I'm imagining a .45 caliber rifle cartridge, something capable of driving a spitzered 300 grain bullet at about 1900 FPS to produce muzzle energy comparable to say a .308 Winchester. It would be something like a .45-70 updated for better pressures and pointed tip bullets. It seems to me all the other .40 and over rifle rounds are either round-nose or overpowered rounds designed for big game. With all the niche rifle rounds out there, why isn't there one that combines the hitting power of a larger bullet with the ballistic performance of something like .308?
Why doesn't this rifle cartridge exist?
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nimbleVagrant
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.50 Beowulf?
young mosin
New member
450 bushmaster?
nimbleVagrant
New member
ah yes, forgot about that one. Fits his bill quite well.
You mean like a .375 H&H Magnum? That will put them in the dirt. Great round too.
If you want the big gobstopper get the blown out .458 Win MAG. That might even penetrate the armor on the Batmobile. Much hotter than you are looking for, but it can give you the ballistics you are looking for in a "light" 300gr load.
There is also the .350 REM MAG/ .35 Whelen. If you can get a 300 grain bullet it on it I imagine it will give you exactly the velocity you are looking for but not the ballistics of a .308.
I am not sure you can get .308 ballisitcs from a 300gr/ .45 caliber bullet with such a low velocity.
longranger
New member
Big and heavy bullets for long range shooting.45-90, 45-100 and 45-110 do well at a mile.There are videos on you tube with Mr. Kenny Wasserbeger,fine long range shooter.1400 fps would be fast for 540+gr bullet but the energy is tremendous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LnfJrBfRjo&NR=1
This one is Dave Gullo some outsatnding long range 45 cal. shooting.These are 100+ year old rifles that still do the job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHUF0gZnwxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LnfJrBfRjo&NR=1
This one is Dave Gullo some outsatnding long range 45 cal. shooting.These are 100+ year old rifles that still do the job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHUF0gZnwxM
longranger
New member
Still a light for caliber projectile,it's design purpose is to increase the down range performance for the lever action 45-70's which is still a less than 300yd load and rifle.
Technosavant
New member
There's probably nothing as you describe because there's not much point in only matching the ballistics of the .308 in an expensive new big bore cartridge design to just get what is already found in a plentiful and relatively inexpensive cartridge.
A real spitzer .45 rifle round would be one heck of a long cartridge- not much reason to do it unless you're shooting at long range (.415 Barrett; basically a necked down .50BMG).
There's the big bore "thumper" type rounds already mentioned, (.450 BM, .458 SOCOM, etc.), but as you said, they aren't spitzers and their range is limited to about 150 yds.
A real spitzer .45 rifle round would be one heck of a long cartridge- not much reason to do it unless you're shooting at long range (.415 Barrett; basically a necked down .50BMG).
There's the big bore "thumper" type rounds already mentioned, (.450 BM, .458 SOCOM, etc.), but as you said, they aren't spitzers and their range is limited to about 150 yds.
450 Marlin LeveRevolution:
http://www.hornady.com/store/450-Marlin-325-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
Of course in factory trim it pushes a 325 grain spitzer bullet @ 2200fps, but you could always download it.
Or the 45-70 LeverRevolution:
http://www.hornady.com/store/45-70-Government-325-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
which sends the same 325 grain spitzer out at 2050fps. That should be close enough.
http://www.hornady.com/store/450-Marlin-325-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
Of course in factory trim it pushes a 325 grain spitzer bullet @ 2200fps, but you could always download it.
Or the 45-70 LeverRevolution:
http://www.hornady.com/store/45-70-Government-325-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
which sends the same 325 grain spitzer out at 2050fps. That should be close enough.
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Look at the shape of a 300 gr 45 colt handgun bullet.That is the shape of 300 gr of lead in 45 cal.How do you turn it into an aerodynamic spitzer?Look ar a Sierra 300 gr 375 bullet.In 45,I think you might need 400 gr plus to have enough material.
The .405 Win by Hornady is a 40 cal 300 gr bullet,and can be had in a rubber point spitzer @2400
I suppose there might be a 454 Casull load,maybe in a rubber tipped spitzer could work in a lever gun.
38-55,375 Win,358Win,35 Rem,all get the job done,
In a single shot,you can load pointy bullets in a 45-70
Myself,I would like a 1 ton 4wd drive step van/potato chip truck that will pull a boat at 75 MPH uphill on I-70 over the continental divide and get 48 miles per gallon,and I think I can afford about $2800
I wonder why nobody makes that?
The .405 Win by Hornady is a 40 cal 300 gr bullet,and can be had in a rubber point spitzer @2400
I suppose there might be a 454 Casull load,maybe in a rubber tipped spitzer could work in a lever gun.
38-55,375 Win,358Win,35 Rem,all get the job done,
In a single shot,you can load pointy bullets in a 45-70
Myself,I would like a 1 ton 4wd drive step van/potato chip truck that will pull a boat at 75 MPH uphill on I-70 over the continental divide and get 48 miles per gallon,and I think I can afford about $2800
I wonder why nobody makes that?
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Jim Watson
New member
The BPCR guys did some work several years ago with .458" spitzers and even tried to protect the base of a lead boattail. It made little difference in the trajectory and accuracy was not as good, even with heavy bullets to get enough bearing surface between nose and tail.
A 300 gr .45 is a moderate range bullet and there is not much to do about it.
I like your truck, HiBC. Internet Shooters tend to want improbable capabilities, superb quality, and low price. Some are downright socialist, "Why don't they make what I want at my price?" "Who needs profit?"
A 300 gr .45 is a moderate range bullet and there is not much to do about it.
I like your truck, HiBC. Internet Shooters tend to want improbable capabilities, superb quality, and low price. Some are downright socialist, "Why don't they make what I want at my price?" "Who needs profit?"
jammin1237
New member
ask myself that question a while back and i started workin on it... have the 450 bushmaster already and was thinking 308 but wanted something in between, it might do the trick.....
left to right...450 bushmaster 7.62x39 and ????
.40 carbine or whatever name you want to call it maybe the 40 super, i'll let you all decide... the barrel is on the lathe already, hope to get it done and mounted on an ar upper this year... .40 cal 155-200 grain bullets
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fast-eddie
New member
Wouldn't the 460 s&w rifle(Ruger #1) be close? I'm not sure but I've read it's comprable to a 30-06 with a 200 grn pill.
The point being that a .450 is a lot of diameter, and it takes a lot of length to get the spitzer. That make the bullet much longer, which ups the weight considerably.
Bullet designers fight it all the time, getting a spitzer profile on a short bullet is a serious challenge. The length to diameter ratio is counterproductive.
that a .450 is a lot of diameter, and it takes a lot of length to get the spitzer. That make the bullet much longer, which ups the weight considerably. Bullet designers fight it all the time, getting a spitzer profile on a short bullet is a serious challenge. The length to diameter ratio is counterproductive.
Well, I'm not sure either, but a lot of nonsense get published in gun rags and then repeated by otherwise well-intentioned folks. Even the most powerful handguns cannot match the energy numbers of even a medium-powered rifle cartridge. The 460 S&W approaches 30-06 energy with some loads (2,800 ft-lbs vs 3,000+ ft-lbs, published data), but it cannot match 30-06 trajectory.
Sectional density and ballistic coefficient will take care of that.