by ARconnect » Tue Jul 21, 2015 1:37 am
The whole reason I have stepped up to the 450b is I want more frontal area and a larger cavity if I end up using hollow point bullets. I have been a died in the wool bolt rifle shooter all my days of hunting (about 35 years). .243 Win. at first, which was deadly with a Remington Cor Loct, or a Nosler Partition, then to a 7mm Mag - mostly Partitions. But when CA went non-lead in the south half of the state, I switched to Barnes TSX. Problem is, my 7 mag has a barrel twist for "Heavy for Caliber" bullets - we all remember Craig Bottington - and won't stabilize anything under 175 grains. The TSX is available in 175 grn. but the terminal ballistics were terrible. I shot right through 2 deer, never found more than 2 drops of blood, and no telling how far they went before they expired. I hit one four times on a Colorado Mule Deer hunt in 2009 before he went down. Thank God it was the beginning of the rut and he was too tuned in on some does to notice I was perforating him. I understand the TTSX's terminal ballistics are supposed to be better, but the heaviest it comes is 160 grn. Once I decide more frontal area is what I needed, I looked for a .444 Marlin without much luck - I wanted a SS with laminate stock. They are kind of like hen's teeth.
A friend of mine - Army Ranger Vet. - introduced me to the AR platform a couple of years ago. Finally talked me into buying one once the prices came out of the stratosphere, and next thing you know, I have three. When I found out a 450b upper would fit on my AR-15 lower, and I could order the upper without going through an FFL dealer, I was intrigued. When I found that the .450b exterior ballistics were similar to the .444 Marlin, I was sold. After reading the great posts, and all the testing people have done on this site, I am convinced I made the right choice.
Now, it is just a matter of finding the right bullet. I have bought some 200 grn. Barnes XPBs and some 225 grn. hollow points by Copper Only Projectiles. Since I have shot fairly flat shooting bolt guns all my life, I am leaning toward the lighter bullets in the .450 lineup, even though I hunt the Sierras where cover is fairly dense and I have never bee presented with a shot over 200 yards (I used to hunt the Diablo Range where 300 and 400 yard shots were common). My tendencies are still toward the flattest trajectory I can get. I sight my rifles for MPBR so I don't have to calculate, or guess, hold-over at the critical moment - one less thing to worry about. And, if the target is beyond my MPBR, I figure I have a little time to estimate.
I see on here that others have had good performance with the 275 grn. XPBs, and that they are less finicky regarding neck tension, but I am going to try to make the 200 grn. pills work. I like the idea Hoot wrote about regarding pre-tensioning the necks with a 45 Colt or .45 ACP die. I think I have one, or the other, or maybe both, that I inherited from an old shooter friend that has gone on to happier hunting grounds.
ARconnect
From the Land of the Bullet Button, 10 Rnd Max Cap Mags, and Lead-Free Fodder. But this place would be Paradise without the Politicians.