Any big bore shooters?

Y

yotehunter243

New member
Not much talk about the big bore AR15s on here. How many of you have them and what do you have? I recently took in a Bushmaster 20" 450 bushmaster in on a trade that has a Redfield 3x9 waiting on Mounts. Also have a 18" RPG build in the works now with a 2.5x10 PST waiting on it.
 
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i have a friend with a beowulf upper, and that thing is a rip to shoot. i acquired some bad reloads from a mutual friend of ours [edit] that i tore down knowing they were unsafe - way overcrimp - so i have components now [/edit] and i usually reload a few of them every time i go to visit just for the fun of it.

i wish he would scope it though - my nearsighted eyes just dont do well with iron sights much past 40-50 yds.


the one fault i dont like about the beowulf is its inability to feed through a case feeder due to the rebated rim being smaller than the case mouth diameter. this stops its ability to be fed through a drop type type setup on a progressive, therefore limiting the efficiency of brass prep to hand fed rates.


i've considered a 450 bushmaster since michigan changed its restricted firearms hunting zone rules to include a limited selection of pistol caliber carbines. the idea of a 150-200 yd effective round thats also a capable brush buster and probalby hits like the hammer of thor at typical michigan hunting ranges is pretty hot.


add to the fact that it doesnt share the beowulf's case mouth/rebated rim issues, and its a double win for me.

i'd love to add a "thumper" to my collection some day
smile.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: Plant.Onei have a friend with a beowulf upper, and that thing is a rip to shoot. i acquired some bad reloads from a mutual friend of ours and i usually reload a few of them every time i go to visit just for the fun of it.

i wish he would scope it though - my nearsighted eyes just dont do well with iron sights much past 40-50 yds.


the one fault i dont like about the beowulf is its inability to feed through a case feeder due to the rebated rim being smaller than the case mouth diameter. this stops its ability to be fed through a drop type type setup on a progressive, therefore limiting the efficiency of brass prep to hand fed rates.


i've considered a 450 bushmaster since michigan changed its restricted firearms hunting zone rules to include a limited selection of pistol caliber carbines. the idea of a 150-200 yd effective round thats also a capable brush buster and probalby hits like the hammer of thor at typical michigan hunting ranges is pretty hot.


add to the fact that it doesnt share the beowulf's case mouth/rebated rim issues, and its a double win for me.

i'd love to add a "thumper" to my collection some day
smile.gif



All of the big bores that I'm aware of, have a rebated rim. The parent case for the 450 is the 284 Winchester.
 
its not specifically the rebated rim thats the problem, its the relation of the rim diameter vs the case mouth diameter.

in the case of the beowulf the case mouth is wide enough for the rebated rim of another case to fall down inside it while in a case feeder tube.

with the 450B that doesnt hold true - the rim diameter is .473 right? and the case mouth is sized to hold a .452 bullet so that takes away the rim into the case mouth preventing stacking properly in the case feeder issue.

this is what i'm talking about for the beowulf that wont let them feed
FFYqecw.jpg


i dont have any 450B brass to compare to at this point
 
I've got the 450 and 458. Haven't shot the 450 yet but have 200 pieces of brass. The 458 is a KTB barrel with integral muzzle break. It is fun to shoot as super or sub. Those 400 grain bullets thump hard. I'll be doing a Vortex on mine in the near future.

Greg
 
Both the big bores I have owned (.458 Socom and .50 Beowulf) have had either extraction or feeding issues. Too much trouble for me to have to deal with so I have neither of them now/
 
I run a 45 VRAP. It's similar to the 45 Raptor but chambered in an AR15 using ARP 800 series bolts and extensions. Higher pressure and a little more case capacity than the 450 bushmaster.
 
Originally Posted By: crazysccrmdI run a 45 VRAP. It's similar to the 45 Raptor but chambered in an AR15 using ARP 800 series bolts and extensions. Higher pressure and a little more case capacity than the 450 bushmaster.

Interesting do you have any pictures of the bullet and some specs on it? Iv considered the 375 SOCOM for a possible next build. Still waiting to see what indiana does for the deer/rifle season
 
I had a Rock River 458 SOCOM mid length gasser for 4-5 years. It was one of the funnest guns I've ever owned. Everyone complained about the mid length gas system on them,but I never had any problems with it,the gun ran like a machine after I figured out a problem with the cartridges/BCG/magazines. The bcg would shove the last round in the magazine downward when it was trying to feed it,and the front of the magazine would cut a big chunk out of the bullet when it loaded into the chamber. It was causing a bad flyer each time I was doing load testing.
I cut a half moon out of the front of a couple magazines,and never had the problem again. It's pretty fun shooting sub-moa groups with those big'ole bullets. I never shot a single factory round out of this rifle,I handloaded everything that it ever shot.
It is a hog hammer,every hog that I ever shot with it dropped in it's tracks.

The useful range of the big bore AR's are their downfall,with only 100-150 yard useful range,there's just too many other better choices to go with. For a range toy,they are just too much fun,but expensive to shoot even if you handload.
 
Originally Posted By: Txhillbilly
The useful range of the big bore AR's are their downfall,with only 100-150 yard useful range,there's just too many other better choices to go with. For a range toy,they are just too much fun,but expensive to shoot even if you handload.

That's true, but you gain 3000ft/lbs + muzzle energy in exchange for your limited range. Sometimes you just need to make a big ragged hole through something, not pick off gnats at 600 yards.
 
I currently have three 458 Socoms and had five at one time. I also have a 375 Socom. Two of the 458s and the 375 have Tromix barrels and bolts. The other 458 has a Rock River Beast upper. Big bore ARs are my favorite guns to reload for and shoot. I have always preferred heavy slow bullets over light fast bullets.
 
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It seems to be very accurate. I'm using 200 gr. Sierra bullets and getting around 2275 fps with my most accurate load. I've had them up to 2375 but I always go with best accuracy. I've worked up my loads using Ar Comp powder and all loads have grouped less than an inch. My best load was .73 inch. I bought the standard weight barrel and now I'm going to build another using the lightweight barrel.
 
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