450 Bushmaster Ammo: Loads, Ballistics and State Rules
450 Bushmaster ammo fires a .452-inch bullet from a 1.700-inch straight-walled case, and full-power loads carry 2,402 to 2,811 ft-lb.
Originally published: October 23, 2026
450 Bushmaster ammo is a big-bore, straight-walled deer cartridge (SAAMI’s short name for it is 450 BM) that runs in an AR-15-size rifle or a bolt gun and lands with almost half again the muzzle energy of a 350 Legend. The case is what matters: 1.700 inches with no shoulder, which slips under the caliber and case-length limits that straight-wall states write into their deer rules. Those rules still change by state, county, season and action type, so read yours before you buy the rifle. Short case, heavy bullet, rulebook first.
Safety and legal note. Know your target and what is beyond it, every time; Illinois DNR’s cartridge list gives the 450 Bushmaster a 3,000-yard maximum range. Straight-wall rules differ by state, county, season and action, so check your state’s hunting rules. Popular Ammo has no affiliate or paid relationship with any maker named here.
Having worked behind the counter for over 20 years, I get asked one thing about the 450 before anything else: is it legal where I hunt? Fair question. The answer has moved in three states (Michigan dropped its limited firearms deer zone and Minnesota its shotgun zone for 2026, and a 2025 Indiana law put one rifle rule, a bullet of at least .219 inch, on public and private land). Nobody told the deer.
450 Bushmaster Ammo at a Glance
- Cartridge: .4525-inch bullet, 1.700-inch straight-walled case, 38,500 psi maximum average pressure (SAAMI).
- Power: 2,402 to 2,811 ft-lb at the muzzle for full-power loads; 967 for Hornady’s subsonic.
- Drop: Hornady’s 250-grain FTX is 4.1 inches high at 100 yards and 19.3 low at 300 on a 200-yard zero.
- Legal: Its bullet and case fit every straight-wall definition below; action, capacity, county and Delaware’s handgun-ammunition rules still apply.
- Rifles: An AR-15-size rifle with a 450 upper and magazine, or a bolt gun.
450 Bushmaster Ammo: Factory Loads
Eleven loads from five makers, each from the maker’s own product page, sorted by muzzle energy. The full-power field sits inside 409 ft-lb, so the bullet matters more than the brand.
| Load | Bullet | Muzzle velocity / energy (test barrel) | Maker (item) |
|---|---|---|---|
| VOR-TX | 250 gr XFB, all copper | 2,250 fps / 2,811 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Barnes (32085) |
| Fusion | 260 gr Fusion Soft Point | 2,200 fps / 2,794 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Federal (F450BMFS1) |
| Premier AccuTip | 260 gr AccuTip | 2,180 fps / 2,743 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Remington (27943) |
| BLACK | 250 gr FTX | 2,200 fps / 2,687 ft-lb (20-inch barrel) | Hornady (82246) |
| American Whitetail TIPPED | 250 gr FTX | 2,200 fps / 2,687 ft-lb (20-inch barrel) | Hornady (82244) |
| Deer Season XP | 250 gr Extreme Point | 2,200 fps / 2,686 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Winchester (X450DS) |
| American Whitetail | 245 gr InterLock | 2,200 fps / 2,633 ft-lb (20-inch barrel) | Hornady (82242) |
| Power-Shok | 300 gr soft point | 1,900 fps / 2,405 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Federal (450BMB) |
| Core-Lokt | 260 gr pointed soft point | 2,040 fps / 2,402 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Remington (27941) |
| UMC (practice) | 260 gr full metal jacket | 2,040 fps / 2,402 ft-lb (no barrel listed) | Remington (23661) |
| Subsonic | 395 gr Sub-X | 1,050 fps / 967 ft-lb (20-inch barrel) | Hornady (82247) |
Muzzle figures as each maker prints them; only Hornady prints a test barrel (20 inches). Hornady’s TIPPED item number, 82244, also appears on its older Custom page.
On price, the makers’ own stores list 20-round boxes from $39.99 (Remington UMC) to $76.99 (Federal Fusion), about $2 to $3.85 a round before shipping and tax, so run your store’s numbers through the cost per round calculator. Prices change, so check the maker before you buy.
450 Bushmaster Ballistics: Drop to 300 Yards
Let’s talk drop. Hornady prints the barrel behind its numbers, so its 250-grain FTX makes the cleanest drop table.
| Range | Drop (inches) | Velocity (fps) | Energy (ft-lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muzzle | −2.4 (below the scope line) | 2,200 | 2,687 |
| 100 yards | +4.1 (high) | 1,835 | 1,868 |
| 200 yards | 0 (zero) | 1,515 | 1,274 |
| 300 yards | −19.3 | 1,255 | 874 |
Hornady’s figures, in the 100-yard steps it prints; the muzzle line is the bullet starting below the scope. Zeroed at 100 instead, Federal’s Fusion 260-grain prints 9.7 inches low at 200 and 37.1 low at 300, with a scope 1.5 inches over the bore.
Think about that 200-yard row. The bullet has lost almost a third of its speed and more than half its energy, and it still carries 1,274 ft-lb (plenty of deer medicine, and right where the drop starts running away from you).
What SAAMI Specifies for the 450
SAAMI (the industry body that writes cartridge and chamber standards) carries the 450 Bushmaster in ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4-2025, on a drawing first issued in 2008 and revised in 2022.
| Specification | SAAMI figure |
|---|---|
| Bullet diameter | .4525 inch, minus .0030 |
| Case length | 1.700 inches, minus .010 |
| Cartridge overall length | 2.000 inches minimum, 2.260 maximum |
| Rim diameter | .473 inch, minus .010 |
| Maximum average pressure | 38,500 psi by transducer; SAAMI prints no crusher (CUP) figure |
| Rifling twist | 1 turn in 24 inches, right hand, marked optional |
| Test barrel length | 24.000 inches |
| Reference loads | 250 gr at 2,250 fps; 260 gr at 2,150; 300 gr at 1,900; 395 gr at 1,050 |
From pages 28, 156 and 369 of the standard; how I get these numbers covers the method.
Here is the part that trips people up. SAAMI says every standard rifle test barrel is 24 inches, and the 450 is not on the exception list (the 350 Legend is, at 16). Hornady tests in a 20-inch barrel, and the others do not say. SAAMI itself warns not to expect its velocities from a sporting rifle, so when two boxes disagree by 100 fps, check the barrel before you blame the powder.
Straight-Wall State Rules for the 450
Remember, a straight-wall rule is written around the cartridge first, and the 450’s .4525-inch bullet and 1.700-inch case fit every straight-wall definition below. The tricky part is everything else: rounds in the gun, action, land and season.
| State | Where it applies | What the rule says | Does the 450 fit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | Statewide, deer gun seasons | Straight-walled, .357 to .515 caliber; necked-down cartridges banned; three rounds max in magazine and chamber (Ohio Adm. Code 1501:31-15-11) | Yes; load an AR with three or fewer. |
| Iowa | Youth and disabled season, both December shotgun seasons | Expanding bullet .350 to .500 inch, 500 ft-lb or more at the muzzle, published or calculated (Iowa Code 481A.48) | Yes with expanding loads, not the full metal jacket. |
| Pennsylvania | Special regulations areas: Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia counties | No bottle-necked centerfire cartridges; no centerfire at all in Philadelphia County, Ridley Creek State Park or Tyler State Park (58 Pa. Code § 141.1); rifles must be manually operated (Game Commission 2026-27 digest) | Yes in a manually operated rifle, outside those three spots. |
| Maryland | Firearms Season and Junior Deer Hunt Days, subject to local ordinances | Straight-walled rifles statewide, bottlenecks only in certain counties; no caliber or case minimum printed (Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping) | Yes, with a soft-nosed or expanding bullet. |
| Delaware | Firearm and January seasons, south of the C&D Canal only: private land, designated state lands and depredation farms | Straight-wall handgun ammunition, .30 to .50 caliber, case 1.25 to 1.82 inches; three rounds max (Del. Code tit. 7 § 704; DNREC guide) | The size fits, but the law says handgun ammunition; ask DNREC first. |
| Illinois | Deer seasons IDNR opens to rifles | Single-shot centerfire, straight-walled .30 caliber or larger (bottlenecks only with a case of 1.4 inches or less), 500 ft-lb factory load, no full metal jackets; three rounds from Jan. 1, 2027 (IDNR, Public Act 102-0932; three-round rule: Public Act 104-0627) | Yes, and it is on IDNR’s single-shot list. The rifle holds ONE round through 2026. |
| Arkansas | Alternative firearms (muzzleloader) deer season | Non-semiautomatic centerfire, straight-wall .30 caliber or larger; no slugs (AGFC deer regulations; 2026-27 caliber guide) | Bolt actions and single shots, yes; a semi-auto AR, no, unless it wears a manual-action upper. |
| Tennessee | Private land, second week of muzzleloader/archery season (Nov. 14–20 in 2026) | Single-shot rifle, straight-walled .35 caliber or larger, built to hold one round (TWRA deer regulations) | Yes, in a factory single shot only. |
| Michigan | Lower Peninsula, from Sept. 12, 2026 | Limited firearms deer zone eliminated; any rifle larger than .22 rimfire; semi-autos capped at six rounds (Michigan DNR deer regulations) | Yes, like any legal rifle. |
| Minnesota | Former shotgun zone, from the 2026 season | Shotgun zone repealed (Minn. Stat. 97B.318); Brown, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Houston, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Nobles, Pope, Rock and Watonwan counties stayed shotgun-only, Clay and Wilkin partly (Minnesota DNR list) | Yes outside those counties; inside them, read the ordinance. |
| Indiana | Statewide, public and private land alike since a 2025 law | Centerfire rifle, bullet at least .219 inch, no full metal jackets, carry no more than 10 of each cartridge type (Indiana DNR deer equipment) | Yes; skip the full metal jacket. |
Each row cites the state’s own regulation or official regulations page; Pennsylvania’s code comes from the Cornell Law School mirror.
450 Bushmaster vs 350 Legend
Same job, different hammer. Winchester’s Deer Season XP line is the fair test because one maker loads both: the 350 Legend’s 150-grain Extreme Point leaves at 2,325 fps with 1,800 ft-lb, and the 450’s 250-grain bullet at 2,200 fps with 2,686 ft-lb. The 450 does it at 38,500 psi against the Legend’s 55,000 (SAAMI), since the wider base needs less pressure for the same work.
You pay at the butt pad. Winchester’s 350 Legend page lists “Less recoil than 450 Bushmaster,” and the math agrees. Our rifle recoil chart puts a 180-grain 350 Legend at 9.8 ft-lb in an 8-pound rifle, while the 450’s 250-grain bullet alone works out to about 12 ft-lb there, before powder gas adds its share (SAAMI’s free-recoil formula).
Magazines differ too. The 450’s rim is .473 inch against the .378 the Legend shares with the .223 Remington (SAAMI), and the 450 rides in its own magazines. My take: for big-bodied deer or hogs, the 450; for a new or smaller shooter, the Legend, and our 350 Legend ammo guide has its loads.
Rifles and Magazines
The 450 runs two ways. On the AR side, Bushmaster’s 20-inch 450 BM sits on its XM15-E2S lower with a 1:24 twist and a 5-round 450 magazine, and Bear Creek Arsenal sells .450 Bushmaster complete uppers with 16-, 18- and 20-inch barrels, also 1:24 (the twist on SAAMI’s drawing). On the bolt side, Savage lists six Model 110 variants in 450 Bushmaster; the 110 Trail Blazer has a 20-inch barrel and a 4-round detachable magazine.
Pick the action after you read your state’s row. Arkansas and Pennsylvania want a manual action and Tennessee a factory single shot, so the AR stays home in all three. For the rifles themselves, Popular Outdoorsman’s guide to straight-wall cartridge rifles lays the cartridges out side by side.
Magazines are where people get burned (Chief Brody would tell you that you are going to need a bigger magazine). Bushmaster and Ruger each sell a 5-round 450 magazine, and DuraMag makes 5- and 7-round versions. Load to your state’s limit, not the magazine’s: three in the gun in Ohio and Delaware. Michigan counts what a semi-auto can hold, six including the chamber, so the 7-round magazine stays home.
450 Bushmaster Ammo for Deer and Hogs
In over 20 years as a professional in the firearms industry, I have learned to trust a drop table over a box label, and this one puts my line at 200 yards. There, Hornady’s 250-grain FTX still carries 1,274 ft-lb and sits on its zero; by 300 it has fallen 19.3 inches. Illinois DNR’s list rates the 450 to 350 yards (on third-party data, IDNR notes), and I would not stretch a deer shot that far.
For deer, any expanding 245- to 260-grain load does the job. For hogs I lean toward the 300-grain soft point; Federal rates its Power-Shok to perform down to 1,000 fps, and its own table still shows 1,014 fps at 400 yards. Leave the UMC full metal jacket for paper, since Indiana and Illinois ban full metal jackets for deer and Iowa requires an expanding bullet.
Hornady’s 395-grain Sub-X is its own animal: 1,050 fps, 967 ft-lb and 34.9 inches of drop at 200 yards on a 100-yard zero. Well, nobody ever called a subsonic flat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 450 Bushmaster good for deer?
Yes. Every full-power expanding load with a published figure starts between 2,402 and 2,811 ft-lb, and Illinois DNR’s single-shot list rates the 450 “Excellent,” with Hornady’s 250-grain FTX as its test load. Skip the full metal jacket, which Remington lists for target shooting.
How far can you shoot a 450 Bushmaster?
On deer, I hold myself to 200 yards, or 250 with a ranged shot and a known drop. The bullet goes much farther: Illinois DNR’s list gives a 3,000-yard maximum range, so the backstop matters as much as the zero.
Is 450 Bushmaster legal in straight-wall states?
Yes; its bullet and case fit every straight-wall definition in the table, though some states also limit the action or the county, and Delaware wants handgun ammunition. The 45-70 Government shows why case length matters: SAAMI gives it a 2.105-inch case, too long for Delaware’s 1.82-inch cap (our 45-70 ammo guide has its full SAAMI table).
Does 450 Bushmaster kick hard?
Harder than a 350 Legend, and rifle weight decides how much. Counting the bullet alone, a 250-grain bullet at 2,200 fps works out to about 13.7 ft-lb of free recoil in a 7-pound rifle and 10.7 in a 9-pound rifle before powder gas, so weight is the cheapest recoil pad you can buy.
Can a 450 Bushmaster use AR-15 magazines?
It fits the AR-15 magazine well, but run a 450 magazine. DuraMag says the round was “originally intended to fit a standard AR15 magazine,” but that “improper geometry and follower design has led to feeding issues and rifle malfunctions.”
The 450 Bushmaster is the sledgehammer of the straight-wall world, short enough for the rulebook and heavy enough for any whitetail that walks. Read your row, buy an expanding bullet, zero at 200, and let those 19.3 inches at 300 talk you out of the long shot.
Sources: SAAMI, “ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4-2025 Centerfire Rifle”; Hornady, “450 Bushmaster 250 gr FTX Hornady BLACK”; Federal, “Fusion Rifle, 450 Bushmaster”; Remington, “Shop 450 Bushmaster Ammo”; Winchester, “Deer Season XP”; Barnes, “VOR-TX Rifle XFB 450 Bushmaster”; each state’s regulation is linked in its table row.
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| .22 LR | 6.59¢ |
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| .308 Win | .309 in |
| Case price | $269.80 |
| Shipping and tax | +$18.89 |
| Per round | 28.87¢ |
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