Firearms

.450 Bushmaster AR-15 · Deep Dive

.450 Bushmaster AR-15

The limited firearms deer zone was eliminated on 12 September 2026 — and the cartridge recoils about a third less than the slug gun it replaced, while carrying more energy.

A .45-70 shortened until it was both AR-legal and zone-legal, examined from the standards rather than the catalogues: what SAAMI actually specifies, a ballistic coefficient fitted to the maker’s own table, why box velocities for this cartridge are not comparable with each other, the magazine problem, and the Michigan rule it was bought for — which no longer exists.

Photo: Straight-wall lineup by Gato63 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Search every volume:

    Volumes

    1. Vol 1 Why the .450 Bushmaster Exists
    2. Vol 2 The Cartridge — What SAAMI Specifies, and How Far It Actually Reaches
    3. Vol 3 The Michigan Question — The Rule This Cartridge Was Bought For No Longer Exists
    4. Vol 4 Building and Feeding One — The Bolt, the Barrel, and the Magazine Problem
    5. Vol 5 Shooting It — Recoil, Optics, Zero, and What the Accuracy Claims Are Worth
    6. Vol 6 Owning One — Brass, Cost, and the Alternatives Now That the Rule Is Gone