.450 cast boolet around 2000 fps

[michael.birdsley]

is any one shooting a 250 grain or similar wieght cast bullet @ or around 2100 fps ? or is it only around the 1200-1600 fps. obviously it would be gas checked maybe powder coated and maybe lyman #2 hardness ?

i already cast my own bullets in other calibers. i’d like to find more economical way to shoot my .450 and keep the more expensive jacketed loads for hunting. even reloading the .450 it’s not cheap.

I know a lot of people shoot other calibers with cast bullets around 2200 fps. 2500 fps seems to be the threshold. I just didn’t know if the .450 presented any special problems around 2000- 2100 fps


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[Larry Gibson]

I've pushed an RCBS 45-300-FN (#2 alloy WQ'd, GC'd, lubed) to 2300 fps out of mt Siamese Mauser 450-400-70. Plenty of hurt on both ends of the rifle......[smilie=l:

[rockrat]

I have used the same boolit sized down to work in the 450. As Larry says, hurt on both ends

[TurnipEaterDown]

I shoot 300 - 375 gr GC lead bullets out of a couple 416s, at 2000 fps ish. Work fine. Nice groups -- 2 inch ish for 5 shots at 100 yds.
The little one, weighing 7.3 lbs, w/ optic and sling attached, shooting the 300s at 2050 feels about like a friend's 450 Bush AR w/ 260s stoked up there.

[rbuck351]

I use the Lee 45 300gr in my Puma 454 Casull at 1950 fps. It's a bit stiff on recoil in a 5 lb carbine but it shoots good enough.

[murf205]

Not a 250 but a 290 gr NOE from a 15" Encore. It's a 460 Smith&Wesson and a big dose of Accurate 1680 goes 2094 fps. It is a stout load and the 300 Lee gets 1893 fps. Even though it's a big handgun, it will let you know it when you torch one of these off. I have shot 225 gr Hornady FTX's @2300 fps and they have more blast but not as much recoil. BTW, you will want to let your carpel tunnel stitches to be well healed for this one!

[michael.birdsley]

my hand loads run about 2150 fps with a 250 grain FTX and 35.4 grains of little gun. it’s definitely not a gun you want to shoot all day. even the factory hornady pack a punch.

so it looks like the project should be feasible. i could run a 300 grain bullets at 1700-1900 fps. i’ve been. wanting to mess around with the 300 grain xtp’s.

i either hunt my 7 acres or other small parts of state land that is either hardwoods or scrub brush. i have to be able to drop them in there tracks when hunting down state. up north in ogemaw county i have more land to work with.


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[BLAHUT]

I shoot my guide gun, 45/70, with 515 gr of pure lead, 27 grs of 5744, mag primer, at about 1200 FPS, very accurate, if I do my part, 5 touching at 100 yds, hits very hard on both ends....

[stubshaft]

My FA 83, 454 will do 2K with a 250 without breaking a sweat.

[murf205]

michael, is your gun a 450 Bushmaster?

[michael.birdsley]

michael, is your gun a 450 Bushmaster?

yes it is. ruger american with 22 inch barrel


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[murf205]

I hope that you have better luck finding a heavy hunting cast boolit for yours than I did for my son's same rifle. I only got baseball sized groups with the 290gr NOE and while that is probably plenty good for our Alabama thick woods hunting, the 250 gr FTX Hornady shot much better. In fact, after a pow-wow with a Hornady rep, that is what I loaded for his hunting rounds. The rep at Hornady told me that the 250 gr they made for this caliber had a pretty tough jacket and was a relatively deep diver but he has not drawn blood with it yet. AS a side note, the rifle seemed to show a preference for Shooters World Buffalo Rifle.

[michael.birdsley]

I hope that you have better luck finding a heavy hunting cast boolit for yours than I did for my son's same rifle. I only got baseball sized groups with the 290gr NOE and while that is probably plenty good for our Alabama thick woods hunting, the 250 gr FTX Hornady shot much better. In fact, after a pow-wow with a Hornady rep, that is what I loaded for his hunting rounds. The rep at Hornady told me that the 250 gr they made for this caliber had a pretty tough jacket and was a relatively deep diver but he has not drawn blood with it yet. AS a side note, the rifle seemed to show a preference for Shooters World Buffalo Rifle.

it doesn’t have to be a hunting round. i’m only getting a baseball/fist ( maybe a tad smaller ) size group with my hand loads now. you only get 50 ftx bullets for $35-$40’s throw in shipping it’s over $50 per 50.


i have to find something cheaper to shoot out if it to practice. it took me 10-15 shots this year to start hitting dead center again. i’m noticing now i’m getting used to guns with good triggers. i only use this gun to hunt with. big thing i guess is getting used to the recoil again. I don’t notice the recoil when shooting deer.


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[murf205]

I agree. The FTX's are not cheap, especially when most states charge sales tax on internet purchases and shipping on top of that. In retrospect, I think the 450 BM likes boolits lighter than the 290's I tried to force feed it. If it was a do-over for me, I would try the 255 Lee round flat to see if it was the answer. It looks like it would feed through the Ruger pretty well. If it drops too small, I could beagle it.

[Harter66]

I ran a Rapine 458-201 @255 gr 2000 fps . 45-70 1895 G 18" .
Mountain Mold 350 from a 16" 45 Raptor on a 95 Mauser 1900 fps MV was all the fun I could take . Same bullet in a 45 Colts out of a 16" could have seen 1300 fps MV, that inspired me to go ahead and get the 45-70 .

All of these were PB lubed .

[michael.birdsley]

I agree. The FTX's are not cheap, especially when most states charge sales tax on internet purchases and shipping on top of that. In retrospect, I think the 450 BM likes boolits lighter than the 290's I tried to force feed it. If it was a do-over for me, I would try the 255 Lee round flat to see if it was the answer. It looks like it would feed through the Ruger pretty well. If it drops too small, I could beagle it.

i was actually looking at that lee mold the other day. i have that .452 255 lee mold and i was using it for my M/L. That mold is plain base. I think i’m going to need a gas check for 2000-2100fps ? Lee has 300 grain bags checked mold probably be a winter project with the hunting season approaching.

what nose punch would you use with that bullet? I know lee sells sizers but, i really wished they sold nose punches to go with thier bullets to make things easier with lubrisizers.


already getting a pile of winter projects. put this along with 6.5x55 project.


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[mehavey]

I suggest Tom Ellis for the mould you want.
After that, no problem.
See https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?453196-45-70-amp-450-Bushmaster-Cast-Molds-and-Die-Set&p=5533796&viewfull=1#post5533796

[murf205]

michael I use a flat nose punch and take it slow when using my 450 Lyman but when PC'ing I use a push through.

As far as the Tom Ellis post by mehavey, it is hard to argue with success. You will not go wrong with any Accurate molds. They are worth every penny and then some.

[michael.birdsley]

I suggest Tom Ellis for the mould you want.
After that, no problem.
See https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?453196-45-70-amp-450-Bushmaster-Cast-Molds-and-Die-Set&p=5533796&viewfull=1#post5533796

yeah i could go with accurate. is the guy from accurate good about answering question? i guess my main question would weather i should use my blend of lyman #2 or use wheel weights


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[mehavey]

If you're approaching 40,000 psi, I'd certainly go #2.
But Tom does give you the option of choosing your alloy (from pure lead to linotype) when ordering.

(postscript: I've never had to exceed #2 for any purpose or pressure.)

[gwpercle]

If you are looking for economical loads in the 450 Bushmaster , take a look at the data in Lyman 50th Edition Reloading Handbook , page 349
Lyman #452374 , 225 gr. RN (classic 45 acp ball ammo boolit) plain base , Lyman #2 and sized .451 (bore measured .450) ...but I would try .452" also ... you never know .
at just over 2000 fps velocities with max loads of both LilGun and IMR4227 powders .
Sounds like this might be a very economical boolit for paper target and tin can .
A 225 gr. - 230 gr. boolit is close to your 250 gr. weight .
Lyman indicates the loads with LilGun are the most accurate .
Worth a try ... everyone has a 45 acp mould ... or they should !
Gary

[michael.birdsley]

If you are looking for economical loads in the 450 Bushmaster , take a look at the data in Lyman 50th Edition Reloading Handbook , page 349
Lyman #452374 , 225 gr. RN (classic 45 acp ball ammo boolit) plain base , Lyman #2 and sized .451 (bore measured .450) ...but I would try .452" also ... you never know .
at just over 2000 fps velocities with max loads of both LilGun and IMR4227 powders .
Sounds like this might be a very economical boolit for paper target and tin can .
A 225 gr. - 230 gr. boolit is close to your 250 gr. weight .
Lyman indicates the loads with LilGun are the most accurate .
Worth a try ... everyone has a 45 acp mould ... or they should !
Gary

i’ll have to get the 50th. i have the 49th and that has zero .450 bush master data. does the 50th have a lot of .450 bushmaster data in it?

i’m basing all of my load data off of the last 2 hornady manuals which, the oldest has data only for 250 grain ftx. the newer manual has data for the 250 grain ftx ( with more powders than previous) and 300 grain hpt.

i see now the lyman 51st manual is available





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[Good Cheer]

Would the Lyman 250 grain #454485 gas checked round flat nose work?

[murf205]

yeah i could go with accurate. is the guy from accurate good about answering question? i guess my main question would weather i should use my blend of lyman #2 or use wheel weights


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Yes he is. The best way is my email. tom@accuratemolds.com
When he designed a mold for me, we had a short discussion and he sent me a pic of the drawing. It is perfect for my uses. Tom know his stuff.

[gwpercle]

i’ll have to get the 50th. i have the 49th and that has zero .450 bush master data. does the 50th have a lot of .450 bushmaster data in it?

i’m basing all of my load data off of the last 2 hornady manuals which, the oldest has data only for 250 grain ftx. the newer manual has data for the 250 grain ftx ( with more powders than previous) and 300 grain hpt.

i see now the lyman 51st manual is available





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Not a lot ... but data for 4 J-word bullets & 2 Lyman boolits :

Barnes 200 gr. XPB
Hornady 225 gr. ftx
Hornady 250 gr. ftx
Speer 300 gr. sp

Lyman # 452374 - 225 gr. RN PB cast boolit
lyman # 452651 - 325 gr. RNFP GC cast boolit

Only about 6 different powders shown ... but any tested data is better than no data .
Don't forget you can custom fit a nose punch to a boolit with a small ball of epoxy putty in the nose cavity , grease the boolit nose , apply pressure untill epoxy putty sets and Wah-Lah ( Voila' ) perfectly fitted . Epoxy Putty is used because it doesn't run / drip into places you don't want it . A very small amount is needed ... best to use too little and do it twice than too much .
Gary

[Larry Gibson]

If you want 2000 fps +/- with a cast bullet you'll really want to GC them. Take a look at Accurate 45-230FC or 45-230C moulds.

[michael.birdsley]

Not a lot ... but data for 4 J-word bullets & 2 Lyman boolits :

Barnes 200 gr. XPB
Hornady 225 gr. ftx
Hornady 250 gr. ftx
Speer 300 gr. sp

Lyman # 452374 - 225 gr. RN PB cast boolit
lyman # 452651 - 325 gr. RNFP GC cast boolit

Only about 6 different powders shown ... but any tested data is better than no data .
Don't forget you can custom fit a nose punch to a boolit with a small ball of epoxy putty in the nose cavity , grease the boolit nose , apply pressure untill epoxy putty sets and Wah-Lah ( Voila' ) perfectly fitted . Epoxy Putty is used because it doesn't run / drip into places you don't want it . A very small amount is needed ... best to use too little and do it twice than too much .
Gary

i did not know that about the epoxy putty. i have a noe 314-210-rn mold that noe did not have a nose punch available when i bought it. i’ve been getting by using a lyman .308 rn nose punch but, it’s still leaving a heavy line all the way around the bullets nose. i also have a lee 130 grn .308 that dosent have a nose punch. i’ve been trying to use the same nose punch as the now and the line is even loose. what epoxy putty to you use?

i may purchase the lyman 51st addition this friday.


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[michael.birdsley]

so i got bored the other day. I decided that since I already have the lee 452-255-rn plane base mold that i should see what it will do.

20 boolits were caster with my own variation of lyman #2 alloy. the lee mold dropped the boolits right at 451-.452. i was hoping the powder coat would add .002. but, the boolits still came out at around .452 with, a couple boolits according to my mic coming out at .453. the boolits were sized to .452 with a lee push through sizer. the boolits were than powder coated. like stated earlier i was hoping the powder coat would add more diameter but, it wasn’t the case this time.

I decided to proceed any how and loaded up those 20 with rounds with lil-gun. the lyman book only has loads for 220 and 325 grain boolits. so i went with 325 grain data from the lyman 51st load data and loaded the 20 rounds ( 4 rounds each)starting at 21.5 grains and stepping up in 1 grain increments and the last 4 rounds were at 26.5 grains. I didn’t have an appropriate NOE case mouth expander so i made due with the lee universal case mouth expander. definitely had some bulging going after seating the boolits. the lee .450 FCD fixed most of the bulging at the case mouth. The OAl was identical to the lyman data of 2.010 which, with the wich, with the wide met plate allows the bolt to close on my RAR bolt to close. so i have 20 loaded cast boolits for my .450.

the good: I can push my boolits to 1700ish fps with out a speck of leading in my bore. 1700ish is with 26.5 grains of lil-gun

the bad: they didn’t group well, cases were sooty, and the loads shot about 6-8 inches low of my poa from my hand loads.

the grouping is to be expected with having undersized boolits. no leading in the bore was the one positive out come.

so i have purchased .040mm (.0015 inch) aluminum tape from amazon to beagle the lee molds. i’m hoping beagleing will give me a boolit .003 bigger boolit which, i can size to .454. Also, today i ordered a lee .454 push through sizer. finally, i ordered a 455x451 case mouth expander. hopefully with these additions i can get the boolits to group better. additionally, if i could get 1800-1900 fps i would be content with the load. that would only be 200-300 fps slower than my own reloads and the factory hornady’s

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[michael.birdsley]

we have success in making larger boolits. hopefully it helps make smaller groups.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20231002/cdf54cf9828d78298049be981b844c7e.jpg
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[michael.birdsley]

well i can run the lee plan base 255-452-rf boolit beagled, sized to 454, powder coated, resized again up to 2100 fps. absolutely zero leading or key holing. just no real accuracy. i used lyman #2 alloy. i don’t think i want to go bigger as i’m assuming the throat was scrapping off powder coat near the ogive. accuracy did seem to get better the harder i pushed the bullet. i’m no where near max but, i don’t think it’s going to get better if i push the bullet even harder.

it was worth shot since i already had the mold. worth the experiment though. it can be done. deer hunting only a month away and this RAR .450 is my deer gun so i’ll probably shelf the project for a while. i think like said i’m the thread i’ll need a gas checked boolit but, i’ll probably still powder coat i think. i may play around with powder.


target was at 100 yards.

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here’s the bullet i had to seat it all the way down to the crimp groove due to beagleing the mold and the bullets wide met plate.


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[michael.birdsley]

lhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20231030/bdbb62718e6c6fe37d9d941bea2fee8e.jpg
so i picked up some 5744 for the local gun shop and i atleast have somthing resembling a group!!! those 2 holes touching were at 36 grains of 5744 pushing that plain base bullet at 2050 fps. this was at 50 yards and i think i’ve gotten everything out of the mold that i can.

so i’m thinking about this mold from NOE. i’m thinking with a little rounder ogive and a smaller metplate it should feed better. the lee 255 fed alright but, would still hang up in my ruger american bolt .450 bush master.

i may just size and lube this bullet. if i lubed and sized this bullet with it only having 1 lube groove would that cause any problems or be a non issue ? most lead bullets in this caliber have 2 grooves.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20231030/137c9905a247e1d16550ca08a11366fb.jpg


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[michael.birdsley]

than there is this bullet too. it says it says was designed for the .450 bush master. this one is roughly 25 grains heavier and 2 lube grooves

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20231030/4731d2070808d114f79d8ba5e5bb04e0.jpg


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[indian joe]

well i can run the lee plan base 255-452-rf boolit beagled, sized to 454, powder coated, resized again up to 2100 fps. absolutely zero leading or key holing. just no real accuracy. i used lyman #2 alloy. i don’t think i want to go bigger as i’m assuming the throat was scrapping off powder coat near the ogive. accuracy did seem to get better the harder i pushed the bullet. i’m no where near max but, i don’t think it’s going to get better if i push the bullet even harder.

it was worth shot since i already had the mold. worth the experiment though. it can be done. deer hunting only a month away and this RAR .450 is my deer gun so i’ll probably shelf the project for a while. i think like said i’m the thread i’ll need a gas checked boolit but, i’ll probably still powder coat i think. i may play around with powder.


target was at 100 yards.

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here’s the bullet i had to seat it all the way down to the crimp groove due to beagleing the mold and the bullets wide met plate.


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could you use a poly wad under that boolit ? straight wall case if you make the wad a tight fit it should stay up under the boolit??? maybe ?? maybe no? I use em on softish PB boolits with blackpowder and duplex loads but only coasting along (1500FPS)
gascheck best but poly wad next best thing to a gas check ............

I have a 348 I run gascheck boolits (225 grain + hornady check) 2350Fps ....seems to work ok

[murf205]

I think you are on the right track by using 5744. I got my best results from Shooters World Buffalo Rifle, which is reputed to be the copy of 5744 by Lovex. That 280 gr NOE looks like it would feed easily in a RAR. Keep us posted and good luck.

[michael.birdsley]

so i ended up ordering the noe 452-304 mold and a nose punch. i’ve got some real money already invested in this project. at this point i’d rather put the money into the mold that was designed for the .450 bush master. i’ll have more money to invest with gas checks. once i can start getting good groups. im going to use powder coat and lube to see which, one it likes better.

according to the hodgon website 31.8 grains of 5744 is 1617 fps and max charge of 35.4 5744 is 1808. I have a 22 inch barrel on my BM and i’m seeing that my gun is running about 150 fps faster than the book while using the 255 grain bullets.

those are almost full case charges so i don’t believe i need to add filler. for the 255 grain boolit i started at 26 grains ( 1470 fps) than worked up to 36 ( 2040ish fps) grains

with 5477 i was getting ES of 20-35 fps instead of the almost 100 es with lil gun.

i had been considering changing to a 300 grain jacket bullet any how. so if this 307 grain boolit works I may either use the boolit for hunting or make the change to the jacketed 300 htp. that way i can have my sights set up for both rounds. I generally hunt in very thick cover and i havnt never shot a deer past 30-40 yards.

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[murf205]

"those are almost full case charges so i don’t believe i need to add filler." One of the best things about 5744.
"I generally hunt in very thick cover and i havnt never shot a deer past 30-40 yards."
That's where the big boys live. That 450 is perfect for that scenario. BTW, Sages's gas checks work great and are a better price than the Hornady's.

[michael.birdsley]

"those are almost full case charges so i don’t believe i need to add filler." One of the best things about 5744.
"I generally hunt in very thick cover and i havnt never shot a deer past 30-40 yards."
That's where the big boys live. That 450 is perfect for that scenario. BTW, Sages's gas checks work great and are a better price than the Hornady's.

i was actually shocked at the price for hornady gas checks for 45 caliber.

i use sage for .6.5mm and .308 dia gas checks. they are more reasonable. once i get loads for all my rifles i want to start researching making my own checks. however, it’s about $100 per caliber to get started with dues to punch them out. at least the .308 diameter as i have 3 guns that would use that size. over time they would pay for them selves

for the hunting thing. that’s just how we grew up hunting the big woods in north central michigan. i’ve got my own 7 acres to hunt and it’s all thick. so i have to make sure i drop them with only 7 acres to work with.


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[BD]

I did a lot of work with the .450B in the AR platform around 2009. I'm attaching a pic of the three most successful cast boolit loads I came up with. IMS left to right are my custom design, (meant to be 250 grains but in fact more like 280 grains at around 2,000 fps), A lee mold sized down to .452, and the Ranch Dog 350 2C loaded to around 1,800 which was the most accurate of the bunch. The target is @ 100 yards from a bench rest. I'm retired now and may get back around to the .450B using cast.
I don't know how much use my load data will be as I was using mostly WC-297 for the lighter boolits and IMS surplus 1680 for the heavier ones, in hornady small primer brass with a tight "waist" crimp. My rifle shot very well with the 250FTXs over LittleGun or WC-297, (under 2" @300), so I sort of let the cast boolit work trail off. Now that the FTXs are so expensive I'll probably continue the development of the cast loads.

319621319622

[mehavey]

....a tight "waist" crimp.Boy Howdy
on "tight" :veryconfu

[Bigslug]

Looks like I got to the party late on this thread. I don't have much to offer on the .450 BM, other than possibly the voice of experience of one who practices with cast and hunts with Barnes.

I would not hold out a great deal of hope for a cast load shooting to same point of impact as your jacketed. Just plan to record your zero settings so you can shift back and forth.

Also, it sounds like you're hunting at distances that the average action movie hero could cover with a thrown knife. Yes, you probably DO want to seriously consider gas checks if you're running much above 1,600 fps, but ponder this: 1,600 fps is well in excess of what many people are getting out of .44 Magnums and .454 Casulls with similar bullet weights, and they want for nothing in terms of game killing effectiveness and sub-100 yard trajectory. I would be inclined to treat it like a magnum pistol round with similar powders, speeds, and plain-base bullets of a medium-stiff alloy somewhere between wheelweight and Lyman #2. If you get something with that which shoots acceptably and can legally hunt with lead, I'd roll with that and kiss the jacketed hot loads goodbye.

Given the rebated rim, headspacing off the case mouth, and (if I remember correctly) push-feed-with-spring-loaded-plunger ejector system. I would expect some accuracy challenges related to getting the bullet to enter the rifling squarely. I pretty much default to getting super-nerdy with doing pound-casts of the chamber to get a read on throat dimensions, bore slugs for groove diameter, and dropping pin gauges for bore diameter, but I'd go at that extra hard for the .450 BM variables. Goal would be to get the cartridge to center up pre-ignition with light contact on the lands when chambered, which will also improve ignition/lock time by anchoring your headspace.

Good luck!

[BD]

Boy Howdy
on "tight" :veryconfu
Remember that these are stout loads in an AR. When I started into this I had issues with ejecting a loaded round without leaving the boolit in the throat. I started with SDs over 100 fps and tightened the crimp until the SDs got down under 30, and I could eject a loaded round. Groups followed suit. This was well before anyone made a "factory crimp die" for the .450B. The Hornady seat/crimp die wouldn't begin to hold a 300 grain boolit in the case if you let the bolt release chamber the round. That "waist crimp" made the difference between 5" groups and 2" groups. The boolit I designed on the left in the picture was pretty frustrating. I shot many, many 5 shots groups with three touching and two off to the side opening the group up to 2-1/2 or 3". At the time I thought the gas port was disrupting the check, but over time I've come to think that maybe it was just too much lube.

[BD]

I also tried most all of my .45acp molds, (and I have more than a few of those). None of the lighter boolits shot better than 6" groups at 100 yds.

[BD]

I don't know if this is appropriate, to link to another forum? But the vast majority of the cast boolit load work for the .450B that I know of was reported on the 450Bushmaster.net forum back around 2009. It is well worth the read. I was BD1 on that forum. I just took a look back at that stuff and edited my earlier post to correct some weight and velocity info.
http://450bushmaster.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12143&sid=acc439ad8257c2898cf578f3a48d1e4b

[michael.birdsley]

so here is the new mold NOE 452-304-rf . this NOE mold drops really nice looking boolits. with my lymen #2 alloy it drops just a couple tenths over .454. I was able to find a .452 and .454 lube sizer on ebay for about $36 bucks shipped for the pair. With the lee boolit either .452 or .454 diameter seemed to work with out leading. i bought both sizes to hedge my bets in case this boolit decided to be finicky.

Sages was out of 45 cal gas checks. so i decided to give mid south a shot and they havnt shipped yet and i ordered on friday. so i have everything but, i’m doubting i’ll get to the range to shoot before the 15th to shoot the new cast bullet. i’m going to the range in the morning with the .450 but, i’ll be doing my final warm up before deer hunting on the 15th.

as a realistic goal i’m thinking if i can keep groups below 2 inches at 100 yards i’ll consider this project a success. Next year hopefully i’ll hunt with them. obviously smaller is better and what we all want jacked groups size. my .450 will shoot 1 inch at 100 if i do my part with the ftx bullet.

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[BD]

That looks very close to my design, but with two small lube grooves instead of my single big fat one. It should be just the ticket!

[michael.birdsley]

finally some success. getting back to the range after taking almost a month and half off for deer hunting.

i loaded up those NOE 300 grain gas checked bullets with 31.00-35 grains of 5744. 1st group was at the bottom running on average of 1675fps, 2nd group which is around the bulls eye was running 1781 fps. i’m using the yellow lube from white lable

i did move the scope up after the first group. i may have pulled the upper one in the 2nd group.



i’m happy with both groups. definitely can work with this. might take some tweaking but, it’s like 80% there. i’ll load up another batch of 2 grain increments between 31.00-32.00 and see what happens.

there was a third group running at about 1850 gps but the group opened way up. so i’ll pull the bullets i had at 34.00-35.00 grains.

definitely a healthy kick at 1781 fps. these bullets should be like thors hammer on a deer in the big woods.


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[murf205]

Pretty successful I would say. Now, all you need is a sharp knife and a drag rope!

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I shoot the RCBS 300 FN GC out of my Marlin 45-70 at 2100fps. Very effective on game, Recoil is very unpleasant in an 8lb rifle. Win case, Fed 215, 58g Accurate 2015, 50-50 COWW/range lead, NRA Alox/beeswax. Stays under an 1.5" at 100yards until the recoil interferes.

[Petander]

Michael,congrats for your success!



I shoot the RCBS 300 FN GC out of my Marlin 45-70 at 2100fps.

For whatever it's worth:

I always try to avoid gas checks,especially now that I coat everything.

My fav Marlin practise load is RCBS 45-325-FN-U plain base @ 1950 fps, PC:d. Shoots the same as my 350 Hornady hunting J-load. I have other, heavier 45-70 loads past 2000 fps too, all plain base and PC / Hi Tek.

My 470 NE cast practise loads (300 to 420 grains) all go past 2000 fps only the light Lee (2400 fps) uses a gas check. The most interesting is a bevel base 400 (?) bullet from Accurate. I double PC it and push well past 2000, barrel is clean and accuracy good. 470 NE being low pressure cartridge,is very forgiving.

[michael.birdsley]

Michael,congrats for your success!




For whatever it's worth:

I always try to avoid gas checks,especially now that I coat everything.

My fav Marlin practise load is RCBS 45-325-FN-U plain base @ 1950 fps, PC:d. Shoots the same as my 350 Hornady hunting J-load. I have other, heavier 45-70 loads past 2000 fps too, all plain base and PC / Hi Tek.

My 470 NE cast practise loads (300 to 420 grains) all go past 2000 fps only the light Lee (2400 fps) uses a gas check. The most interesting is a bevel base 400 (?) bullet from Accurate. I double PC it and push well past 2000, barrel is clean and accuracy good. 470 NE being low pressure cartridge,is very forgiving.

i tried shooting that lee 452-255-FN powder coated and with out a gas check with abysmal results. I believe the base of the bullet was getting deformed after ignition. i tried the lee bullet with lil-gun and the slower 5744. results were better with 5744 but, nothing all that great. I may still try and powder coat the NOE bullet with a gas check. I don’t really know if i need to go faster than 1740isu fps it’s definitely has good recoil at that speed.


Like i said im not done tinkering with it. i want to try this gas’s checked bullet with lil-gun as that powder is about $23 cheaper a pound than 5744. i may also try sizing at .452 so i can seat the bullet out a bit farther. right now im about .005 off the lands. some of boolits ive loaded will have groove marks on them from the rifling.


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[BD]

I got nowhere with about 10 different non gas check designs in the .450 B in an AR. I think the gas port dictates the need for a check.

[michael.birdsley]

I got nowhere with about 10 different non gas check designs in the .450 B in an AR. I think the gas port dictates the need for a check.

i think also with the pressures that the .450 BM runs at it deforms the base of the bullet pretty quickly. i have known some people to have success with plain base bullets on the .450 bm reloading page on facebook. however, they are running around the 1200-1300 fps I believe. I’m not sure what powder they were using definitely not using lil-gun.


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[Petander]

I got nowhere with about 10 different non gas check designs in the .450 B in an AR. I think the gas port dictates the need for a check.

This is probably true. I struggled with an AR 458 Socom and eventually gave up on cast. I also felt stupidly undergunned, shooting the same bullets from a Marlin SBL much faster. Ended up selling the Socom.

[Old Two Wars]

They sure are Shiney all of mine are lee moulds and frosted.its a lee 255 no gas check I bought some 230 round nose powder coated and 255 PC RFNs with a good dose of lilgun they go through 1/4 in mild steel at 25 yds in a bolt gun