used in standard
M16
The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
s and
AR-15s, using modified
magazines
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
and upper receiver assemblies.
History
The .450 Bushmaster is descended from the
Thumper concept popularized by the gun writer
Jeff Cooper
John Dean "Jeff" Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) was a United States Marine, the creator of a "modern technique" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small arms.
Early life and education
Cooper was ...
. Cooper was dissatisfied with the small-diameter
5.56×45mm NATO (.223 Remington) of the AR-15, and envisioned a need for a large bore (.44 cal or greater) cartridge in a
semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
to provide one-shot kills on
big-game animals at 250 yards. Inspired by this, LeGendre developed his .45 Professional cartridge, and later built and delivered an AR-15 in .45 Professional to Cooper.
Bushmaster requested the ammunition manufacturer
Hornady
Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition cartridges, components and handloading equipments, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.
History
The company is currently run by Joyce Hornady's son, Steve Hornady, who took over ...
to produce the .45 Professional cartridge for this project, but Hornady wanted to shorten the cartridge case and overall length to accommodate their 0.452 in. 250-grain pointed SST flex-tip bullet. Bushmaster and LeGendre approved the change from a 1.772 in. (45 mm) case and 2.362 in. (60 mm) OAL to the now standard 1.700 in. (43.18 mm) case and 2.260 in. (57.40 mm) OAL. This permitted operation in the more abundant and popular AR-15 platform versus the AR-10 platform. Also, a name change to ".450 Bushmaster" was approved.
Loadings and ballistics
![450 ctg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/450_ctg.jpg)
The .450 Bushmaster makes use of .452 in. bullets because the lower impact velocities and energies would not adequately expand the heavier jacketed .458 in. bullets. The cartridge is chambered in bolt-action rifles by Ruger, Savage, Mossberg, and Remington, Ruger's No. 1 single shot rifle, AR-15 rifles, as well as an AR-15 pistol by
Franklin Armory.
Ballistically, the .450 Bushmaster has a rather flat trajectory out to 200 yards; if the firearm is zeroed at 150 yards, the user can expect to see a rise of 1.8 inches at 100 yards, zero at 150 yards, and a drop of 4.9 inches at 200 yards. The cartridge fits single-stacked in a standard AR-15 magazine with a single-stack follower. A 10-round AR-15 magazine body yields a four-round magazine, a 20-round AR-15 magazine body yields a five- to seven-round magazine, and a 30-round body yields a nine-round
magazine. Hornady, Remington and Federal now manufacture ammunition for the rifle, and Starline manufactures empty brass for
handloading
Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by assembling the individual components (case, primer, propellant, and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded ammunition.
The term ''hand ...
.
See also
*
11 mm caliber
*
List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 HM2,2 .17 HMR, 2.5 .17 wsm, 3 .22LR, 4 .22 WMR, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm/35 SMc, 7 .22 Hornet, 8 .223 Remington, 9 .223 WSSM ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
*
.444 Marlin
The .444 Marlin (10.9×57mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. It was designed to fill in a gap left by the older .45-70 when that cartridge was not available in any new lever-action rifles; at the ...
*
.45-70
*
.458 SOCOM
The .458 SOCOM (11.63×40mm) is a moderately large round designed to work in an AR-15 platform. This is achieved by installing a 458 bolt and barrel. The round offers a supersonic muzzle velocity of and , similar to a light .45-70 but with a m ...
*
.460 S&W Magnum
*
.50 Beowulf
The .50 Beowulf is a 12mm caliber rifle cartridge developed by Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms for use in an AR-15 rifle.
Design and specifications
The cartridge utilizes a rebated rim, sized to match the rim of the 6.5mm Grendel round. The ...
*
12.7×55mm STs-130
*
List of AR platform cartridges
The AR platform has become widely popular for makers of hunting and sporting rifles. Although the designations "AR-10" and "AR-15" are respectively trademarks of ArmaLite and Colt, variants of both are made by many manufacturers. The AR-15 rifl ...
References
External links
Hornady Manufacturing - 450 BushmasterArchived2009-08-05)
Bushmaster .450 Rifle & Carbine - Bushmaster FirearmsArchived2009-08-05)
Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Ammunition :: Rifle :: Choose by Caliber :: 450 Bushmaster :: 450 Bushmaster 250 gr FTX LEVERevolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:450 Bushmaster
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Bushmaster firearms