.450 Bushmaster…  Big Bore = Big Boar!

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Photos by Bill Battles / On Target Magazine.

	295 lb. Black Russian boar taken in North Carolina by Primedia Publications writer J. Guthrie – one shot kill with the Bushmaster .450.

Bushmaster’s newest rifle – the .450 Bushmaster – in combination with the .450 Bushmaster cartridge developed specifically for it by Hornady Manufacturing, has proven to be a deadly tool for the increasing numbers of hog hunters in the USA.

Feral hogs are widespread across the USA with 39 States, and 4 Canadian provinces, harboring breeding populations. The US national population is estimated at 4,000,000 animals, with annual agricultural damage from feral swine estimated at $52 million! They are prolific, adaptable, and hardy, and their population growth has led to the development of Hog Hunting as a predominant sport in many States – especially the Southeast, down into Florida, and West into Texas, Missouri and Arkansas.

The first true pigs were brought to the Atlantic Coast of Florida in 1539 by Hernando de Sota, and the first "Pure Russian" wild boars were brought into Sullivan County, New Hampshire by Austin Corbin in 1890. These domestic hogs gone wild degrade wildlife habitat and private property, compete with native wildlife for food, and can pose a threat to humans, pets and domestic livestock through the spread of disease. So, the damage feral hogs cause, combined with their prolific breeding,  necessitates  population control on these “big varmints”. This becomes for hunters, not only good sport, but good sense and sound ecological practice.

Feral hogs are hunted with dogs, or from stands.

The Bushmaster .450 – shown below in the hands of Bill Battles, Publisher of On Target Magazine after a successful hunt – was developed to bring the power of a big bore caliber to the Bushmaster AR-type firearms platform. Nicknamed, “The Thumper,” the new .450

	Loading Bushmaster .450 Cartridges – single stacked – into a standard AR-type magazine fitted with a blue competition type follower.

Bushmaster is the most radical cartridge ever chambered in a production AR-15 type firearm, and this innovation will open a whole new world of hunting to the battleproven platform.

Hornady engineers, working closely with the design team from Bushmaster, built the new .450 Bushmaster cartridge to wring every last ounce of performance from the AR-15 platform without sacrificing strength or reliability. This cartridge is well suited to hunting any game in North America and will quickly become a favorite of guides in bear country. With the flexibility of the AR type platform – by simply switching UpperReceiver Assemblies – the hunter can go from the prairie dog towns of

Another successful one-shot kill with the Bushmaster .450.

South Dakota to Kodiak country in Alaska! The .450 Bushmaster fires Hornady’s 0.452" 250 gr. SST bullet with “Flex Tip technology”. The overall cartridge length matches the .223 Remington at 2.250", and the bullet profile makes for surprisingly flat trajectories and
tremendous downrange energy. The new, soft polymer tipped SST bullet eliminates tip deformation and also initiates expansion over a wide range of impact velocities. Put it all together, and you have a cartridge that will give your AR series rifle a serious attitude adjustment!

	Bushmaster .450 bullet recovered from a feral hog – the hog did not recover.

While the Bushmaster .450 bullet can pass right through a tough hog easily, the impact energy released will most often result in one shot kills. Should it hit some solid bone, it will mushroom out – to 150% of its original diameter in this case – yet still retain most of its mass (70 % this example). This is why it’s called “the Thumper”! Surprisingly, given the 250 grain bullet weight, and the powder charge hefty enough to propel it at 2200 fps, the recoil of the Bushmaster .450 is not too heavy – much like that of a 20 gauge shotgun

With an ugly mug like the one shown below, a feral hog is not an animal to be taken lightly. So plan on taking a new Bushmaster .450 if you’re planning a hog hunt. You’ll be guaranteed of some fine sport, a great adrenaline rush, and enough “thumping power” to stop that hog before he gets close enough to do any damage!

A heavily tusked example of a wild boar – you’ll need the Bushmaster .450 to stop him.