I had a nice surprise today on the Savage 99C 450 Bushmaster project. I finally got some Bear Creek Ballistics 240 grain HV Bullets for handloads after a very long backorder wait. These have a high BC and lengthen the 450 Bushmaster to a bit under the .308 case overall length (COL). They also completely change the feeding dynamics of the stock .308 99C Magazine over the short-stubby .223 length standard 450 BM COL to my big surprise. With minor feed lip mods, the Savage 99 .308 magazine will hold 3 of these longer 450's and feed the first 2 with 100% reliability and the 3rd round not so smoothly. It looks like a follower with a different contour will solve the 3rd round in the mag feeding issue and I need to spend some time looking into this. For now, 1 in the chamber and 2 rounds in the magazine that feed perfectly is fine with me. The 240 grain bullet at around 2500 fps and 3450 ft lbs makes this more than just a brush gun and extends the range for what I consider useful and practical to 250 yards without significant bullet drop.
https://bearcreekballistics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/bearCreekBrochure012820.pdfPic of the Bear Creek 240 HV 450 Bushmaster load next to a .308 and Hornady factory 250 grain FTX load. Also, for context, 3 rounds loaded in the Savage 99C magazine.
