.454 Casull handloads

[donhuff]

"Hell no, no more than 10 at a sessions."


I like that one!

My 454 has turned into a heavier version of my 45 colt R92. Until I can come up with a stock with a bigger butt plate and recoil pad, I won't be shooting many true 454 loads through it.



I would cut that tree down and burn it.....outside!

[Blue]

That is why I am continuing to try and figure out a cheap and effective recoil pad that looks decent.

[Ohio357MagFan]

Just to chime in, a little off topic but just want to say that if you want to get any of these bullets at or over 2000 FPS and be accurate one way I know for sure that works. Use one of the modern inline 50 caliber muzzleloaders with a sabot and one of the newer powders like blackhorn 209, White Hots, and Triple 7. That will definitely get any 44 or 45 caliber bullet over 2000 FPS with the higher end charges.

[Blue]

Here are the results of my load testing today with a 225 grain flat nose jacketed soft point bullet:

161 .454 Casull n/a 92 1816 1647 225 gr FNJSP AA#9 29.00 Win primer 1.71"

163 .454 Casull n/a 92 1578 1244 225 gr FNJSP 296 33.00 Win primer 1.71"

165 .454 Casull n/a 92 1613 1300 225 gr FNJSP 4227 32.00 Win primer 1.71"

Note that the first 4 digit number is the velocity, the second is the energy in ft/lbs.

I am running out of room in the case with the 4227 in particular. 4227 is a powder I've been very disapointed in, from trying for Ruger-only loads for my .45 Colt Redhawk or .357 Mag loads.

The 296 Winchester has been better, but again, I'm running out of case room.

Best choice for getting a little more velocity out of this load is the Accurate #9. I'm going to try 31 grains and 33 grains on my next test. I'm thinking 33 grains of AA#9 in the case would be about max without compressing the powder. If that doesn't get me 2100 fps, I'm thinking that the 225 grain bullet is too light given the case capacity of the .454 cartridge. It may take a 250 grain or 260 grain bullet to get the pressure required for those kind of velocities from a 16" barrel.

[donhuff]

blue,

Yes, your wasting your time with 4227 if trying to get the best velocity. You will always see pressure signs or run out of room, before getting very high speeds with it. There are just a few cartridges where this is the best powder for the cartridge. And "BEST" is always relative.


In looking at Hodgdon's data, I see that with a 240gr bullet they list a starting load using H110 of 36.0 and a max of 38.2 grains. And they got a velocity of 2065 fps.
So your load is way low and probably in the high 20,000 to just barely in the 30,000 pressure range. And you are using an even lighter bullet that should lower the pressure even more.

You are a lot closer to max with your #9 load, so that's why it is so much faster. And I would think that #9 is going to be a little to fast a powder to get you to your goal. LilGun, H110, 296, and 300MP would be more likely to get you there.

2100 fps is way on up there and it looks like you are going too be pushing a max load to get there! Be sure to check all your data before going higher.

WOW, I just looked at the hodgdon data again and noticed that they were using a 9- 3/8" barrel. Should be able to add a good bit more FPS if shot out of a longer barrel.

[Blue]

I looked back at my data and removed a couple of low velocity test rounds and came up with 1803 fps for the #163 load with 296, putting it at the same level as the AA#9.

[Blue]

1803 1625 225 gr FNJSP 296 33.00 Win 1.710"

1964 1928 225 gr. FTX 296 33.00 Win 1.830"

Above is the results of a recent cartridge test with
Win 296.

First number is velocity (at approximately 10' from muzzle), second number is energy in ft/lbs, FTX velocity significantly higher, but case capacity is 5% less with same amount of powder with the FTX.

This is because these overall cartridge lengths are what I needed to consistently chamber the round in my Rossi 92.

In addition, creating equal case capacity may have me crimping outside the cannelure on each bullet. Note that any aerodynamic difference the FTX may have over the flat nose will probably be statistcally insignificant at 10' from the muzzle, probably significant at 100+ yards.

More tests to come...

[Blue]

latest results (note that spreadsheet did not copy and register well):

cartridge firearm velocity energy (ft/lbs) bullet powder charge primer O.A.L.
.454 Casull 92 1979 1958 225 gr. JSP AA#9 31.1 Win 1.710
.454 Casull 92 2073 2148 225 gr. FTX AA#9 31.1 Win 1.825

I don't think I'm going to push things any further than this. Energy is pretty massive, twice my AR and only 400 ft/lbs less than my.308 Win Savage bolt. I understand that this round will bleed much velocity and energy with distance, compared to the AR and Savage.

Next step is to do accuracy testing and settle on two or three standard loads for this gun; #1 would be cheap, pistol range fun, #2 would be a a little higher velocity (for the rifle range @100 yards) inexpensive round, and #3 would be a let's have fun and light things up, no expense barred, round.

No rush to get this done, will advise if anyone is interested.

[GasGuzzler]

No rush to get this done, will advise if anyone is interested.

There is always interest.

[donhuff]

well you finally got 2000 + fps!

Does the FTX stick down into the case more than the other bullet? Just wondering where the extra 100 fps is coming from.



If you load 45 Colt, 8.5 grains of Unique and the 454424 bullet has been a very accurate plinking load for me. I have not tried it in the 454 but I would think it would work just as well there too.