Hard hitting suggestions.

[EMT480]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a hard hitting cast bullet for a .454 Casull? I haven't cast a bear repellent (as I refer to them) bullet. I haven't been able to locate what I normally load up. 325 gr Barnes buster. Not sure what would be a good alloy or mold. Need something that hits hard and breaks what it hits. I'm looking at an accurate mold unless someone suggests something else.

Thanks

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[mnewcomb59]

How much sight adjustment do you have? If you go much heavier you might not be able to zero the load. Would you be okay with hitting 6" high at 25? That might be all you get with a 350 grain bullet.

I would remind you anything 250-350 gr at 1100+ fps will penetrate 2x as far as a 180 TTSX in a 300 Win Mag. When a high powered rifle with dangerous game bullets penetrates 30" gel, and your 45 Colt +P loads penetrate 50 inches then you can decide if the last little bit of power is worth the recoil. The main thing I would be worried about would be practicing time to first shot from the holster and checking how quick you can get a followup.

If a 265 at 1200 fps will go 50" in gel and a 315 at 1500 fps goes 60" in gel, is the difference in recoil worth the last little bit of penetration when you are already have almost double the penetration a 30-06 220 gr Core Lokt (28" gel)?

For your alloy that is a much easier question. You want somewhere between 3 and 6% antimony with anywhere between 2 and 5% tin. So anything from 2-3-95 up to 5-5-90 or 2-6-92 would work. If you have only 3% antimony you would want to water drop the bullets after you powder coat or right out of the mold. My favorite hard alloy is 3-3-94 water dropped. At low revolver speeds a hard bullet is a hard bullet. The difficult alloys are where you are planning for 2000 fps impact speeds and a certain amount of expansion. Even if you want NO expansion it is hard to do at 2000 fps because usually a flat nose turns into a wadcutter or slightly larger.

At those high speeds you really want a balanced alloy with equal tin and antimony, but at 1300 fps any old alloy that you can get to 16 BHN will be non-deforming and tough enough to hold together through bones.

The main thing is hard cast bullets make a tiny hole at 1200 fps and you really gotta hit bones. With no bones hit a 1200 fps hard cast probably exits a deer at 1000 fps and only uses 20% of its energy. A hard cast 45 colt will make about a 30 caliber hole with a 3/4 inch bruise around the bullseye. That's it. BUT, when you hit some bones the magic happens. That bullet that conserves its power through soft tissue will suddenly dump its energy and take out a 3 inch chunk of femur or scapula and send shards through the wound path like a bowling pin. So for bears you gotta break them down, not count on them bleeding out before they maul you. Spine, shoulders, hips, brains. So be honest with yourself and if you shoot better with the 1200 fps load it is really all you need. Plenty of penetration.

[Delkal]

I use the Lee C452-300-RF bullet for my hot 45 colt loads. With its huge metplat it hits hard and I don't think penetration will be an issue. Accuracy is good with the top end loads but with target loads the bullet doesn't stabilize as well and is less accurate. I cast mine with Lyman #2 but will occasionally bump the BHN to 17 with more Tin/Antimony. I don't have any leading with either alloy,

[mehavey]

https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-340C
It's what I use in the 450 Bushmaster (Casull's big brother)
Cast w/ #2 Lyman

[dondiego]

Are there any light hitting .454 Cassull's?

[challenger_i]

Would my 45 Colt shot shells (454 Cas case, 4gr Unique, wad, 145gr shot) count? :)
BTW: with a roll crimp, it fits the 45 Colt chamber like a glove.

Sorry for venturing off topic a tad...


Are there any light hitting .454 Cassull's?

[dondiego]

Would my 45 Colt shot shells (454 Cas case, 4gr Unique, wad, 145gr shot) count? :)
BTW: with a roll crimp, it fits the 45 Colt chamber like a glove.

Sorry for venturing off topic a tad...

Maybe...............

[EMT480]

All very good info and ideas. Thank you. I have looked at that very accurate mold. Recoil I'm prepared for. If I could reduce it that would also be a benefit. She does buck and snort a little with the 325s

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[fredj338]

I think there is diminishing returns going too heavy for caliber. As noted, big bore solids penetrate a lot. A 285gr/45 @ just 1100fps will penetrate more than a 400gr soft @ 2200fps from a 404 jeffery. I would probably stay under 325gr, run them 1300fps, it not likely stopping inside even a big bear.

[Sandspider500]

https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-340C
It's what I use in the 450 Bushmaster (Casull's big brother)
Cast w/ #2 Lyman

Big brother?

https://media.tenor.com/6US8h7qnegoAAAAC/muttley-wacky-races.gif

https://i.imgflip.com/8kvhwi.jpg

[Bigslug]

250-275 grains, .34" meplat, increase charge to just above where it would stop being comfortable enough to shoot all day.

Remember that the standard .45 Colt BP load was considered sufficient to screw both you AND the horse you rode in on. Significantly hotter isn't really needed.

[Kennibear]

Consider linotype for what you want. It was designed to fill out type mold with all the little letters so it flows really well and chilled after sizing it is hard as hell. Use an oversize die to lube it after chilling. The cost is a factor but just how many bears are a problem for you? It will cast a slightly lighter bullet and will do just fine however hard you push it. I personally would use it even 0.002" oversize. And the advice of 300gr tops for a bullet is sound advice. A 172gr 358429 running 1310fps hard cast will go 48" in an elk including 6-7" of spine (shot made with the elk facing me) and it was a DRT.

KB

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[beagle]

Loaded a bunch of RCBS 45-325-FN-U slugs for a friend's Freed Arms guns. Runs right at 338 grains. Downsized to .454" in my nose first sizing rig. He was happy with them. I dropped out of the cannon race after the .44 Magnum./beagle

[waksupi]

The question should be, what can I get a fast accurate second shot with? You will have less than a second to find out if you have a social engagement with a bear.

[softpoint]

I use two .45/70 molds for my .454 Freedom. The 325 RCBS and the Lyman 330 grain Gould hollow point. Sized down to .452 for the Freedom, they are accurate in both my Freedom .454 Casull and my .45 Colt Redhawk.

[Hillbillyhunter]

A colleague who used to live in Alaska and fished some waters where big bears roamed used to cast and load a 360 gas checked LFN over a healthy dose of H110. I'd see what buffalo bore is loading as they seem to be the gold standard for hard hitting. Maybe find a boolit similar to their offerings.

[hawkeye1]

I’ll go along with Delkal here. I use the Lee 300 gr. LFN. With a near max dose of H-110 it hits good on both ends, and very accurate in my Super RedHawk. Good velocity and good bullet weight you can’t go wrong.