450 Bushmaster - Ruger American Ranch or Gunsite Scout

[MMH]

Looking to pick up a bolt gun for deer hunting in OH and debating between the American Ranch & the Gunsite Scout. From what I read the Ranch shoots well, but does not feel that good, especially the flimsy stock. The Scout has a walnut stock & M77 action, but how does it shoot. Also, would have to get a scope base for it as I would not want a forward mount scope, but a traditional rifle scope.

Anything else that I should consider? Thought about the Savage Magpul Scout - heard some have had quality issues with it. Maybe even the AR-556? Semi autos are legal in Ohio.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have a Mossberg .Patriot because it did not have a muzzle brake. The rifle I actually like and have killed several bucks with it. Of course it now has a muzzle brake, lol.

 

[dantiff2]

450 Bushmaster is a remarkable hunting round. I have the gen 1 Ruger and the gun just plain shoots! There are several stock and chassis options on the market for these and honestly, anything is better than the factory stock but for a woods Gun the factory stock is just fine.
Full house loads are not enjoyable without a muzzle brake or suppressor. These guns are incredibly light and recoil can be sharp unaided. I recommend you get a suppressor and shoot subsonic ammo. When you shoot the first deer and it drops in its tracks, the other deer look around and wonder what the heck the first one fell down for! BAHAHAHAHA

Dan

 

[expiper]

I had a rattle gun A.R. 15 to begin with so I thought I would get an upper from Bear Creek and shoot it on that platform because of the reduced recoil versus a bolt gun,,, I purchased the upper installed it on my existing lower then I purchased 100 Starline Brass and started reloading for it using various 230 to 250 grain bullets using little gun powder and it shot amazingly well many groups around 1 inch at 100 yards and oh by the way, the velocity was 2300+ and it is proven to be a very effective on Whitetail deer. I can highly recommend one of the uppers from Bear Creek. It was a simple drop in, and start shooting type of purchase.... Roger

 

[450BM]

I have a 450BM in CVA Cascade and there is nothing about it I don’t like. I liked it so much I bought 3 more Cascades in 308, 350 Legend and 300 BO. All 4 have great triggers and are a pleasure to shoot.

 

[dantiff2]

I have a 450BM in CVA Cascade and there is nothing about it I don’t like. I liked it so much I bought 3 more Cascades in 308, 350 Legend and 300 BO. All 4 have great triggers and are a pleasure to shoot.

CVA makes a great rifle in the Cascade! Got one for my oldest son in 6.5 creed and it handles and shoots lights out! Only complaint is the really cheap mag but Rugers isn’t much better!
Edit: if you buy the gen 2 Ruger bottom for the ar15 mag it fits the gen 1 stock and you can use ar15 mags with the 450!

 

[mic2377]

I have a Gunsite Scout in 450 BM. It shoots quite well, the magazine is good quality, and the trigger is very good too. It definitely feels less "cheap" compared the Ruger American. However I think the American's still shoot pretty well and are like something like 40% cheaper. Up to you if it is worth it.

Also with the scout rail, it is possible to flip a forward extended AR mount backwards and use a traditional scope position. It looks funny but works fine and you don't need to switch the rail.

Another caution is feeding with certain bullets. The usual bullets used in 450 BM feed well, as they have a pointed spitzer shape. I tried some loads with the XTP Mag bullets, which have a much larger open tip and are much more blunt. They are obviously intended for revolvers, hence the shape, but I wanted to see if I could get a load worked up with a deeper penetrating bullet. They did feed but it was not smooth at all.

 

[MMH]

I have a Gunsite Scout in 450 BM. It shoots quite well, the magazine is good quality, and the trigger is very good too. It definitely feels less "cheap" compared the Ruger American. However I think the American's still shoot pretty well and are like something like 40% cheaper. Up to you if it is worth it.

Also with the scout rail, it is possible to flip a forward extended AR mount backwards and use a traditional scope position. It looks funny but works fine and you don't need to switch the rail.

Another caution is feeding with certain bullets. The usual bullets used in 450 BM feed well, as they have a pointed spitzer shape. I tried some loads with the XTP Mag bullets, which have a much larger open tip and are much more blunt. They are obviously intended for revolvers, hence the shape, but I wanted to see if I could get a load worked up with a deeper penetrating bullet. They did feed but it was not smooth at all.

I am sure that the Gunsite feels good as it is based on the M77. How does it shoot though - does it get close to 1 moa or is it closer to 2? I have heard that the American & Savage shoot lights out but just don't feel good.

Did not think about mounting an extended AR mount backwards I am guessing that the check will have to be built up then as the scope will be quite high. Nonetheless, I do like the thought of this as all of my good scopes have rings w/ picatinny mounts and I do not want to have to remove rings to swap scopes from rifle to rifle.

It looks like the Gunsite has the receiver machined for the Ruger scope mounts. Can you confirm? If so, Ruger mounts can be used or better yet, a Weigand picatinny rail can be mounted. The advantage of a Weigand is that you can get it with a 20MOA slope.

 

[David Milisock]

Looking to pick up a bolt gun for deer hunting in OH and debating between the American Ranch & the Gunsite Scout. From what I read the Ranch shoots well, but does not feel that good, especially the flimsy stock. The Scout has a walnut stock & M77 action, but how does it shoot. Also, would have to get a scope base for it as I would not want a forward mount scope, but a traditional rifle scope.

Anything else that I should consider? Thought about the Savage Magpul Scout - heard some have had quality issues with it. Maybe even the AR-556? Semi autos are legal in Ohio.

I only seek enlightenment. Why the 450 Bushmaster?

 

[dantiff2]

I only seek enlightenment. Why the 450 Bushmaster?

Cause they don't make a 46 hahaha!

 

[expiper]

I only seek enlightenment. Why the 450 Bushmaster?

it was designed to meet the criteria for hunting regulations in states where shotguns were required for deer hunting most of the rules and rigs say that it Hass to be a straight wall cartridge and cartridge case no longer than 1.8 inches (length of .460 S&W) using a pistol bullet so a 452 diameter bullet is legal but a 458 is not,, so the bushmaster uses pistol size bullets and a shortened 284 Winchester case which when sawed off at that length it is straight wall and since it is a rebated rim, it is larger than a 308 size cartridge case more case capacity, which will give more velocity and energy and is the right size to accept a 452 bullet for Reloading... Plus, this is the largest practical case size that will work in an AR 15 upper... To the best of my knowledge,,a Hunter in Missouri came up with the idea many years ago,,remember that in some states you are allowed only 3 cartridges in the gun ,,, Roger
PS... Side effects I broke my neck 13 years ago and I can barely type and use my hands because of spinal cord injury so I always use talk to text to send email or answer questions on this form. Please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors.

 

[MMH]

I only seek enlightenment. Why the 450 Bushmaster?

expiper hit the nail on the head.

For rifle hunting in OH pretty much down to 450 Bushmaster or 350 Legend. 350 Legend would do it, but with 450 Bushmaster have option of having a subsonic round with plenty of power for deer.

 

[David Milisock]

it was designed to meet the criteria for hunting regulations in states where shotguns were required for deer hunting most of the rules and rigs say that it Hass to be a straight wall cartridge and cartridge case no longer than 1.8 inches (length of .460 S&W) using a pistol bullet so a 452 diameter bullet is legal but a 458 is not,, so the bushmaster uses pistol size bullets and a shortened 284 Winchester case which when sawed off at that length it is straight wall and since it is a rebated rim, it is larger than a 308 size cartridge case more case capacity, which will give more velocity and energy and is the right size to accept a 452 bullet for Reloading... Plus, this is the largest practical case size that will work in an AR 15 upper... To the best of my knowledge,,a Hunter in Missouri came up with the idea many years ago,,remember that in some states you are allowed only 3 cartridges in the gun ,,, Roger
PS... Side effects I broke my neck 13 years ago and I can barely type and use my hands because of spinal cord injury so I always use talk to text to send email or answer questions on this form. Please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors.

Thanks for the information.

Unfortunately, Government gets involved things get stupid!

 

[mic2377]

In terms of ultimate accuracy, I haven't really finished up load development. I would say it shoots between between 1-2 MOA, but certainly is better than a 2+ MOA rifle. This is from non cherry picked 5 shot groups with a 4x scope. Straight wall cartridges seem a bit more finicky to get really, really good accuracy, so not sure what part is my loading vs the gun.

I initially flipped an AR scope mount, but ended up switching the rail to a XS Products extended rail that allows both scout and regular mounting, and runs all the way to the back of the receiver. I prefer a rail that is sturdy and will take sturdy, true Picatinny rings (use Leupold MK4's).

It does have the cutouts for the traditional M77 scope rings, and comes with 1" rings. All of my scope are 30 or 34 mm though and I prefer really sturdy rings. The Weigand would work great too.

 

[expiper]

expiper hit the nail on the head.

For rifle hunting in OH pretty much down to 450 Bushmaster or 350 Legend. 350 Legend would do it, but with 450 Bushmaster have option of having a subsonic round with plenty of power for deer.

it has been a surprisingly accurate cartridge in my AR 15----my load is Hornady 250 grain plastic tipped bullets in Starline Brass with Winchester small rifle primers--LOAL 2.150"using a light crimp--with 37grains of Lil Gun powder,,,,,Roger