450 Bushmaster for deer? Which one

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Hello, I am looking into hunting Ohio for the late rut this year (either lease or public land) and i can't use my normal hunting rifles. I do have a 12ga rifled barrel shotgun but looking for an excuse to get something new and exciting while my mountain rifle is being built for western hunts in the future. At this point I am considering either
1. building an AR platform 450 since i have a ton of parts and i can use a high end lower i already have.
2. Buying the savage 450 bushmaster Wolverine
3. Buying Ruger American in 450.
The ruger is the lightest which would be handy if hunting public land and have to hike deep in
The AR will be the most fun to use and build and will have more use for other things
The savage 110 wolverine (sounds badazz) is a bit heavier than the ruger but lighter than the AR. Has a comfortable stock and nice accutrigger. 5r rifling. I can also let my son use it cuz stock is adjustable and i hear it is very accurate.
I already have a 3x9 tactical style hunter scope with lit reticle ill be putting on this.
If the savage had a stainless barrel, i think it would be an easier decision.
Thoughts?

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Fishmaster196

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I have a Ruger American .450 that shoots under an inch. It’s the stainless model with a 22 inch barrel. I don’t think the recoil is bad and mine doesn’t have a brake on it.
Seems like everyone in the shotgun zone of lower Michigan has a 450 of some sort now.
 

rayporter

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the 350 is starting to hit the shelves, a pic was posted yesterday.

a fellow I grew up with has one on order that should be in soon.

I am not impressed with it yet. it may not be a flop but I just don't think it can live up to the hype.
 
Joined
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I have a Bushmaster brand 450 upper in 20" that has always shot atleast 3/4". Definitely can't complain about accuracy. Running factory 250 grain ftx Hornady ammo out of it. Shot it with a box I bought when I got it and went back and bought them out of ammo so everything is the same lot number. No experience with any other 450's.
 
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TonySkyline
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I am wary on the 350 legend. Seems like its trying to be the 6.5 creed of straight wall cartridges, lol. A ton of hype and not enough proven ballistics.

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weaver

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Seems everyone around here has one since they became legal a few years back. I have 2 Ruger 450s and they both consistently shoot 1-1.5 moa with hornady black ammo.
Brother built one on a AR platform that shoots 3/4 moa but he has a lot of money in it and it's fairly heavy.
CVA is another popular option here but I have no experience with it.
Nothing magical about the 450 Bushmaster but they're generally more accurate than a slug gun and more convenient than a muzzleloader.
It's basically a muzzleloader in a cartridge rifle.

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Creed28

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I bought the ruger American 450 with a Boyd’s thumbhole stock, top it with a leupold mark 2 cds scope. It’s a sweet shooting gun.
 

michihunt

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I am a lefty so I bought the CVA single. It’s really affordable and shoots really well.


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Joined
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Had a ruger AR. Hated it. Heavy and kicked like a donkey with a dog on its ass. Ruger american cant be beat for that particular caliber. No experience with the savage though.

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tgus59

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I'm a lefty, so I opted for the AR build and have loved it. Retrofitted a 20 round PMAG to hold 8 rounds. Groups consistently under an inch. I zero'd at 175 to give myself a point blank range of 200. I've shot 6 deer with it from 40-187 yards, and it has been incredibly effective.

My dad went with the Ruger American, and it has been the same story for him.

Both guns came with a muzzle brake, and kick less than a 20 gauge. Both are sub inch groups. The only real differences are weight, and semi vs bolt action.

If it were me, it would come down to your hunting style. If you do any pushes/drives, or plan to shoot multiple deer in the same group, the semi auto seems worth the extra weight. If you are just in a stand or a blind on a food source, you shouldn't need more than one shot, and the bolt gun will be fine.
 
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My dad had a bushmaster in 450. Even with a 16" barrel it was pretty heavy and clunky. He sold it and ended up with a 20" Ruger American. I have one as well. Accurate and cheap.
 
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TonySkyline
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What do u guys think the AR version weighs vs the savage wolverine or ruger American version

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Depending on scope at least 1/3 more. I can try to weigh mine tomorrow for you. It's not as heavy as a varmint ar but they are definitely heavier than a comparable bolt gun.
 
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Mine is under 10# field ready. Weighs 9 # 15.2 ounces on food scale. Spikes tactical lower, ergogrips grip, Magpul acs stock with their thicker recoil pad, Burris pepr mount, trijicon 2.5-10×56 scope with cover, sling, magazine with 4 rounds. 20" Bushmaster brand upper with factory Izzy break.

Might not be the difference I thought it would be. I have some heavy accessories on mine so I would think you could get under 9.5 pretty easy if you wanted.
 

magedon44

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I have a Ruger American .450 that shoots under an inch. It’s the stainless model with a 22 inch barrel. I don’t think the recoil is bad and mine doesn’t have a brake on it.
Seems like everyone in the shotgun zone of lower Michigan has a 450 of some sort now.
My buddy has one and loves it
 
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TonySkyline
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Mine is under 10# field ready. Weighs 9 # 15.2 ounces on food scale. Spikes tactical lower, ergogrips grip, Magpul acs stock with their thicker recoil pad, Burris pepr mount, trijicon 2.5-10×56 scope with cover, sling, magazine with 4 rounds. 20" Bushmaster brand upper with factory Izzy break.

Might not be the difference I thought it would be. I have some heavy accessories on mine so I would think you could get under 9.5 pretty easy if you wanted.
Thank you Billy Goat for checking that for me. I guess this will now depend on if i lease or go to state land as i would prefer not to lug around that weight if im hiking a few miles into state land. Not the end of the world either way though. How has the reliability been on your AR? I have 1 that jams up every time i try to shoot it and another that has been perfect through 100s of rounds.

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Thank you Billy Goat for checking that for me. I guess this will now depend on if i lease or go to state land as i would prefer not to lug around that weight if im hiking a few miles into state land. Not the end of the world either way though. How has the reliability been on your AR? I have 1 that jams up every time i try to shoot it and another that has been perfect through 100s of rounds.

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I haven't had any issues. Probably approaching 60 rounds fired through it so it's not like I shoot it a lot. Sighted it in and hunt with it. Probably have had it around 5 years now.

If packing in I would think a 16" ar with the stock retracted would about fit into a pack. Mine is 36.5 with the break removed. So a 16" you could have at 32" if no break and standard butt stock.
 

MTSabo

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Ive got a windham weapornry 450 upper. Used it last year in ohio. My dad has the mossberg 450. Both shoot great, same poi with hornady and winchester factory ammo.
 
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