So I'm getting a .454.....

[Tom W.]

And I would like some opinions ( yes, I know) on my boolit selection. The only molds that I have are a pb 255 grain SWC , a 45-270 SAA, and a Lee r n that I use in my .45 ACP. It will be a 12 " Encore barrel. I've tried to stay away from g/c bullets in my .45 Colt, which is why I don't have any g/c molds. I use Lars Carnauba red as a boolit lube, along with LLa when the mood strikes. What should I expect?

[Duckiller]

Tom enjoy your 454. #2 son has one, Raging Bull with ported barrel. You should shoot a FEW full power factory loads every time you take it to the range. We have found that we can shoot 15-20 full power rounds without doing damage to our hands. The rest of the time we shoot cast lead with and without gas checks on top of 2400 and Lars Carnauba Red. Don't remember exact load. IIRC 2-3gr above starting load from Lyman manual. Velocity is greater than Ruger/TC loads for 45 Colt but recoil is managable. This gives us a stout load to practice with without getting beat up. Duckiller

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo Tom, I don't know exactly what you are looking for from your post?, are you looking for a hunting load or just something to go bang?, If you want to know which mold is best suited to the 454, IMHO I like 300-320gr cast boolits in my pistols, Freedom arms revolvers.

Your 270gr mold should do fine for starters, if the cast boolit is sized for the BBL, say.002 over, it should be fine, you don't really need a GC unless you are going to drive the boolit 1700FPS or better, I would start with loads that are at the top of the 45 colt ruger/TC listed loads and work up from there, depending on what you are trying to do, if you shoot much I think you will want to practice with a load in this range as stated above by duckkiller.

Some people like heavier CB's, but I don't shoot them much, I tried some, the recoil is all I want with stiff 320gr Kieth type boolits in my hunting loads. Lee, lyman,and RCBS all make heavy design molds in 45cal, so your decision on a new mold would depend on what you want.

I don't know if this help or not, but it is an opinion....

[454PB]

In my experience with three .454 revolvers and a rifle, you will be limited using PB boolits.

If you're happy with 75% of the .454's capabilities, you'll be fine with PB loads.

[shotman]

just shoot the 45colts You cant load cast to what a 454 pushes a jacket.45 colt brass is a lot cheaper. I use 9gr titegroup and a 255 with lee tl and it is nice in a S&W460. That is a hot load for 45colt but it dont show any pressuer signs rick

[oleycow]

I was told recently that even though you can shoot .45 colts through a .454 you shouldn't do it, because it's hard on the weapon.

Is there any truth to that?

or is this guy some paranoid schizophrenic?

He's got me all jittery need i be worried?

[PolishYeti]

No problem shooting 45 colts out of a 454. Just like shooting 38's out of a 357

[runfiverun]

you should expect your boolits to go faster, with more recoil ,more cost for brass and a bigger smile.
some 454's do like 454 sizd boolits.
if i had a 454 instead of it's fore runner the 450 express mag.
i would opt for a 300 gr boolit at 1300 or so and be a happy camper.

[454PB]

Freedom Arms says not to shoot .45 Colt in a .454 cylinder, Taurus seems to ignore it, and Ruger says you can use both .45 Colt and .454 Casull in the SRH.

Limited use probably doesn't hurt anything, but shooting a lot of the .45 Colt without proper cleaning can cause problems. A carbon ring can develop at the end of the .45 Colt brass, then when a full length .454 Casull round is chambered, it acts as a constriction and raises pressure. Go to the next step, and the chamber can begin to erode in that same area.

I only use .45 Colt brass in my Ruger SRH, mainly because if something does go wrong, their warranty would cover it. For my F.A. and the Taurus, I use .454 brass and reduced loads when desired.

[onesonek]

I too am planning on having Encore barrel made in the .454. I don't cast myself as of yet, and not sure when that process will come into play. With that said, I was planning on buying cast bullets from MontanaBulletWorks (unless there is somebody here that I should be dealing with?). I'm considering three weights, 260 280 and the 300 in the LBT WFN. I'm wondering if anybody here has had any experience with that design, and what twist rate would be best? I heard from one scource of some keyholing with the LBT's??
Or is there, or are there better designed I should consider in the .454.????
Dave

[alamogunr]

Freedom Arms says not to shoot .45 Colt in a .454 cylinder, Taurus seems to ignore it, and Ruger says you can use both .45 Colt and .454 Casull in the SRH.

Limited use probably doesn't hurt anything, but shooting a lot of the .45 Colt without proper cleaning can cause problems. A carbon ring can develop at the end of the .45 Colt brass, then when a full length .454 Casull round is chambered, it acts as a constriction and raises pressure. Go to the next step, and the chamber can begin to erode in that same area.

I only use .45 Colt brass in my Ruger SRH, mainly because if something does go wrong, their warranty would cover it. For my F.A. and the Taurus, I use .454 brass and reduced loads when desired.

Slightly off topic. I read somewhere(maybe here) that if the carbon ring develops, you can slightly bell a longer case and push it into the chambers to scrape the ring. I haven't tried it since I have a .45 Colt cylinder for my FA, but it sounds reasonable.
John
W.TN

[454PB]

I've read the same thing, can't say if it works.

Years ago I had lots of .38 special brass and very little .357 brass. After firing many thousands of heavily loaded .38 cases, I found that the area behind the throat in each chamber was "roughened" to the point where no amount of cleaning would remove it. Given enough use, shorter brass will eventually erode that area, and then the longer cases will tend to stick when they are extracted.

[Tom W.]

I went on and bought myself a birthday present of the Lee C452-300-RF and a box of gas checks, along with a new set of dies. My son is getting me a few hundred cases, so I should be good to go...

I really like handguns that start with a 4....