The Best Straight Walled AR Cartridges

Luckily for you, firearms retailers are competing like never before by catering to hunters and trying to outdo one another with insane coupon codes. While waiting for deer season to come around, many AR15 owners can take advantage of the holiday deals to modify their AR15 upper receiver with a new barrel or high-caliber bolt carrier group, hoping the changes will guarantee a perfect down-range shot.

With thoughts of venison steaks twirling about their brains, many hunters build some fantastic pieces of equipment. Very few, however, stop to think about the ammunition they intend to use on the first day.

Sometimes the difference between dropping that target on the first pull of the trigger at a hundred yards or having to spend hours tracking because the shot didn’t do the job is all about the ammunition you use.

If you’ve taken all the time to ensure your AR15 is functioning at maximum efficiency, then you should logically fill that magazine with one of these four types of straight-walled ammunition.

What They Are and How They Work

It’s possible that many AR15 owners haven’t thought about the benefits of using straight-walled cartridges in their rifles. What’s great about these types of ammunition is that they offer larger caliber bullets for taking down bigger game.

Additionally, there are some states that only allow hunting with straight-walled cartridges. Aside from a more accurate placement of your shot, in many states hunting with a straight-walled cartridge keep you on the right side of the law.

450 Bushmaster

While the 450 Bushmaster has been on the market for some time it’s had several different names. Originally known as the .45 professional, this straight-walled cartridge delivers a whopping muzzle velocity of nearly 2100 to 2200 fps, even when used with a higher grain capacity cartridge. One thing to note when choosing to fire with 450 Bushmaster cartridges and that’s the recoil.

For the recoil-sensitive shooter, there is no way of getting around the kick. Firing a 450 Bushmaster round is sometimes likened to the recoil you’ll experience firing a twelve-gauge shotgun even with a longer barrel and muzzle brake. However, the 450 Bushmaster makes up for this inconvenience by providing one of the industries most powerful knock-down shot. This one factor alone, widens your target capabilities, and allows you to hunt some of the bigger game you may have had to previously pass up. Another fantastic feature of the 450 Bushmaster cartridge is that it greatly reduces the need to track game after the shot. If you’re hunting on smaller properties or public land, you don’t want your game to travel too far.

Winchester 350 Legend

It’s no surprise that Winchester has multiple types of quality ammo on the “best in class” list in the firearm and ammunition industry. Winchester has been producing quality ammunition and firearms for over one hundred years.

The Winchester 350 Legend sports the world’s fastest straight-walled ammunition and provides more energy than a Remington .223 with less recoil than a 450 Bushmaster.

This ammunition speaks superior performance with every shot taken. The 350 Legend has twenty percent more penetration and expansion when stacked up against a comparable straight-walled shell. The Winchester 350 Legend will bring even the biggest deer down with twenty percent more penetration and terminal expansion capabilities when it comes to stopping power.

Winchester’s 350 Legend is designed to provide one specific thing and that’s to meet or exceed a hunter’s expectations of what the shot will do when the trigger is pulled.

50 Beowulf

One of the first entries into the world of ammunition, the 50 Beowulf continues to be a favored pick with hunters required to hunt with a straight-walled cartridge. Although the 50 Beowulf uses larger diameter bullets, the reaction and power are like the 450 Bushmaster and .458 SOCOM.

With a case length of 1.65 inches, the 50 Beowulf meets the regulations of using a straight-walled cartridge to hunt. It also produces a muzzle velocity of 1,771 fps, and over a thousand-foot pounds of trajectory energy when firing a 350-grain cartridge. When firing a 50 Beowulf at a target of around 100 yards, this is one cartridge that will provide terminal performance and help you bag larger game you’ve been missing out on the opportunity to hunt.

As with the 450 Bushmaster, firing your AR15 with 50 Beowulf ammunition means getting used to a more significant felt recoil. The free-recoil energy released when shooting with a rifle weighing only nine pounds hovers in 25 ft-lbs range, so you’ll want to practice fire with the 50 Beowulf to understand how much padding you need on your stock or shoulder, and what to expect before you take your first hunting shot. With an AR15 weighing in at around seven and a half pounds the felt recoil of firing a 50 Beowulf round is even higher at thirty ft-lbs of free recoil energy. Again, it’s always best to take several practice sessions when firing a 50 Beowulf, 450 Bushmaster or 350 Legend. Straight-walled cartridges are known for providing the shooter with enough power at ranges over a hundred yards, so they really pack a punch and produce a little more recoil than most.

Depending on whether you’re hunting whitetail or looking to bring down a bigger prize, there’s a straight-walled cartridge for the need. If it’s the long downrange shot you’re looking for, or you require adequate stopping power at a closer range, each of these straight-walled cartridges can give it to you.

While the 450 Bushmaster is the more common ammunition on the market these days, each of these straight-walled cartridges are guaranteed to provide exceptional terminal velocity and stopping power and all three will usually cost around a dollar per round. Any of these three mentioned straight-walled cartridges are worth purchasing and filling up your mags with before hitting the fields on a hunting trip.

Conclusion

Straight walled cartridges are a great way to pack a lot of punch in the small form AR platform whether you are hunting or just want something different. With a bit of research and some pocket change, you can supply your AR15 with many rounds of exceptionally accurate cartridges that will produce some fantastic results.