New to 458 Socom

[boman250]

So, starting this off, I used the search function and saw some good information. But nothing recent.

I am looking at using H110 as I have a lot of it around. And Starline brass.

I am considering using a cast boolit as that is customary in these parts.

I am a new caster, but I have not done anything this large before.

What are some lighter cast bullet moulds that have been working? I like the idea of a hollow point. I will probably get to a sub-sonic load some day when I have a better supply of lead.

Do I need a gas check design? I will be powder coating my bullets and do not want to play with gas checks if I do not have to. I would be willing to buy a good mould if I see people with good results with it.

Thank you in advance for the knowledge.

[Efin]

I powder coat all I feed through my 458, using the same molds I use for my 45-70. I use 340g, 405g and 500g, the 405s and 500s are both gas checked design and I use checks for both. All Lee double cavity molds, 457-340F, C457-405F, and C457-500F, also use (H110) in the W296 container, for the 458.

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[44Blam]

NOE has a 350 grn Ranch Dog mould that does hollow point, cup point and flat nose. The boolits from it shoot great in my 45-70.

[boman250]

I was considering the 330g Lyman mould. It is only a single cavity but its hollow point, and available through midway.

[Smoke4320]

49/49/2 pb/coww/tin PC'ed properly sized and kept below 1700 fps should work fine

[nun2kute]

I shoot a Accurate bullet @ 470g, GC'd & PC'd w/R7. My gun didn't like 1680 at all. IMR 4198 was good tho. Currently playing with copper tubing jacketed 400g and 405g's. R7 Best so far.

[roharmon]

I shoot the Lee 405/457, Lee 405/459HB, the Lee 500/459 and the NOE 405/460. I like 4198 with the 500 grain, but don’t hesitate to shoot any of the. All are powder coated.

[Intel6]

My two main cast bullets for my SOCOM are the NOE HTC354 FN and the NOE HTC459-500 SP.

The NOE 354 HTC is a smooth sided bullet made just for coating and cone out right at 360 grs. coated with a GC applied. If you are interested in a HP mould, this one is available in that also. I just wanted a simple plinking bullet so I opted for the regular style mould. I use this bullet for my general shooting loads and it works great. This bullet has a crimp groove on it for use in the 45-70 cartridge and it works great for that also. I like the gas check on this but it can be had without one also.

Here is the bullet cast and gas checked:




The 500 SP is also a smooth sided mould that casts a pointed bullet that I use at subsonic velocities out of the SOCOM.

Here is that bullet coated and sized:





Here are both of them loaded in SOCOM cases along with the 354 HTC loaded in a 45-70 case:

[Efin]

I found the case gauge from tromix made my life much easier loading for the Socom.

https://tromix.com/shop?olsPage=prod...ted-case-gauge

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[boman250]

I found the case gauge from tromix made my life much easier loading for the Socom.

https://tromix.com/shop?olsPage=prod...ted-case-gauge

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I have a case gauge. Thank goodness.

I ended up ordering the lyman 330g mould from midway. It will get me by until I can get a better mould on order. I am thinking of a NOE smooth sided 300 grain hollow point of some kind.

The Upper came in the mail today. It is pretty cool but I can feel like the weight will not be enough to soak up the recoil. lol

[Efin]

Just wait till you're shooting 500g pills, the recoil gets rough.

I have a case gauge. Thank goodness.

I ended up ordering the lyman 330g mould from midway. It will get me by until I can get a better mould on order. I am thinking of a NOE smooth sided 300 grain hollow point of some kind.

The Upper came in the mail today. It is pretty cool but I can feel like the weight will not be enough to soak up the recoil. lol

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[boman250]

So, shot my new upper for the first time today.

Bullets were 330g lyman hp with 2 coats of powdercoat (HF red). They were not sized but were all about .459-.460". Loaded with H110.

The 2nd and 3rd loads did well. After that, accuracy went straight downhill. Velocity was 1550-1600 for the good ones. Hottest loads were almost 1800

Got it home, and the bore is very leaded.

The alloy was 20-1. A little soft I guess. I cast up some with some range scrap that is pretty close to wheel weights. Will that help?

[Efin]

At That speed they need gas checks as gas cutting will cause leading.

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[Greybeard125]

At That speed they need gas checks as gas cutting will cause leading.

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My socom subsonic load is a lyman 485 grain powdercoated and sized to .458, sittin on top of 24grns of h4198. Usually gives me 1 inch groups at 50 yards. And things are so much better since i got the tromix chamber guage! Working on a lee 405 gr hb load using 4759. Looks like it may be close to a trapdoor 45 70 load! Gotta love BIG boolits out of an AR!

[boman250]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

After another range session, I had all but given up on cast bullets in this thing. My accuracy was so bad, I was not hitting a 4'x3' target at 50 yards. I ordered some PB gas checks to try as a last ditch effort before I try jacketed bullets.

Then, cleaning the upper today and checking for leading (none to be found) I saw the barrel extension moving as I was handling the upper. Turns out the barrel nut was not even hand tight. Spun right off.

I spent 3 hours dry fitting, shimming and adjusting the nut so the hand guard would line up properly and tightly. I don't have all the AR15 specialty tools so I improvised a lot. I will try it again this next weekend with some gas checks on my 330g lyman bullets and a barrel that is properly tightened...

I messaged the dealers about the issue. I doubt I will get much out of it though as I have already tried to fix it myself.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

well that explains the accuracy problems! glad nothing bad happened!

[dkf]

The NOE HTC459-354-FN works really well in the .458socom. We tried to design it to work well in the .458. All I have been loading mine with is IMR4198.

[Greybeard125]

The NOE HTC459-354-FN works really well in the .458socom. We tried to design it to work well in the .458. All I have been loading mine with is IMR4198.

Wow, be sure and thank the gun gods for that one! Hate to even think what could have happened. Im sure youre on your way to being another happy socom shooter now. Keep us in the loop

[boman250]

So, update as I went shooting today.

Things are back to the acceptable level of accuracy I was expecting when I first got into this caliber.

It is no tack driver, but I got about 4 of the 9 groups to show promise.

I used plain base gas checks on all my bullets and I tightened the barrel. I am certain that both of those things played a part in the improved accuracy. Now that I have a baseline, time to figure out what this thing really likes!

Oh, and I have a new mould on order through NOE. Addicted.