454 toklat

[root]

Bought a ruger 454 toklat this week still owe about 200 on it so ill be picking it up next week.

Been reading about it for the last week and not a whole lot of info in the search function here or on the net for that matter.

Wanted a 454 since about 1988 when i shot a F.A. 454 at a gravel pit the owner, a total stranger was nice enough to let me try his.

I was shooting a 44 mag 5.5 inch. He had that 454
While the 44 made dust on the boulders some of his shots where literally cracking rocks in 1/2 with that scoped 7.5 inch gun.

Anyways I am kinda looking for some load data for the 5 inch toklat model.

I see a lot of 45 LC ruger data only but only have one book out of many that have any 454 casull loads.

I' ll be looking to buy the heaviest mold I can find.

Recommendations???
I saw one with a double crimp grove here in a search but now can't find it.

Also for J bullets I'll be shooting 250 gn screamers. But plan on mostly sticking to hard cast pellets that are heavy.

Would like that double crimp bullet design if it weighs in at 350 or 375 gn.

Anything to look out for? Problem wise with the SRH toklat?

Scope recommendations since it comes with rings?

Tried to watch that hickoc45 vid on it but the shilling and out right drama i had to shut it off.
Dumb idjut was telling everone your arms will fall off on the 1st shot and it would make you sterile with repeated firing. Or some such drama nonsense. Way to introduce new shooter there hiccup45.

I'm not recoil sensitive I shoot mostly a 4 inch mountain gun 629 and a 5.5 New Super Blackhawk. Didn't even own anything other then the 44 mag till i was 25. And then that was a autoloader.

Anywho....
Any info for it?

Do's don't on the reloading, possible high wear parts? ( doubtful on a ruger)
Possible scope for it since it has rings in the box. I'm also going to get a set of 30mm rings from ruger.

Thanks

[Lloyd Smale]

recoil in a redhawk isnt bad. matter of fact my 454 alaskan with its short barrel was eaiser on the hand then my FA by a long shot. Probably no worse then shooting full power factory 44s in a 4 inch 29. But LOUDER. cant see scoping a 5 in revolver but thats just me. I see it as a hip holster gun. But if i was going to the only thing id put on it is a 2x leupold.

[black mamba]

I just got a pile of 300 gr Speer DC bullets for my 5" BFR and tested a bunch of different powders. My best load, a cylinder full into one ragged hole at 20 yds, was 22.5 g of Accurate #9 in Starline brass with Remington 7½ primers. My reloading program says it should be running 1340 fps @ 43.1 kpsi, so plenty of room to load up for more velocity if you want it. I'll take accuracy every time.

[contender1]

Having shot many heavy calibers,, including a 450 Marlin in a BFR revolver,, and a custom .500 JH,, along with several .480's, & 454's,, I can say they can be a handful,, but not anything a capable handgunner can't enjoy.

For loading data,, buy newer manuals. DO NOT GO BY INTERNET KEYBOARD NINJAS reloading advice. There is plenty of data out there for the .454 from reputable loading companies. Remember,, they publish,, AFTER testing stuff.
I have always been of the mind that the bigger the caliber,, the bigger the slug,, so shooting light bullets trying to get screaming velocities isn't always the best direction. (Bill Ruger built the .357 Maximum on the concept of heavy bullets with slower powders. When shooters tried light bullets, and fast burning powders,, they got a little topstrap flame cutting. It caused Bill to stop production, AND he scrapped 5000 guns. Now, one of the ORIGINAL designers of the Maxi developed a heavy cast bullet for that caliber that is SUPERB.)

I tend to think that bullets in the 300 grn range & up, for the .454 is where it'll shine. But,, be aware of cylinder length when shopping for bullet molds. Make sure the design allows for safe loading,, AND clearance in the chambers. Molds by Miha have proven to be excellent. He makes some "Ruger Only" length molds.
As for scopes,, all I can say is; "Buy quality." Heavy recoil can destroy "cheaper" brands. Many folks choose a red dot over a scope on some of these heavy hitters. UltraDot is a good one for many.

[root]

Only book I have with any 454 data is the lyman 50th and I have a ton of books.
So there is a starting point.

The bullet I'd like to mainly run is the 325 452651 but it seems that mold no longer is in production.

For screamer they have the 250 listed as 1462 FPS and 1767 FPS start data ( to me that's a screamer for 45 ) I have a box or two of those and have never even thought to run them anywhere near that since they are for a 45 LC BP conversion that off the top of my head was around 600 or 800 FPS

Anyways just gathering thoughts and data from the guys that have already been there done that.

I also looked at the published load data from F.A. site just as info.

The scope is up in the air probably buy one to have just like the 30mm rings but may never use it.
Not sure if I'll hunt Pa white tail with it anyways I use the 5.5 SBH for that and have had good clean kills over the years.

[AlaskaMike]

You should be able to find authoritative load data online for the .454 Casull. I just checked Alliant, and they have data for their 300MP powder, and I would also expect for 2400, although I didn't check. You've also got Hodgdon, Accurate, and Shooters World that publish their data online, and probably others as well.

[boatswainsmate]

The newest Handloader Magazine has a good variety of load data for the 454 casull with different bullets. I have quite a few big cast bullets for the .452 but none are dual crimp grove. You might try accurate molds. A sample of what I have. Happy Shooting. Boats

[Minerat]

I have the same gun 454 toklat. I have a NOE 454-350 that drops a 333gr hp GC bollit. The ladder I did the first go around was with H4227 23 to 25 gr the best loads were the 25 gr. Labradar said 1281 fps, SD=12.1, Es= 26. No pressure signs easy extraction. It's not a barn burner but stout enough that you know it.

I also have a NOE 454-276(k)/Keith plain base that drops a 270 gr with my alloy. My goto load is 22 gr of 2400. No chrono data for those yet. I PC all and have had no leading issues.

Mine had a Nikon 2x6 but at anything over 3 is useless. I took it off and went back to the iron sights. Probably will go to a red dot someday.

[contender1]

Hodgdon 2020, & Hornady #10, (Using Hornady bullets only), were my first 2 manuals I picked up,, and both have data for the .454. The Hodgdon one has data for cast bullets.

[black mamba]

Here is a dual crimp groove heavy that I use from Gardner's (gardnerscache.com), a 340 grain gas-checked RFN. They may look a little rough, but they shoot very accurately, and the price is right. They also come powder coated for just a little more $$. In 45 Colt brass, seated long to the second crimp groove, either 19 gr of 4100 or 22 gr of 296 gives about 1200 fps and is extremely accurate.

[root]

Ordered this one last night from NOE 454-338-RF-AD5 4 Cavity GC

And I'll be looking for other molds as mentioned in a nice heavy weight good to see the pix that there are a lot of heavier 45 cal bullets in hard cast out here.

Was going to look through mountain molds but the site seems kaput. I got my 220 10mm mold from him years ago for running subsonic ammo in my 10mm auto loaders and Octane HD 45 haven't tried it in the 10mm GP100 MC yet since I run light fast bullets with low recoil in that for shooting matches

Once the mold hits my porch I'll be casting the NOE mold for the Toklat and getting some stuff/loads worked up with it.

Hope to be shooting it beginning or middle of March at the latest and running it through a chrono

Keep the stuff coming on these 454 casull guns guys it's nice to see the pix and read real world exp. from owners.

[contender1]

Dan at Mountain Molds has retired,, as of this past Dec.

[root]

Done went and got me a double tap post.

DELETED see below for ETA: addition.

[root]

Dan at Mountain Molds has retired,, as of this past Dec.

Well as a customer that sux.

As a guy not to far off from the same goal I kinda envy him.

After reading that I managed to purchase this lee mold Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold 340 Grain # 90373

So I'll try the two molds when they get here this one and the NOE and possibly try to find a better quality brass or steel one when I can.
I only say better quality due to the the two new purchase ones being aluminum.
Don't get me wrong I have a lot of lee molds and 2 or 3 NOE molds already I just prefer the steel or brass molds over alum. ( personal preference )

ETA: I found new starline 545 casull brass and ordered 550 pcs. they have a lot in stock it's new and only .50 per piece.

I'd post a link but not sure if that is allowed since there are paying vendors on the site and this seller is not one of them.

Off to size & lube 9mm 150's now.

Be safe everyone and thanks for all the info.

[sac]

I have one also, but haven't shot 454 out of it. I use a lyman 457122 gould mold for 45-70 and size it to .452 gradually with h110 in a 45 colt case.