Best .450 Bushmaster Ammo
Every load we price, sorted by cost per round delivered to your state
We track 5 .450 Bushmaster loads from 2 dealers. The cheapest delivered to AR, shipping included, is HSM Bear Load .450 Bushmaster 300gr JSP Ammo at $2.77 a round.
The .450 Bushmaster is a straight-wall deer and hog cartridge that fires a .452-inch bullet from a case built to fit an AR-15 lower. Tim LeGendre designed it on a shortened .284 Winchester case, and it reached the market in 2009. An AR needs a dedicated upper, bolt and single-stack magazines, which hold fewer rounds than their size suggests. Bolt-action rifles are common too. Straight-wall rules differ, so check your state's hunting-cartridge rules.
The 250-grain polymer tips here (Hornady FTX, Winchester Deer Season XP) run about 2,200 fps and cover deer and hogs to around 200 yards. HSM Bear Load 300gr JSP at 1,930 fps trades some reach for a heavier bullet on bear and large hogs. Hornady Subsonic 395gr Sub-X runs 1,050 fps for suppressed rifles; it drops fast past 100 yards, so zero for it and confirm your AR cycles it.
All .450 Bushmaster Loads
Compare ballistics and prices across 5 products
| PRODUCT ↕ | GRAIN ↕ | VELOCITY ↕ | ENERGY ↕ | BC ↕ | USE CASE ↕ | BEST PRICE ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hornady BLACK .450 Bushmaster 250gr FTX Ammo
250gr
• 2200 fps
|
250gr | 2200 | 2686 | .21 | — | $3.07/rd |
|
Hornady Custom .450 Bushmaster 250gr FTX Ammo
250gr
• 2200 fps
|
250gr | 2200 | 2686 | .21 | — | $3.07/rd |
|
Hornady Subsonic .450 Bushmaster 395gr Sub-X Ammo
395gr
• 1050 fps
|
395gr | 1050 | 967 | .3 | — | $2.92/rd |
|
HSM Bear Load .450 Bushmaster 300gr JSP Ammo
300gr
• 1930 fps
|
300gr | 1930 | 2482 | .225 | — | $2.77/rd |
|
Winchester Deer Season XP .450 Bushmaster 250gr Extreme Point Ammo
250gr
• 2200 fps
|
250gr | 2200 | 2686 | .21 | — | $3.49/rd |
.450 Bushmaster Trajectory Calculator
Calculate drop, velocity, and energy at any range
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros
- Heavier .452-inch bullets than the .350 Legend at the same 2,200 fps, for more energy on hogs and bear.
- Fits a standard AR-15 lower, so one receiver can run a 5.56 upper and a .450 upper.
- Load weights from 250 to 395 grains cover deer, bear and suppressed use from one rifle.
Cons
- Noticeably more recoil than the .350 Legend in a rifle of the same weight.
- AR magazines hold fewer rounds, about 5 to 7 in a 20-round-size body.
- Needs its own bolt as well as a barrel, where a .350 Legend AR keeps the .223 bolt.
- Drops steeply past about 200 yards compared with bottlenecked rifle cartridges.