.454 loads are slow with W296, now what?

[gofastman]

load:
starline 454 brass
Accurate 360gr bullet with soda can gas check, TAC#1 lube
CCI 450 primer
24gr W296
Ruger SRH 7.5"


they are clocking in around 1200fps, and the recoil is very mild.
Im wondering if my bullets take up less case capacity than the Cast Performance ones listed in Hodgdon's recipe.

Hodgdon is using a WSR primer and a 9.3" barrel, would that really account for a 250 fps difference with a slug this heavy?

[MaineJim]

1.8 inch of barrel would not by itself increase velocity by 250 fps but a boolit that sits deeper in a case and a bit longer barrel would ,in my opinion.
Your wondering is in the right direction and you should be able to get at least 1400fps with 296/110 out of a 7.5 inch 454,just work up carefully.

[bobthenailer]

Just for reference 28 grs of 296 with a LBT 300gr LFN gc & Fed SR primer produces 1,450 fps from my guns , 7 1/2 " barrels and is extremely accurate

[GLynn41]

possibly Hogdon is using a solid test barrell---which is the amount you lack

[btroj]

A revolver has so many variables that it becomes tough to know for sure why the load doesn't clock the same velocity.
Throat diameter, forcing come shape, size, smoothness, alloy, bore diameter, barrel/cylinder gap, and many other factors all play a role. Length of bullet in the case can play a very large role.

[Moonie]

I shoot a 300gr Lee with 22gr W296/H110 and get right at 1,200fps in a 7 1/2 NMBH so your speed looks about right to me. I certainly wouldn't call the recoil my NMBH has mild.

[Noah Mercy]

What alloy are you using? Are you roll crimping or taper crimping? How hard are you crimping? What are your bullets sized and what are your throat and bore diameters? What is the inside diameter of your cases immediately prior to bullet seating? What is your cylinder gap? Does your powder charge fill the case to the base of the boolit or is it slightly compressed?

To get maximum velocities from my 454 Alaskan, these tolerances have worked well for me:

A medium hard alloy (Lyman #2 is a good example) boolit, sized .001-.002" over bore diameter.
Cases sized to .002" under bullet diameter (inside dimension, naturally).
H110 or Winchester 296 very slightly compressed.
A heavy roll crimp.
Cylinder throats that are no more than .001" smaller than bore diameter.
A cylinder gap of no more than .004".

Start loosening these tolerances and the velocities fall off real quick. High pressure cartridges are less forgiving of small discrepancies than their lower pressure brethren.
I also suspect the pressure barrel Hodgdon used was not vented, so between that and the extra length I would expect to see around a 125 fps drop with your 7.5" Ruger.

[gofastman]

perhaps I should try some AA4100/Enforcer or Alliant 300MP.
Id like to try those powders eventually anyway, but is there any chance of higher velocity than 296 with the heavy bullet Im using?

[leadman]

I had a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley and foung that my die set did not reduce the case diameter enough to give good bullet pull. After I reduced the diameter of the flaring die I picked up about 150 fps using H110 and the Lee 300gr RFN.
Also if you are getting a heavy lube star on the muzzle you might try reducing the amount of lube to increase bore friction to aid powder combustion. I had this happen with my RBH Hunter in 41 mag.

[gofastman]

Isnt 296 almost a volume loaded powder in the sense it should be slightly compressed?
24grs doesn't seem to come up to the base of the my bullets

[RPRNY]

I shoot 454 out of a 20" barrel and haven't ventured above 325grs. That is a nice bullet you've got there.

24grs seems light. I shoot Colt +P with a300gr LFN LBT bullet at 23 grs. H110. As per above, I would look at crimp and seating depth provided you are confident in charge data.

[Southern Shooter]

Gofastman,
I have a personal interest in the Accurate 45-360C. I was the guy who asked Tom to make that mold for me ( http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...otection/page4 )

How does it perform for you in terms of accuracy? Any update on the velocity?

Out of my Ruger SRH Alaskan, the 2 1/2" barrel is producing an average velocity of 1,037 FPS with that bullet and 23.5 grains for W296. ( http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...r-Report/page2 )

Does anybody else have any kind of experience with this boolit?

Thanks

[gofastman]

The bullet is very accurate even at low velocity (Trail Boss loads)
I havent tried it on game yet, but I bet its gonna be a hammer!
no update on velocity yet, however I should be measuring some 2400 loads tomorrow

I think if I were to do it over I would go with a #45-300V just to save lead and because I dont need to penetrate a buffalo lengthwise

[Southern Shooter]

That will be great ! Look forward to hearing about it.

[Southern Shooter]

Gofastman, any updates on the bullet, here?

[gofastman]

Nothing really ground breaking to report, sorry.
I tried 21grains of 2400 and got around 1200 fps.
I think this bullet must take up very little powder space, or my gun has tolerances that create low pressure, or both. I think I can move a considerable ways north of that 21 grain load and not run into pressure problems.
all in all, 2400 is a much more pleasant powder to shoot than W296 because it has significantly less concussion.
next up is AA4100, because I also want to try it in my heavy bullet 10mm mechtech loads. After that I think I may try 300-MP

I really need some more seat time with this gun, my uncle up in Alaska invited me to go moose hunting with him!!!