Preferred "warheads" for the .454 Casull?

[Bigslug]

Doing some early pondering on mold designs for upper-end loads. I figure for light plinkers, there are plenty of plain-base Peacemaker molds to choose from. For the hotter stuff, however, I'm curious as to what's being used. Any gas-checked 300-ish grainers out there? If there's something akin to the NOE hollow point / solid nose pin designs, better still.

[bobthenailer]

I can highly recomend the LBT 300gr gc LFN mould! extremely accurate fror my FA revolvers !
I also have the Mountian Mould 260gr gc lfn & 275gr TC

[Johnch]

In my Ruger Super Redhawlk 454
I shoot the Lee 300 gr GC boolit
Not at or even close to max
Closer to a +P 45 Colt load

But it shoots well and the deer die well with the load

John

[stubshaft]

LBT 300 LFN for me too. It's about all I ever shoot out of mine.

[Moonie]

My 45 Colt NMBH loves the Lee 300gr @1,200fps, I have it in a 6 cavity, drops like rain, big heavy thumping rain.

[Whiterabbit]

Lee for sure. the meplat is ridiculous.

[MT Chambers]

The heavyweights from both LBT and Accurate are tops in my FA .454 Casull, the 340 gr. FP GC that I got from Tom at Accurate is tops.

[TXGunNut]

I've cast & loaded one batch of RD's 460-290 thumpers. Hope to shoot it tomorrow. If looks could kill I wouldn't have to fire a shot with this bruiser.

[Coonazz]

Have to agree with ya MT Chambers. My FA Casull also has a definite addiction to the LBT Heavies. Don't have an Accurate mold yet......

[Bigslug]

Ye Gads! Accurate is running Casull-spec slugs to 360 grains! Photon torpedos, anyone?:veryconfu

Any thoughts regarding the "happy medium" slug weight for the round? Kinda the .454 version of the 240-250 grain .44 Magnum that balance the punch with some reach?

[Frozone]

I size down the NOE 460-350, on top of 26.5 lilgun it hits harder than a 45/70 load of the same boolit, and it still shoots to sub 2" @ 50yd.

I have a MP 460122 HP GC mold I might try. It's a gas checked copy of a lyman 457122. should shoot pretty well also.
And you can hide a .223 bullet in the HP!

[RobS]

I am in preference to a heavier LFN style design myself with a few tweeks to the nose profile/nose length as I designed my own 310 and 345 grainers. If you don't go custom it is really hard to beat the Lee gas check 300 grain round flat nose design which comes in closer to 320 grains when all dressed up.

[Whiterabbit]

Ye Gads! Accurate is running Casull-spec slugs to 360 grains! Photon torpedos, anyone?:veryconfu

Any thoughts regarding the "happy medium" slug weight for the round? Kinda the .454 version of the 240-250 grain .44 Magnum that balance the punch with some reach?

IMO, the "happy medium" is 300 grains.

I'm pretty confident I could get a 425 grain ranchdog bullet to stabilize just fine if the gun uses a 1 in 16 twist. Near but not at max of H110 should shoot quite nice out to 100 yards easily.

[joec]

I've cast & loaded one batch of RD's 460-290 thumpers. Hope to shoot it tomorrow. If looks could kill I wouldn't have to fire a shot with this bruiser.

I'm also looking at this as I have 500 of them I got from Carolina Bullets. I've also pre-ordered the TLC452-330-RF to try and have some of the Beartooth 340 gr LFN Gas Checked. I am looking for some of the Lee 300 g cast also but at the moment the Montana Bullet is pretty back logged. I'm looking to try these in a new Taurus Raging Bull I just got but still waiting for dies and brass to show up.

[MT Chambers]

I size down the NOE 460-350, on top of 26.5 lilgun it hits harder than a 45/70 load of the same boolit, and it still shoots to sub 2" @ 50yd.

I have a MP 460122 HP GC mold I might try. It's a gas checked copy of a lyman 457122. should shoot pretty well also.
And you can hide a .223 bullet in the HP!
Sorry Frozone but a .454 will not hit harder than the 45/70, look at the 2 loaded rounds side by side.

[Frozone]

Look at the 2 pressures side by side - I get more velocity out of the 454 than the 45/70. same weight bullet with more velocity = harder hit, simple math.

[RPRNY]

LBT 300 LFN for me too. Over H110. Warhead indeed!!! I also like the Hornady 250 gr SST (Jword) and to a much lesser extend, the Hornady 300 gr XTP Magnum (J). I shoot with a 20" H&R Classic Carbine that has been reamed to 454 and have chronoed the 250 gr SST at 2150 fps. I would guess the LBT 300 LFN is in the 1900 fps range. No leading. Ridiculous impact on a steel gong at 100 yards. Quite accurate. Will be my black bear round this coming autumn.

[338RemUltraMag]

I shoot the LBT 325 gr LFN over a max charge of H-110 in my 454 Casull from a Rossi 92 hits like a pissed off mule!

[High Desert Hunter]

I shoot the Miha copy of the RCBS 45 270-SAA at 289gr for plinking, and a 325gr FNGC from Mountain Molds for serious work. The 325 does very well from 900fps up to 1500fps from my FA, the 289gr bullet is scary accurate up to 1200fps.

[Bigslug]

Hmmm. . .interesting choices. Liking the basic "ridiculous meplat" concept seen on the Lee and others. Also pondering some of the more radiused Accurate noses. With the latter, thinking possibly better downrange flight range characteristics, but then I start thinking "Downrange flight characteristics are what your .30-06 is for".

Has anyone bothered to nose-pin one of these monoliths for hollowpoints? The notion of a @325 solid and @300HP dropping out of the same mold has some initial appeal. How do the alloys needed for .454 pressures perform as hollowpoints? I'm thinking there might be brittleness issues?

[Jailer]

My 45 Colt NMBH loves the Lee 300gr @1,200fps, I have it in a 6 cavity, drops like rain, big heavy thumping rain.

What size does it it drop at? I like the design but the similar design Lee 430-310 drops too small for my 445 Supermag even after lapping and beagling.

[Bigslug]

I'm glad this thread got a bump - if only to put it back on MY radar. I've got a lot of irons in the fire, both reloading oriented and in real life. Sometimes I need steering back on track.

Having bought a bunch of pin gauges and checked all the revolver throats of friends and family, I'm starting to think in terms of loading for extreme accuracy - which naturally gets me thinking about the no-freakin'-slack tolerances of the Freedom Arms. Looks like another mold purchase decision is imminent.:veryconfu

[Moonie]

What size does it it drop at? I like the design but the similar design Lee 430-310 drops too small for my 445 Supermag even after lapping and beagling.

.453 with COWW air dropped.

[338RemUltraMag]

I have also made good development with the NOE 460-405 FN, it cycles in my Rossi 92 really well and shoots 1.5" groups at 50 yds

[bbailey7821]

Saeco #454

[Bigslug]

I just pulled the trigger on the two-cavity Lee from Midway. Now begins the two month backorder wait.

I may do Veral's 300 grain LFN at a later date, but I figure, for twenty bucks and generally favorable reviews, how far wrong can I go? This will be my first Lee mold - it will be interesting to see how it performs alongside the customs.

Thanks guys!:drinks:

[Gunslinger1911]

I also use the Lee 300 GC and the Miha 270 SAA with a pop can GC, both running healthy charges of H110/296. I'll look up the velocitys when I get home. I think I also worked up some loads with some surplus WC 820.

[Snyd]

LBT 355gr WFN custom mould. I just happened to cast up a pot full yesterday. The LBT moulds are fantastic.

[RPRNY]

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa272/LRDG/Tech%20photos/photo-11_zps05124933.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa272/LRDG/Tech%20photos/2dfade2c-9b7c-4f17-9ff1-1fb6625b9e8c_zpsb7d959aa.jpg

COL 2.067"

[Bigslug]

OK. . .it looks like a paper-patched space shuttle EFT. What is it?

[RPRNY]

OK. . .it looks like a paper-patched space shuttle EFT. What is it?

That is 380 grs swaged pure lead, paper patched to .458 over 26 grs 4227. The load is pretty accurate but there's a good deal of unburned powder residue. I tried same bullet over 35 grs Tripple 7, also good but a LOT of drop.Then went to 4 grs Alliant 410 (weight) and 36 grs Old Eynsford BP and that was a little heavy to say the least )split cases). Next load will be 3 grs A410 and 35 grs OE. We shall see.