Blackpowder in a 458 Win Mag

[Rafe Covington]

I just picked up a Encore barrel in 458 Win., was thinking about shooting blackpowder in it seeing as how I got about 600 cases in that caliber.. I was just wondering if anybody else had done this, I would think with a 2.5 inch case would be like shooting a 45-90 2.4 in case, appreciate any info given. Thanks

Rafe

[oldred]

About the only difference would be the belt on the case and usually a stronger rifle to shoot it in, there is not enough difference in case capacity to make any noticeable difference between the 458 and 45/90 when using BP. Go ahead and charge up a bunch of those things, it WILL be fun I guarantee it!

BTW, Don't forget you will need to anneal the mouths of the cases before you load with BP otherwise they will not seal and you will get leakage, I made that mistake with the 45/90.

[Don McDowell]

You'll most likely need to be shooting 550 or heavier bullets, with the fast twist those .458's have I think getting it to stablize lighter bullets at bp velocity might be a problem.

[Rafe Covington]

Appreciate the info, thanks. I was gonna shoot a 540 gr bullet anyways. Hey oldred where you at in East Tenn., I am getting ready to retire down around Rodgersville.

Rafe

[oldred]

Yep, I been to Rogersville. I am near the Cumberland Gap area.

[MikeS]

I lived in Newport TN for a few years before I moved back to FL to aid my mother taking care of my ailing father. I really loved living in ETN much more than living here, and would move back in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the weather. Since getting sick myself I can no longer stand the cold, and turn on a heater anytime the temp goes below the mid 60's, so I don't think I would enjoy TN like I did when I was younger.

[Rafe Covington]

I lived in Newport TN for a few years before I moved back to FL to aid my mother taking care of my ailing father. I really loved living in ETN much more than living here, and would move back in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the weather. Since getting sick myself I can no longer stand the cold, and turn on a heater anytime the temp goes below the mid 60's, so I don't think I would enjoy TN like I did when I was younger.

I grew up in Jacksonville, FLA, too flat and hot for me anymore.

Rafe

[johnson1942]

have you thought about blackhorn 209 powder? cleaner and very consistant burn and 15 percent more power out of the same volume. blackhorn 209 is easily the best blackpowder sub their is. it is the only black powder sub that can shoot consistant groups and be real clean in most guns. it is avail in most larger gun shops that carry blackpowder subs. its a thought.

[John Boy]

The bullet for this caliber is 500grs. That's a lot of BP to compress into the case for decent velocity.
If it was me? Forget about it - lobbing 500grs at 1000yds would be one hell of a trajectory curve

['74 sharps]

have you thought about blackhorn 209 powder? cleaner and very consistant burn and 15 percent more power out of the same volume. blackhorn 209 is easily the best blackpowder sub their is. it is the only black powder sub that can shoot consistant groups and be real clean in most guns. it is avail in most larger gun shops that carry blackpowder subs. its a thought.


The general consensus among dedicated lr bp shooters is, that there no inability of bp to shoot consistent groups. Kenny on here holds the record for 200yd over 40 cal with scope at Raton with a 1.336" group with a 45-110. Number of folks shooting a sub at any of these matches can be counted on on hand, pretty much a "O". Real bp cleans up easier than my smokeless I use for my 6mmbr bench rifle.