450 Bushmaster Questions?

I currently have a CVA ScoutV2 in 45/70 with the muzzle brake and I really like it But I really love my Ruger All American Camo gone wild 450BM with the 22 inch barrel. I had the carbine model first and it shot really well but it was to small for me. That said it would make a really good tree stand rifle very short and compact.

The Scout is heavier and it is only a single shot but you can reload it pretty fast if you need to.Also the stock length of pull is longer than it should be especially when you wear hunting clothing.
My Ruger with the 22 inch barrel has a brake on it from the factory a 3 shot clip and a adjustable trigger and a one piece rail on the action to mount a scope its a nice ridged setup. With a 3x9x50 scope and a light weight sling it only weighs 7.5lbs.

I do reload for all my guns but with the 450BM you really don't have to especially when you use a 22 inch barrel compared to a 16 inch barrel Factory Hornady 250gr bullets 2065fps from a 16 inch barrel well below their advertised 2200fps but in the 22 inch barrel they went 2260fps. If you reload you can run them up to 2500fps in the Ruger easily. The throat in these barrels is really sort its setup for the AR platform

The 450BM takes a .452 diameter bullet same as a muzzleloader If you take a Barnes 250gr bullet it is only .451 that .001 difference lets you seat the bullet a lot further out in the case and you can shoot 46grs of H110 which will give you a real velocity jump over factory ammo. Or if you size the Hornady 250gr bullet down to .451 you can seat them out to do the same thing. You can buy The 250gr Hornady
in boxes of 50 pretty darn cheap so you have the best of both worlds shoot factory to get the brass and save it to reload when you get everything you need.

I have not shoot the Aero Max out of my Ruger 450BM but I do shoot the 310gr Arrowhead bullet in my 45/70 yes the higher BC will help in down range performance it really helped to flatten the curve in the 45/70.

The 450BM could be made into a 300 yard gun with the Aeromax bullet but its still going to have a pretty fast drop beyond 200 yards. That's what you have your muzzleloader for.

If you going to hunt strictly from a tree stand in the woods then the carbine might be a good choice but I think you will be happier in the long run buying one with the 22 inch model it just feels more like a rifle.

I would buy the Ruger with the 22 inch barrel it will make a very nice all around gun it will be easier to shoot more accurately then the little carbine.

My 45/70 shot really well with Hornady 325gr factory loads. They were pretty slow at 2,000 fps. I have had several 45/70's over the years and they all seem to shoot really well. Depending on what you want to hunt the 45/70 gives you a much wider choice of bullets than the 450BM. The CVA 45/70 has the same really short throat problem the Ruger has. So you really can't seat the 325gr bullet out further in the case than the factory round. The 310gr Arrowhead has a long nose and a shorter bearing surface so you can seat that out further in the case than the 325gr Hornady.

For deer hunting I would go with the 450BM shoot some factory rounds through it to get some brass and then play around with reloading it. The 450BM will out perform your muzzleloader it will have less recoil and it will shoot flatter and its cheaper to shoot I am surprised CVA doesn't offer the 350 Legend. I think that's on the light side but I know a few guys that used them in NY this past year and shot several deer they claimed it killed like lighting. That's still a 200 yard gun at best.

I have a 45-70 CVA Scout V2 and really like it. Very handy. It took 5 deer in the last two years. Recoil did not bother my daughters who used it also. Accurate rifles.

Thank you for everyone's input. I pulled the trigger on a Ruger American with muzzle break and 22" barrel. Awaiting delivery. Ordered Hornady Black and Federal Fusion factory ammo. I'll see how the factory stuff shoots. If I'm not satisfied, I'll start handloading. I've got a box plus of the .451 Barnes 275 gr. XPBs, 275 gr. Parker Extremes, Barnes 290 TEZs and a bunch of assorted stuff in the 250 gr. weights from all the trial and errors of muzzleloading over the years. I've got a Leupold VX 4.5-14 BDC ready to drop on it w/Warne mounts.

Thanks for the stock info. I've read about the factory stock being pretty flimsy. I looked a little bit at the Magpul drop in stock, but it's pretty pricey and there were some magazine feeding issues. Not sure if it would help accuracy or not either? I'll be sure to keep the front bag back as far as possible.

The Ruger stock is ok the way it comes from Ruger. You can easily beef it up with epoxy I left mine alone. The bedding system is really the most important part and that is pretty solid from the factory.

Boyd's sells a couple of different stocks for the Ruger so that is another choice but nothing you but on will be as light as the factory stock which I like a lot because it fits me better than most. There are also trigger kits to lighten the stock trigger and also replacement triggers so the little Ruger has a lot of options.

I don't have the 450BM but have a Ruger American 308 and the predator in 6.5CM and both are tack drivers with the factory stocks. Those stocks never bothered me because accuracy was there and I wanted the lighter weight. Thought about buying one in 450BM but have a Henry and a Apex in 45-70 and figured I didn't need one but I've been know to change my mind on a whim