.450 Bushmaster
| .450 Bushmaster | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Rifle | |||||||||||
| Place of origin |  United States |
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| Production history | ||||||||||||
| Designer | LeMAG FIREARMS LLC | |||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Bushmaster/Hornady | |||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||
| Parent case | .284 Winchester | |||||||||||
| Case type | Rebated rim, Straight wall | |||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | .452 in (11.5 mm) | |||||||||||
| Neck diameter | .473 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||||||
| Case length | 1.700 in (43.2 mm) | |||||||||||
| Maximum pressure (SAAMI) | 40,000 psi (280 MPa) | |||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||
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| Test barrel length: 20 in (508 mm) Source(s): Hornady & Remington[1] |
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The .450 Bushmaster is a rifle cartridge developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, and licensed to Bushmaster Firearms International. The .450 Bushmaster is designed to be used in the standard M16 and AR-15 platforms, using modified magazines and upper receiver assemblies.
History
The .450 Bushmaster is descended from the "Thumper" concept popularized by gun writer Jeff Cooper. 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 to provide one-shot kills on big-game animals at 250 yards. Inspired by this, LeGendre developed his .45 Professional cartridge,[when?] and later[when?] built and delivered an AR-15 in .45 Professional to Cooper.[2]
Bushmaster requested[when?] the ammunition manufacturer Hornady to produce the .45 Professional cartridge for this project, but Hornady wanted to shorten the cartridge case to accommodate their 0.452" 250-grain pointed SST Flex-Tip bullet. Bushmaster and LeGendre approved the change from 1.771" to the now-standard 1.700", and a name change to ".450 Bushmaster".[citation needed]
Loadings and ballistics
The .450 Bushmaster is a high-pressure rifle case, thus making efficient use of heavy .452" bullets.[citation needed] The cartridge is chambered in AR-15 rifles, as well as an AR-15 pistol by Franklin Armory.[3]
Ballistically the round is very flat 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 2.4 inches at 200 yards.[citation needed] Magazine capacity can be either five, nine, or thirteen round depending on the magazine body used. A 10-round AR-15 magazine body will yield a 5-round magazine, a 20-round AR-15 magazine body will yield a 9-round magazine, and a 30-round body will yield a 13-round magazine. Hornady and Remington both now manufacture ammunition for the rifle.
See also
References
- ↑ PREMIER® ACCUTIP™ 450 BUSHMASTER Remington Arms Company
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Hornady Manufacturing - 450 Bushmaster (Archived 2009-08-05)
- Bushmaster .450 Rifle & Carbine - Bushmaster Firearms (Archived 2009-08-05)
- http://www.hornady.com/store/450-Bushmaster-250-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
