Cheatsheet

9.1 The cartridge

From ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4-2025 (Volume 2):

Table 1 — From ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4-2025 (Volume 2)

Bullet	.4525 −.0030 (the .452 handgun diameter)
Rim / head	.473 rebated rim on a .500 head: the .284 Winchester’s head, line for line
Case	1.700 −.010, straight, tapering to .480 at the mouth
Overall length	2.000 min, 2.260 max
Headspace	on the case mouth, 1.700–1.710
Pressure	38,500 psi MAP (39,500 MPLM, 41,000 MPSM); transducer only, no CUP
Reference loads	250 gr 2,250; 260 gr 2,150; 300 gr 1,900; 395 gr 1,050 (subsonic), all from a 24-inch barrel
Twist	1:24, marked OPTIONAL
Drawings	cartridge issued 1 Feb 2008, revised 23 Aug 2022; test barrel issued 9 Sep 2007, revised 2 Aug 2023

9.2 Factory loads

Makers’ own pages, 19 October 2026 (Volume 3):

Table 2 — Makers' own pages, 19 October 2026 (Volume 3)

Load	MV	BC	Barrel	Expansion floor	$ / 20
Hornady 250 FTX (82246, 82244)	2,200	.210	20 in	not published	not shown
Hornady 245 InterLock (82242)	2,200	.165	20 in	not published	not shown
Hornady 395 Sub-X (82247)	1,050	.300	20 in	900	not shown
Federal 260 Fusion	2,200	.180	not stated	1,400	76.99
Federal 300 Power-Shok	1,900	.225	not stated	1,000	68.99
Federal 260 AE FMJ	2,040	.186	not stated	target	39.99
Remington 260 AccuTip	2,180	.144	not stated	not published	69.99
Remington 260 Core-Lokt	2,040	.171	not stated	not published	69.99
Remington 260 UMC FMJ	2,040	.186	not stated	target	39.99
Winchester Deer Season XP 250, Power-Point 260	none published
Steinel 240 / 250 / 280 / 425 subsonic	2,260 / 2,200 / 1,900 / 1,023		425: 24, 20 in	425: “700” (claim)	51.19–78.99

Every maker’s downrange table is reproduced to within 4 fps by a G1 calculation from its own BC: the tables are arithmetic on a muzzle velocity. Federal’s AE and Remington’s UMC publish the same table, digit for digit.

9.3 Range

Model on the makers’ figures, 59 °F, sight 1.5 in (Volume 5):

Table 3 — Model on the makers' figures, 59 °F, sight 1.5 in (Volume 5)

	FTX	Fusion	Power-Shok	Sub-X
Best zero, 8-in zone	175 yd	175 yd	150 yd	100 yd
Point-blank range	~209 yd	~207 yd	~182 yd	~120 yd
Path at 200 yd, 150-yd zero	−5.1 in	−5.6	−6.9	(100 zero) −34.9
10-mph drift at 200 yd	10.1 in	12.0	11.3	7.3
Crosses its maker’s floor	not published	~206 yd	~414 yd	~243 yd (20 in); ~97 yd if 100 fps slower

Working figures: supersonic loads, 200 yards with no wind, hold for wind from about 120 yards; Sub-X, about 100 yards.

9.4 Barrel and twist

(Volume 4)

• No supersonic velocity-per-inch figure is published. The only barrel comparison on record is Steinel’s 425 gr subsonic: 1,080 (24 in pressure barrel), 1,046 (20 in Rem 700), 1,023 (20 in AR-15).
• A short barrel costs the Fusion about 23 yards of expansion range per 100 fps, and the Sub-X about 145.
• Twist: Savage and the owner’s BCA barrel 1:24; Ruger 1:16. Supersonic factory bullets are stable at 1:24 (SG about 4). A 395 gr bullet stays at SG 1.4 at 1:24 up to about 1.24 in long; Steinel says its 425 gr copper subsonic needs 1:16.
• Speed of sound: 1,116 fps at 59 °F, 1,087 at 32 °F, 1,051 at 0 °F. The Sub-X at 1,050 is subsonic to about 0 °F from 20 in, lower from a shorter barrel.

9.5 The law, October 2026

(Volume 7; not legal advice)

Table 4 — The law, October 2026

State	Rule now	Capacity
Michigan	Limited firearms deer zone repealed (Am. 6 of 2026, eff. 24 May; zone ended 12 Sep 2026): any rifle above .22 rimfire	semi-auto capable of no more than 6, magazine and barrel
Ohio	straight-walled .357–.515, no necked cartridges	no more than 3 loaded
Indiana	any centrefire .219+, public and private land (SEA 280, 2025); no FMJ	carry ≤ 10 of each cartridge
Iowa	straight or necked .350–.500, expanding, ≥ 500 ft-lbf, in the shotgun seasons	no magazine limit
Illinois	straight-walled .30+ (or bottleneck ≤ 1.4 in), factory load ≥ 500 ft-lbf, no FMJ	single shot; 3 rounds from 1 Jan 2027

9.6 Rifles and cost

(Volume 8, makers’ pages 19 October 2026)

• Ruger: American Gen II 46905, Predator Gen II 46935, Ranch Gen II 46922 / 46961 ($769.00); Hawkeye Hunter 57151, Hawkeye Standard 47196 (limited). All 1:16; 11/16-24 where threaded.
• Savage 110: Trail Hunter Lite V2 ($719), Ridge Hunter ($899), Haymaker ($1,039), Scout V2 ($1,149), plus Core Hunter, Trail Blazer, Trail Blazer XP. All read 1:24; 11/16x24.
• Bushmaster: no .450 rifle listed.
• Cost per round at makers’ list prices: $2.00 FMJ practice; $3.45–$3.95 hunting.
• Brass: Starline #3220, small rifle primer, $0.84 each per 250.

9.7 Corrections this dive makes to earlier writing

Against the hub’s own live dives (reported, not edited):

1. Michigan’s WCO is no longer out of step. The AR-15 dive’s Vol 3 §3.3 “documentation lag” has closed; both chapters now carry the repeal (Am. 6 of 2026).
2. Federal publishes expansion floors (Fusion 1,400, Power-Shok 1,000) and Hornady one for the Sub-X bullet (900). Both earlier .450 dives say none is published.
3. The industry has not converged on 1:24. Ruger’s whole .450 line is 1:16.
4. Hornady publishes its BC (.210) and four .450 loads, not one.
5. SAAMI 2025 adds 300 gr and 395 gr (subsonic) reference loads, revises both drawings, and changes the rim bevel to 35° +20°.
6. The inherited solver ignored sight height. The AR-15 dive’s path tables are bore-line figures, half an inch to an inch and a half off.
7. Winchester’s pages publish no ballistics today; the AR-15 dive’s Winchester figures cannot be re-confirmed on the maker’s page.
8. Several history details in circulation (1.772 / 2.362 original dimensions, an AR-10 for Cooper, Cerberus 2006, Franklin Armory 2021) are not in the article they are attributed to.

9.8 Still unknown

• Velocity from a 16-inch barrel, for any load. One chronograph string would settle it.
• Expansion floors for the FTX, InterLock, Remington and Winchester bullets.
• The length of Hornady’s 395 gr Sub-X and Steinel’s 425 gr bullets, which would settle the twist question by arithmetic.
• Any independent terminal test of any factory load.
• How an AR-15 or other detachable-magazine rifle satisfies Illinois’s 2027 three-round rule.