The .450 Bushmaster caliber quietly crept back into the limelight this year, its resurgence linked to legislation from the Midwest.

How did updated hunting regulations breathe new life into this chambering?

The Thumper round, as it is affectionately known, was created by Col. Jeff Cooper. Cooper, notorious for his disdain for the .223 caliber AR-15 platforms, envisioned a cartridge for big game that could handle shots out to 250 yards.

Cooper’s idea led Tim LeGendre of LeMay Firearms to develop the “.45 Professional Cartridge” utilizing .452 projectiles. LeGendre eventually licensed the design to Bushmaster who approached Hornady with another idea.

Bushmaster asked the Hornady team to modify the original concept to integrate a .250 grain super shock tip into the design. The modification forced the ammo maker to shorten the cartridge case and thus the .450 Bushmaster round was born. Read More the rest of the article at Guns.com