The .450 Bushmaster ammo was first released in 2007. This ammo was designed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, a well-known brand name in the firearms industry. Manufactured by Hornady, this carefully developed cartridge was made to suit the AR and M- style rifles for targeting and shooting big games.
Inspired by Jeff Cooper’s ‘thumper’ idea, which envisioned high-powered cartridges designed to fit larger bores, Tim came up with the .450 Bushmaster ammo for modern-day rifles.
Unlike regular bottle-neck-shaped cartridges with narrow bullets, the .450 ammo has the same diameter from the base to the neck, making it suitable to knock down large animals without distorting its shape and exceeding the targeted mark.
Safety may be the primary reason why the straight-backed .450 Bushmaster ammo is legal for use in most states unlike bottle-necked cartridges. Bottle-necked cartridges are slimmer with greater propellant force, giving them great speed and the force power that can pierce through objects even beyond the targeted mark.
With the .450 Bushmaster ammo, you have more control of direction and can estimate the distance and velocity you need to hit your target.
Due to its shape and heavy bullet (as is typically used with straight-walled cartridges), the .450 Bushmaster ammo doesn’t cover far distances because there isn’t a lot of force behind its bullet. However, this makes it a distinct brand, for hunting big game and a suitable cartridge for target competitions.
.450 Bushmaster ammo has a bullet of 11.5mm diameter, a 12.19mm neck, and a 12.70mm base. This gives a cartridge a total length of 57.4mm—already established that this ammo isn’t designed for long-distance. 450 Bushmaster ammo can hit an average-sized game from an estimated 250 to 300 yards distance.
When it comes to popularity, especially amongst hunters of the mid-west, the beloved .450 Bushmaster ammo is potent.
Marty Ter Weeme of Teppo Jutsu LLC designed the .458 SOCOM ammo. Manufactured mainly by Southern Ballistic Research (SBR) Steinel Ammunition Inc and occasionally by Buffalo Bore and Black Butterfly, the 458 SOCOM ammo design is widely used by game hunters.
The need to replace the 5.56 NATO cartridge used to fight in the ‘Battle of Mogadishu’ in 1993 arose when the Special Operations Command noticed that the fighters from the opposing side were hardly affected when shot. A cartridge with a higher impact force, able to knock down an opponent with a single shot, was the answer to the problem. This birthed the .458 SOCOM ammo.
Steinel Ammunition made the first .458 SOCOM ammo in 2001, designed to comfortably lodge in the M4-Carbine, a specific request from its sponsor. The caliber is a rebated rim bottleneck with 300 grains, giving it a supersonic muzzle velocity that amplifies the effect of its impact.
In appearance, its parent case is made from .50AE, the bullet diameter is 11.63mm, the neck is 12.32mm, the shoulder has 13.74mm, and a rim of 12.01mm. The rim’s thickness is 0.041 inches. Altogether, the entire length of a caliber from the .458 SOCOM ammo is 57.40mm.
The .458 SOCOM isn’t fit for long distances, but where it lacks in space, it covers adequately in power, able to knock down large animals for hunting with just one shot.
The .458 SOCOM ammo is the ideal ammo to use for hunting and Barnes Bullets manufacture its version of 300gr TTSX bullets specially for this caliber.