454 Concerns

[Jumbopanda]

Hey guys I just just joined this forum because I just bought a .454 Super Redhawk (it'll be here once the 10 day wait is over :roll:), and was planning on casting bullets for it. I haven't started casting yet, and have only been reloading for a few months. I currently load .45acp and .50 Beowulf, and all I know is that my loads always go bang. Now here's my problem: I came across this forum and started skimming through a few threads and found this one that really made my head spin.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=41470

Some people are saying not to use Lil Gun because it's unpredicable, some say that .454 sucks, some say that SR primers result in bad ignition, along with all sorts of other quirks and issues. It's a lot of info to absorb at once, and I'm not so sure what's true and what isn't.

So here's what it all boils down to: I need at least two pet loads; one moderate powered and one high powered. I'm not the best shooter in the world, although I would like the gun to be reasonably accurate and free of erratic flyers. I plan on casting 300gr gas-checked bullets, but may also buy 300gr JHPs and 300gr plain base ones. What would you recommend in terms of powder and primers, and is there anything I should look out for aside from the usual pressure signs?

[cbrick]

Jumbopanda, welcome to castboolits,

I shot the 454 for several years in handgun silhouette with reduced loads that approximated the 44 mag with exceptional accuracy. It's been my experience that none of the ball powders work well when reduced regardless of the primer used, not in straight wall revolver cartridges with 296/110 or medium capacity bottle neck cartridges such as the 7mm BR or 308 Win with powders like 748.

I won't argue the point of large or small primer pockets but I shot very few full power loads. I used mostly Fed 205 with the reduced loads and had both exceptional groups out to 200 meters and exceptional chrono numbers. Many of the same people that extol the accuracy of the 45 Colt can't say enough about the poor accuracy of the 454. The logic escapes me.

When working up loads for your new Ruger use faster and/or stick powders for any reduced loads and the ball powders for higher velocity full power loads. Bullet pull is critical for consistency and accuracy with slow ball powders and bullet pull comes from the fit in the case, not the crimp. Crimp will only serve to ‘help” keep the bullets from moving forward in the cylinder during recoil.

For accuracy with cast bullets they must fit “YOUR” firearm. You will need to slug all of throats and the bore. Match your bullet diameter to a mild snug fit in the THROATS. The bore diameter in revolvers is important only in that it is at or very slightly smaller than throat diameter. If your bore is much larger than the throats bore leading and inaccuracy is likely.

No doubt you’ll enjoy your new revolver, don’t be afraid to ask questions or to experiment.

Rick

[44man]

Cbrick is correct, nothing wrong with the caliber. It is best with powders that ignite good but the potential for case capacity is not used. Reducing the power is best for accuracy.
Where the trouble starts is with a slow ball powder with the SR primer. You can not load less then max without trouble, even starting loads for H110 and 296 can fail to ignite. Go right to max for these powders and I found 1/2 gr over gave good accuracy.
The SR primer takes away load work for accuracy unless an easy to ignite powder is used.
I tried .460 brass cut down to .454 and then the slow powders could be worked with very easy. Even a LP mag primer was very good and maybe better then a LR.
Just pay attention to the powder in relation to the primer and it will work.
I still think the SR primer was a mistake. It was designed to run full throttle with slow powder.

[bigdog454]

As said, H110,w296, etc. are hard to ignite. I use only Win SR primers in the 454 and this seems to help a lot. I've had very good accuracy with 4227 powder and the 300 gr bullet, for llighter bullets I had exceptional accuracy with blue dot and a 255 gr boolit. I've tride lil gun when it first was avaliable and found it inaccurate in my gun. The early Lil gun was said to have some problems and they had a recall on it, but I had used it up by the time the recall came out. There are a lot of guys that like Lil gun, but I have never tried it again.