Post by elkman1310 on Dec 9, 2020 10:20:53 GMT -5
I posted that I shot a deer with my 45/70 using the 310gr arrowhead bullet. Big doe at 130 yards. broadside shot. dead center in the lungs. The doe did a big mule kick but it did not knock her down pretty amazing. She ran on a flat out death run to the wood line and just made it into the woods. That deer had a massive wound channel and bleed out before she hit the wood line. So that combo in the 45/70 is devastating on a deer. The 310gr arrowhead bullet has a pretty thin jacket so it makes for very good expansion at lower velocities. Also the bullet has a higher BC than any other bullets avaible for the .458 bore in the 300gr weight class so it can make the 45/70 into a 300 to 400 yard gun
How does the 450BM stack up against the 45/70 . My 450BM is in a Ruger all American with a 22 inch barrel. I did have the short carbine for a while and it proved to be very accurate and with the right reloads you could easily get 2400fps out the 16 inch barrel. This gun would make a excellent gun for shooting out of a tree stand but I just found it to small of a gun for my liking so I sold that one and bought the new Camo gone wild model with the 22 inch barrel very nice looking rig.
The 22 inch barrel has a real advantage if your trying to get more performance out of the 450BM. The 16 inch barrel only turned up 2160 with factory loads the 22 inch gave 2300fps on average.
The 450BM has a short throat so all factory round can work in the AR platform that is a real draw back for a bolt gun with a clip that will handle a much longer round. There are to simple ways to improve the 450BM (1) you can size the 250gr Hornady down from .452 to .451 or to .450 This will allow you to seat the bullet out far enough in the case to get 46.5grs of h110 in the case this will give you 2500fps. (2) Go with the Barnes 250gr muzzleloader bullet which starts off at .451 and you don't have to foul around with any sizing you. I am using the 250gr boat tail just because it makes it easier to load in the straight wall case.
The real test came last evening we had a target doe we wanted to take out that had a bad left front leg. We had seen her several times she could get around but not very good. So last evening she came out in the far end of the food plot which is 165 yards from the hut. It was clear to see that she was really struggling to get around so it was time to put her down. The 450BM is not a flat shooting rifle even when you bump the velocity up to 2500fps. The gun was sighted dead on at 100 yards and I had shot it on paper at 220 yards so I held for a high behind the shoulder shot figuring I would hit her pretty well in center of her lungs. That's right where the bullet hit her. It did not knock her down and she really didn't have much of a reaction when she got hit except for running off into the woods. I thought of boy did I shoot over top of her at any rate I gathered up my gear and went down to check for blood it was everywhere and it was a clear visible path for 40 yards where she laid stone dead. These deer are amazing animals they can absorb punishment that a human can't withstand. So the 450BM did a really good job.
My final thought on both the 45/70 and the 450BM they both will get the job done. they both put big holes in deer size game. They both produce blood trails that a blind man could follow as long as you hit the deer in a vital area. It's like anything else if you put a poor hit on a animal your going to have a hard time recovering it. So a 45/70 in a CVA Scout makes a great gun at a very reasonable price or if you want 450BM CVA also makes one in a Scout. There are several bolt action choices avaible now besides the Ruger but the Ruger is a very nice light weight rifle with a muzzle break installed on it. That's a hard combo to beat. I like both.
