Thoughts about the .454

[white eagle]

I had a SRH in 454 @ one point and now that you mention it I do remember
boolits tying up the cylinder
I never shot it much still have ammo for it
now I have found the 45 colt fills my needs way better

[44man]

i havent had the jumping crimp problem. (yet)
mostly i look in my loadbooks for whatever is hi-lighted as the most accurate load and use it.
i love shooting my raging bull
and i do put a fair amount of barnburner .45colt loads through it.

If we stop and think about it, the heavier the gun the less jump you can have too. Even mounting a scope can help stop it.
The .454 seems to have a very quick, sharp recoil.
It is a strange caliber where Freedom loads work and never pull but a lot of those others will. Jacketed factory loads hold but a lot of the cast give problems.
I drilled out .454 brass for a LP mag primer and shot PB boolits to 55,000 psi without a problem using a Fed 155. Not even a flat primer and boolits held.
It really turns into a normal loading procedure with a LP primer and many powders.
If I can say one thing I don't like, it is just the SR primer.
This is Jerry's .454. The left target was shot with his loads and the right was with my boolit. 50 yards from bags. I only had 4 cases drilled for the LP primer.

[44man]

Darn, pushed the wrong button. Here is the picture.

[unclebill]

If we stop and think about it, the heavier the gun the less jump you can have too. Even mounting a scope can help stop it.
The .454 seems to have a very quick, sharp recoil.
.

hmmm
maybe thats it.
the raging bull is 63 oz. empty

[Groo]

Groo here
Most of my shooting with the 454 has been with FA brass with LP pockets.
Any thing from 200gr jackets at 2k to 340gr cast at 1500 + and never had a problem..
Maybe its the original pacific dies I got from FA or the LP cases.
Normal 45colt dies or factory 45colt will not even fit in the chambers.[early FA adj sight gun]
Maybe the 460 brass is the key..

[44man]

Groo here
Most of my shooting with the 454 has been with FA brass with LP pockets.
Any thing from 200gr jackets at 2k to 340gr cast at 1500 + and never had a problem..
Maybe its the original pacific dies I got from FA or the LP cases.
Normal 45colt dies or factory 45colt will not even fit in the chambers.[early FA adj sight gun]
Maybe the 460 brass is the key..

.454 brass is just fine. I made this simple cutter to open pockets but I have a lathe.

[stubshaft]

Groo here
Most of my shooting with the 454 has been with FA brass with LP pockets.
Any thing from 200gr jackets at 2k to 340gr cast at 1500 + and never had a problem..
Maybe its the original pacific dies I got from FA or the LP cases.
Normal 45colt dies or factory 45colt will not even fit in the chambers.[early FA adj sight gun]
Maybe the 460 brass is the key..

I have an early FA83 Premier that will not allow reloads from standard 45LC dies to chamber. I have kept records of the amount of rounds through it and have had only 1 boolit creep out and tie up the gun in 9,457 tries. The majority of my shooting is with a 300gr LBT/LFN ahead of 32.5 #296 with Win SRP.

[saz]

I feel too many just over crimp. It is only there to AID holding a boolit and you should not depend on it for doing all the holding or helping powder burn.
I would bet I use less crimp then anyone without a problem.
Remember that I asked Whitworth why the factory loads were crimped so much! I don't think they have an understanding of the mechanics involved and think they need a very hard crimp.
I have posted a thousand times that case tension holds the boolit and the least crimp you can get away with is best.
If you can hold Lee boolits, you can hold anything.

AMEN 44man! I had an experienced "sixgunner" help me out at the range a long time ago when I first learned to handload. I was crimping the **** outta everything with a Lee FCD (which I DO NOT like) not accomplishing anything. I have Lee dies for both my 44Mag and 454, and I only use a moderate roll crimp set with the seating die even with the tiny Lee crimp groove. I have never had a boolit jump crimp in my 44, and I have fired thousands of heavy loads through my SBH. It is my carry gun up here for fishing, and when I am hunting with my muzzleloaders. IMHO the 44mag is the IDEAL caliber for bear protection in a handgun. If you would ever (god forbid) have to use it for its intended purpose it will more than likely be used very close, so there is plenty of power without all of the brutal and unnecessary recoil generated by some hand cannons.

Now I did say that I own a 454- but it is in a Puma 92 with 16.5" barrel, not a revolver. It is my "camp/backup" gun. I love a levergun and none get my heart going like a 92 winchester. This one is very handy to carry, even more so than a guide gun in 45-70. The recoil is not that bad, considering it is only 6lbs. It holds 8 rounds in the tube so for a bear gun, what more would you need.

I have not had any of the issues yall have talked about with jumping crimp, but maybe because the magazine helps keep the boolit where it is supposed to be? I also have not seen any issues of POI shifts with small charge weight changes either. I use the Remington 7 1/2 primer for all my loads. I tried the CCI (450 I think) small rifle mag, and I did have some issues with misfires. Switched back and I haven't had any issues since. I use it from my trail boss loads (for the kids), to unique (deer and fun loads) up to the bigger loads with Lil Gun and heavy boolits. Not one issue so far. I didnt even have problems with that primer when I was using H-110 with starting loads.

As for brass, all my heavy loads are with WW brass just because I bought a bunch of brass and 2 molds from a guy that was tired of the reciol from his revolver. There was about 200 pieces of new WW, 30 or so starline and 50 hornady pieces. I am not fond of the WW brass- I have had a few split cases already.

I have never owned a revolver in 454, but I have shot my fair share of them and can say that I don't care for the recoil in a handgun. I do love the Casull in a levergun though; perfect balance of power and "pointability" without the bulk of a 45/70. It is one of my all time favorite guns I have ever owned. No complaints from this guy.

[targetshootr]

Well I feel better about selling off my FA now. Even though I had to give it away it was gorgeous and well made but too big for my use and too much trouble to load. Come to think of it, I may as well sell the extry FA barrels n stuff laying around here.

[Frozone]

Maybe the 460 brass is the key..

Tried that, using Star brass, once you trim to length, the case wall thickness has increased unacceptably. You need to ream the cases or they'll swage down a cast bullet. This leaves a ridge in the case wall and quick failure. Reaming out normal 454 brass primer holes is the way to go.

BUT, I have had trouble producing significant differences in accuracy between large or small primers for hunting loads. I'm not sure it makes a real difference.

[44man]

Tried that, using Star brass, once you trim to length, the case wall thickness has increased unacceptably. You need to ream the cases or they'll swage down a cast bullet. This leaves a ridge in the case wall and quick failure. Reaming out normal 454 brass primer holes is the way to go.

BUT, I have had trouble producing significant differences in accuracy between large or small primers for hunting loads. I'm not sure it makes a real difference.

I used Hornady .460 brass and have Starline .454 brass. I have made every measurement that I can and brass thickness is exactly the same for both all the way past seated boolit bases.
Go down farther and the .454 brass is actually thicker near the flash hole.

[ole 5 hole group]

I use cut down Starline 460 brass for the 454 and have experienced no brass problems - except for the initial cost.

[HiVelocity]

Well, I've tried them all, love them all..............saying that, "All" of the handguns I've shot, or owned, I loved. I wish I had all them back sitting before me.

Like many others here, I'm partial to the 45 Colt and the 454. I have a couple bullet molds that I cast for use in both. Just my $.02 worth.

HV in SC

PS- Having lived in Alaska for 6 years, I wouldn't feel uncomfortable using the 454 with the bullet I currently cast for. (See below) MiHa is "the" man.

[Lloyd Smale]

I too have had no problems with 460 brass other then its time consuming to make even with my rcbs power trimmer.

I use cut down Starline 460 brass for the 454 and have experienced no brass problems - except for the initial cost.

[44man]

I too have had no problems with 460 brass other then its time consuming to make even with my rcbs power trimmer.

I agree, more expense and work and is why I made the pocket cutter.
.454 brass is STRONG. There is nothing it can't do with the correct primer.

[odoh]

. . . . . . . .
It is a strange caliber where Freedom loads work and never pull but a lot of those others will. Jacketed factory loads hold but a lot of the cast give problems.
. . . . . .

Have broke down only Speer factory Jacketed load and found black adhesive/sealant on the bullet shank/case interface. Tuff to pull of course

[44man]

Have broke down only Speer factory Jacketed load and found black adhesive/sealant on the bullet shank/case interface. Tuff to pull of course

That is news. Far different then a slippery boolit lube.
There are points of recoil where the brass just can't do what is needed. Too many think that thin hunk of brass will hold anything they can load. 700 gr boolits! Get real.
There is a limit, get over it. Think mechanical and stop using voodoo dolls.