450 Bushmaster

[Dedduc]

Looking at a few new guns for whitetail. 400 legend, 450 bushmaster or a 350 legend. Most shots are under 180 yards.

 

[rem.ostrem]

Haven't heard much about the 400 Legend yet but I have 3 350s and will always recommend them. We have 2 Ruger Americans, both a gen 1 and a gen 2 in 16in barrels. Very happy with how the cartridge has performed for us here in Iowa's shotgun season.

 

[weaver]

I use both a 350 and 450 here in Ohio with great results. Never used a 400 but I’m sure it would work just fine.
Big fan of ammo from bear creek ballistics.
I shoot all mine suppressed which I would highly recommend. If not shooting suppressed the 350 is much easier to shoot than the 450.
CVA and Ruger bolt actions in both cartridges have all shot well for us.
For a cheap,handy gun this CVA single shot 350 has accounted for a bunch of dead deer.
Ruger 450

 

[dtrkyman]

What has penetration and blood trails been like with the 350, have two friends kill with them this year, no passthrough and no blood trail on either. Fortunately both deer "didn't go 20"!

 

[SirChooCH]

Also curious on blood trails and how far they go as lower MI I shoot close and don't like deer to run past property lines. Was leaning 350 legend for my daughters to possibly use in the future, but not sure if that would be an issue and I need to go with 450 BM instead? Curious if the commenters on FB about poor blood trails is because everyone seems to use the cheapest winchester ammo and that has something to do with it?

 

[Murphy]

We have killed maybe a dozen deer 350 legend. Including some mature bucks. Fortunately all have been recovered but pretty disappointed with lack of blood trails. The lack of recoil is what keeps it around as my buddies kid and my nephew have been using it. Personally I think there are better options for restricted rifle states.

 

[wesfromky]

I have had a gen 1 and gen 2 ruger .350 with 16" barrel. Now a 16" tikka. All three shot better then I can, but I do like the Tikka more, though it was double the price. 140gn beer creek has done really well for me, think I am at like 8 deer so far, and it works well.

.350 will be easier to suppress vs .450 - more options for cans. I started with a dead air wolfman, quiet but heavy. Used an OCL lithum this year - super light, but on the louder side. Have an 8.6 OCL hydrogen in jail, and think that will be quiet and light.

 

[rem.ostrem]

My fiancé is a smaller framed women who shoots the gen 1 Ruger American predator. She says the recoil is very manageable for her and the light rifle is easy to tote around the woods for her. She shot her first buck in the neck from 70 yards and it dropped in it's tracks. I shot a doe with my 350 AR the same year in the vitals. Bullet went through and through and had a great blood trail. Doe ran 100 yards into the field and piled up. Both deer we were using the Winchester 150gn Deer Season XP rounds.

 

[wesfromky]

Also curious on blood trails and how far they go as lower MI I shoot close and don't like deer to run past property lines. Was leaning 350 legend for my daughters to possibly use in the future, but not sure if that would be an issue and I need to go with 450 BM instead? Curious if the commenters on FB about poor blood trails is because everyone seems to use the cheapest winchester ammo and that has something to do with it?

I have not needed to blood trail any of the deer I have shot with a .350 and the bear creak. All have been one shot, dead within a couple seconds, fall within sight, except a button buck I hit way back. He limped off maybe 40 yards, and I put a finishing shot in him and a dropped there.

 

[Rjk300]

I have seen many deer killed with a 450bm using Hornady black or custom ( same ammo different box) and a lot of them by youth hunters. A good shot they don’t go far and can be tracked w a blood trail but a marginal shot can be tough to track. The 350 does good too but a good shot seems to have a lighter blood trail still puts them down quick though. A good brake on a 450 and recoil isn’t anything to worry about plus staying on target to watch the reaction or for a follow up shot is easy! A good brake on the 350 and recoil is crazy light with staying on target not a problem either! My suppressed 450 ar has a more noticeable recoil than with a brake but still greatly reduced over no brake at all.


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[TK161BOONER]

I have no experience with the 350 legend, but my brothers and I love our 450 bushmasters .
We all have Christiansen arms Mesa 450 BM and they put the deer down and have great blood trails with the Hornady Black.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

I have a 350 and a 450. Both seem to kill deer just fine. The 350 is much more fun to shoot, the 450 puts deer down fast if that is your goal.

 

[Agross]

Both great guns. Blood trails regardless of how far the deer goes have been very hit and miss with the 350, and they were all good shots. Nice to shoot but has me wanting to bump up to the 450 as soon as my boy is a little older. We have had several pass throughs with the 350 and we have also had numerous where the bullet is just inside the hide on the off side. I’ve shot a few doe with a buddy’s 450. Also a tack driver but with more knock down and better blood trails.

 

[Rich M]

I'm wondering why the 350 Legend isn't getting complete pass thru's. Guess the light recoil means light impact on deer too?

Have a Ruger gen 1 w 16 inch barrel. Reload and getting 2350 fps with 165 ftx. Full penetration on the 2 deer I've shot. The one that ran was in tight to shoulder and out paunch. Ran about 100 yds and was spraying blood out entrance hole - painting trees.

 

[jpk724]

I have a 450 AR upper I’m looking to move. Aero components and Tromix barrel. Shoots clover leafs with factory ammo. It’s posted in the forum.

 

[camp_86]

Between hunting partner and myself, we have killed 4 deer with the 350 Legend this year. 2 dropped on the shot. 1 was shot in guts/liver and made it about 100 yards. 1 was double lung and ran about 60. The 2 that ran had little blood at shot impact but began to bleed good after 30-40 yards. Shots were from 30 to 120 yards.

This is our first year with the 350 but so far we are impressed. From our research the key ingredient for the 350 is quality ammo. Hard to find a bad review with Bear Creek Ballistics. We are both shooting the 140 grain pointed tip. All 4 were complete pass though.

 

[csp20108]

The argument for 350 boils down to light recoil and a flatter trajectory than 450. The guns are virtually identical in cost, and, at this point, the ammo is nearly the same in price as well. So, how do you decide? Essentially it comes down to what you're more concerned about performance or recoil.

When shot out of a 16" barrel, 450 recoil is about like shooting a 20 gauge slug. In other words, it's not that bad. However, as to performance, in my experience, 450 absolutely crushes deer without being too much gun. I've never seen a 450 bullet recovered in tact from a deer nor have I seen a deer shot with a 450 where a blood trail was necessary to track because they have all died inside of 5 yards from the shot. In all of the deer shot high shoulder, they have dropped where they stood. So, to me, so long as your shots are 150 yards or shorter, the decision between the two calibers is simple.

 

[rem.ostrem]

Just wrapped up our first shotgun/straightwalled rifle season here in Iowa and I was able to drop 3 deer with my 350L. 2 shot at around 50 yards and 1 shot around 85. All 3 dropped where they stood so no trailing needed. Only needed 1 shot per deer and all 3 were complete pass throughs. I used Winchester 150gn Deer Season XP out of my 16in Ruger American Gen II.

 

[hiker270]

Bought my 12 yr. old grandson a Ruger American 350 Legend and so far with Winchester 150 gr. Deer Season XP he is 2 for 2. Last year a nice 4x4 and this year a fork horn. Both shots behind the shoulder and neither deer made it 40 yds with a great blood trail (not that it was needed). I'm pretty impressed with this low recoil caliber.