454 Casull fun

[Iwsbull]

I bought a 454 in SRH with 16 rounds of ammo out of a 20 round box and another full box. It had the older hard as a rock grip and after 6 rounds I began to understand why he sold it. I replaced the grip with a Houge Tamer and pair of fingerless padded gloves from Harbor Freight. Wow it is not much more than my SRH in 44 magnum. It turned it into a lot of fun to shoot I fired off the 30 rounds I had and was impressed with the accuracy and am looking forward to starting to reload for it. Now I just need to figure out what mold to buy I am leaning toward Accurate’s 45-300K.

[Tom W.]

I had an RCBS 300 gr swc when I had one. The mold went when I sold the pistol.


Never did have much "fun" with that thing.

[Walks]

I know what you mean. I had an early SRH in 44Mag, got the New soft one piece grip from Ruger Rep when they came out.
Now I have Hogue's too.

[Iwsbull]

How well did the RCBS 300 shoot and what loads seemed best. I am really liking the Hornady 240 mag but want to run cast. I am really wanting to run a powdercoated plain base.
This one had the old Houge rock hammer grips.

[Packy]

I have shot the lee 300 in mine using unique. They shot good.

[bobthenailer]

The LBT 300gr gc LFN is considered to be a top choice for the 454 casull , I have it and two mountain moulds a 260 gr gc fn and a 275gr tc been shot in my 3 FA 454 casulls

[cwlongshot]

I had the LBT, I have the Lee and the RCBS and like the RCBS best. But the LEE is a beast!!

All shot well. I preferred the LBT most... I lent it and lost it.

I shot mostly Ruger level loads I I have t sen the need for more here on the East coast.

CW

[Tom W.]

I can't recall the loads, but I know that they were H110.... and accurate out to 500 yards, if could stand it......It was an Encore pistol with a 2x7 Burris scope. I should have kept the scope.

One day I took it to the range to fire some Ruger Only loads. They were pretty stout. I somehow had forgotten to bring a box of the .454 loads. I put up a target @ 150 yards, as far as the berm was, and took my time with the rested pistol and doing fairly well. A teen and his dad wandered up behind me and started watching. the kid asked his dad something, and the dad asked me if I'd let the kid shoot the pistol. I looked at the youngster and asked his dad if he was sure that he wanted to do this. Dad said yes, so I let the kid sit down and look through the scope. He said that he's never seen a scope on a pistol before, and kept on getting closer to it like it was a rifle scope. I told him that it was designed for arms length, not close up, and a shot close up to the scope would be difficult to see anything through the scope, and may inflict some physical damage. He said o.k. and I asked his dad again if he thought it was a good idea to let him shoot the pistol. Dad said yes, so I loaded up a round and got behind the kid. He started to creep up on the scope, so I stopped him and told him again to hold it at arm's length. He said ok, and I looked at his dad. About that time I looked at the kid again and he had the scope about an inch away from his face and pulled the trigger. At least he didn't drop the firearm, but blood was gushing out from his initiation of the order of the crescent scar from his eyebrow. Ain't no telling what would have happened had it been a .454 load.
It took me several hours to dig the hair, blood and some flesh from the scope.

[Iwsbull]

Folks have different learning curves but he found his I hope.
How many full house loads do you get from your brass and how many mid range loads? I have been really pleased with my 44 brass life. I figure 454 burns brighter and shorter.

[calm seas]

lws, look on here for some handload info I have posted - from mild to wild

[Tom W.]

I also used some Lil' Gun in that thing. It didn't seem much if any different from the H 110. As for repeat loads, I bought 200 pieces of Starline brass and only opened one box before I sold it. My late wife had just died and I needed some funds to pay for expenses, and I don't regret selling that handgun.....

[Iwsbull]

Sorry to hear about your wife.

[mike69]

I'm shooting the NOE sc454-290-rf in my srh 454 with very good results . Its gas checked and loaded over win 296 powder .I also have a LBT 290 wfn that works good in it to . Taken a few deer with both boolits the noe mold is hollow point mold .

[Minerat]

I shoot a NOE 454-350 a gas checked WFN cast 348gr or WFNHP cast 345gr as dropped 0.456" and a NOE 4 54-276(K) no gas check wfn 277 gr., hp 262 @ 0.454" as dropped.

345 gr hp Load 25 gr H4227 from a SRH Toklat 5" barrel chronoed 1,281 fps

[Iwsbull]

I started another thread in coatings but will ask y’all if you have ever used powdercoated and how hard could you push them without a gas check. I load for a couple other calibers but nothing like the pressure that a 454 can produce. The only thing that close that I load for is a rifle and I use j bullets for them.

[CGT80]

I cast and PC boolits from an MP 45 270 SAA brass HP mold and load them in 460 magnum. I have run as much as 33.0 grains of a5744 under them, which is only a mid load and I use plain base aluminum gas checks for the mid loads. I did shoot some without and they were fine. On my next trip to the range, I plan to run a number of loads over the chrono to compare them. Based on the load books , I would guess around 1400 fps for that load. For hot loads, I used hornady 300 xtp mag and clocked them at 1900+ fps, but that is with 296.

I use these for plinking on steel silhouettes at 50-110 yards, after doing lever action matches, but want to get a little more serious with the revolver. The iron sights aren't great for this and I have not seen peep sights for a revolver but am not sure if I want to add the weight of a scope. When I chrono some of those medium loads, I plan to shoot from a rest and see if the groups are decent for my intended purposes.

The rubber grip that the X frame comes with, combined with the weight of it makes it much easier to shoot than a single action ruger 44 mag. The concussion and noise is still another story. Also, I use the same 270 boolit under 11.0 grains of trailboss in a 460 case and routinely pick off life size chicken targets at 100 yards and rams at 110 yards that are only 6-7" tall at the center of the body. That load was 1100 fps from the 8 3/8" barrel. It also packs a punch for knocking down the heavy pig targets. 454 is so close to 460, that with proper loads, I would expect similar results.

[sac]

I'm using a 457122 Gould sized down to .454 with 20gr of h110 in 45 colt brass in my SRH Toklat.

[ebner glocken]

Lee 310 gr and 296/h110 works great in the 454, forgot what I loaded last in the 460 but either does well. Here's some testing I did some years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9yDfYMzUrc

Ebner

[Iwsbull]

Do you think the powdercoat made them easier to jump crimp as it is slick? How common was it?

[ebner glocken]

Do you think the powdercoat made them easier to jump crimp as it is slick? How common was it?

Yes, I do. In the higher intensity revolvers when I powder coat using a full profile crimp die helps a lot. Crimp does usually do a good job of holding the bullet but the bearing surface also helps. When that bearing surface is slick and also where the crimp hangs in it's just harder to hang on to. This isn't much of an issue most of the time when you're using a rifle or a chambering 44 mag or less. It's a recoil impulse issue. It can be a factor in my little scandium frame 357 or my 329 44 mag (yes, I'm that odd guy that loves these little lightweights).

Ebner

[Iwsbull]

That was what I was worried about. It has me thinking that I might use j bullets with it.

[ebner glocken]

You're probably aware but not all .45 cal bullets are created equally. The ones made to take the 454 are quite pricey. It's really not hard shooting cast in these things if you stay aware of some of the things that happen when the heat is turned up. The redding full profile crimp die isn't that expensive and will pay for itself very quickly over buying jacketed. These things can truly shine when fed the right poured lead combination.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012356269?pid=123272

Ebner

[Iwsbull]

I have a lee collet style cimper but I had thought of getting the Redding die earlier. I know the j bullets are about a quarter a round higher than plain base boolits that I cast. I will admit that the 1900+ FPS is addictive and I don’t know if I can get that with cast.

[ebner glocken]

I have a lee collet style cimper but I had thought of getting the Redding die earlier. I know the j bullets are about a quarter a round higher than plain base boolits that I cast. I will admit that the 1900+ FPS is addictive and I don’t know if I can get that with cast.

I've hit in the high 1800s with the lee 300 and had no fouling. They were powder coated and having 20" of barrel in a rossi lever gun helped quite a bit with that. Recoil got your attention even in a little carbine. There's something to love about a little light rifle that holds 10 rounds with that kind of horsepower. I don't know what weight of bullet you're trying to propel from a handgun barrel at 1900+. These things are fun.

Ebner

[Iwsbull]

I am just looking at the xtp mag 240 grain. I have the 44 SRH 265 swc plain base load at 1288 and very accurate for piddling with. I think I want the run light and fast in the 454 and get the 480 Ruger and run heavyweights in it. I want all three of the SRH revolver leadings just so the grip and trigger doesn’t change much from one to the other.

[DHDeal]

One of my Freedom Arms 83's is a 454. I use an Accurate Molds 300 grain LFNGC style in it and I do PC. FWIW, I have only used the Redding profile crimp die for any of my FA83's. When I started with the 454, I had to add more crimp to keep those 300's from moving. They never jumped enough to tie up the cylinder, but I wanted those bullets to stay put.

I also have an Accurate Molds 280 grain LFNPB style bullet that I PC and put on a PBGC. It shoots very accurate, but I haven't tried to get ridiculous with them.

When I really want to turn up the heat, I use Hornady's 240 grain Magnum bullet. I've also had good luck with Speer's Deep Curl's.

When is start to get into the high 30 grain loads, this revolver can be entertaining. It's MagnaPorted, but recoil is there. I only use H110 in the 454 as I have a 45 Colt cylinder for lighter loads.

[Iwsbull]

I was thinking about the Accurate 290K and powdercoating it or maybe the 240 KG powdercoated to see if they can get close to the 240 xtp mag velocity, which I love.

[454PB]

Measure the expanding/flaring punch in your die set. Mine was .451", and I had problems with boolits pulling in recoil. I chucked it in my lathe and reduced it to .450", and I've had no problems since. All three of my .454 revolvers need .452" boolits......any bigger and they won't chamber.

[Iwsbull]

I have only loaded 40 and they were with 240 xtp mag over 36.1 grains of H110 it gave me a little over 1800 FPS and excellent accuracy. I did let one round ride through 3 cylinders to check for jump and it held firm but it was not powdercoated vas either.

[DHDeal]

The mold I like the most for 45's is the Accurate #300E. It's a LFNGC style and has been accurate (pun works well here) in every revolver it's been shot out of. The Accurate website is a problem as it gives you too many choices. It's a one of these and one of those and might as well try that one, kinda thing. Yep, too many choices!

Anyway, I cast for mine with COWW mostly but I've used 20/1 too. I did shoot some with White Label BAC and Carnauba Blue. They shot great too, but PC is just fun and clean.

For pure velocity, I would stay with the jacketed bullets and hold on.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

251168 my Encore 454 and MP cast boolits at a 100 yards it's ben a few years sense i had her out I believe the load was 300gr boolit with 27.5 gr of H110

[Iwsbull]

What type of velocities are y’all getting with the 280-300 grain boolits? I figure I am going to stick with the xtp mags for flat out speed. But if I ever get out west I would want a heavier boolit than a 240 grain j bullet. I love the 100 yard group. I doubt my flinch is that consistent.

[threedflyer]

The .454 Casull is amazing, I enjoy my Freedom Arms with custom 8.5" ported barrel.
Hope to drop an elk with it someday.