454 Casull cast bullets

[matts]

Hello

i just picked up a new to me 454 casull Freedom Arms 83. It looks like it wasn't fired, previous owner said he shot it 20 times total. 

Either way, I've started loading for it with 350 grain cast bullets. I'm wondering if anyone has hunting experience with the heavy cast Bullets in 454?  Just wandering if I need to look at heavier maybe up to 375 or stick with 350. The 350 I loaded this time were really nice and I've got more of them to try. Started them with a starting load of H110. Right now nothing bigger than hogs but 2019 is supposed to take us to Africa to go after a buffalo so I want to start working now. 

Thanks for looking and thanks for any help. 

[zeus]

335s is as high as I ever went personally. They did well. I shoot primarily 300s in the early days and 260s mainly now. I shot about 13-14000 of the 300 XTP mags through my gun from 2002-2007, can't remember exactly off top of my head. It was insanely accurate and killed anything you pointed it at. The 260s are my go to for hogs and deer though.

[gjn]

I don't think a 375 grain will do anything you can't do just as well with a 350 grain. I also topped out at 340 grains and never saw the need for anything heavier.

[onegoodshot]

I loaded these today to shoot my new Reederized octagon FA. Still haven't got a chance to shoot it yet. I believe they are 315 or 320gr. I'll try to clarify first thing in the morn when I get to the pharmacy.
I am having a few issues (and lack of time today) so I still haven't shot yet. 4 of the 10 loaded rounds won't seat all the way in the chamber. The ones that did seat completely required a pretty good push to get them to work. If I get a chance this week I'm going to trouble shoot and I'll follow up. I may not have full length resized the virgin brass or may need to seat to the next crimp ring.
Sorry to hijack your thread. You should be good to go with what you have.

[matts]

Well that's good to hear. I'll probably keep trying these to see if I can find a load I like.

These FA have incredibly tight chambers. I single stage all my big stuff and I still have them where they are TIGHT going into the cylinder. With 45 colt in my FA97 I've been using a Lee fcd as the final step. I may have to do the same with these 454. Time will tell. It's amazing that all brand new brass, all the same die settings, and some ammo will drop into the cylinder and other has to be pushed in.

[zeus]

Jun 18, 2017 22:14:30 GMT -5 matts said:

Well that's good to hear. I'll probably keep trying these to see if I can find a load I like.

These FA have incredibly tight chambers. I single stage all my big stuff and I still have them where they are TIGHT going into the cylinder. With 45 colt in my FA97 I've been using a Lee fcd as the final step. I may have to do the same with these 454. Time will tell. It's amazing that all brand new brass, all the same die settings, and some ammo will drop into the cylinder and other has to be pushed in.

Check your throats size and the size of the bullet. Those big shoulders on some bullets are tight with a FA cylinder if they are slightly oversized.

[bradshaw]

matts and onegoodshot.... with chambers finished to minimal dimensions, it is good to make up dummy rounds. Diameters vary with some cast bullets; it is better to assume nothing and check everything. Combined with headspacing made to minimal dimensions, to cramp the cartridge in the chamber should be avoided at the start of hand loading. Check each round to assure there are no high primers.

The Freedom Arms provides no slack for CRIMP BULGE, which, to judge by encounters with handloaders, occurs with some frequency. Some dies do not work for some guns; some dies do not work for some bullets. And some dies do not work, period. A generous crimp dies or die with abrupt crimp shoulder may cause crimp bulge, especially with a shallow crimp groove on the bullet.

Except for a special reason, I avoid trimming revolver brass. To load brass by make & lot number, and to separate by weight or seating effort, largely eliminates trimming. A person who mixes .45 Colt brass. .44 Mag, etc., should expect trouble. Low powered, close range practice ammo is one thing. Tournament----silhouette----and hunting mandates reliability. Reliability starts with ammo which drops in the chamber.
David Bradshaw

[COR]

You'll find the LFN (and WLN for that matter), tends to cause less of the above issues than the WFN will. PLUS...That's the tightest production gun on the market. Everything has to "fit".

Your accuracy will tell the tale but I think when you start getting into the 350gr weights and above you get into bullet designs that can be "out of balance" and for my money the round does great at 300-325 grs. If you feel the need to into a premium lathe turned bullet for buffalo you'll be right at about 320grs in the Punch Bullet design of Kelye Shlep.

As far as Glenn's 260gr round...It's rumored that it loves the sweaty brow of an overconfident shooter...

[sixshot]

Remember when sizing cast bullets that you will get a tiny bit of spring back when they come out of the sizer die, a tiny "bit" in a FA can be enough to make a difference. In the 10" 454 I had I had to size my 325 gr. GC slugs to 451", a 452" slug would not fit! As mentioned, go slow when crimping, check the loaded round or better yet make up a dummy round & try in your cylinders & make sure in fits. Then crimp until you are confident it's enough to eliminate bullet pull. If you are good on crimp load each round & turn the cylinder checking for high primers always. Shoot 4 rounds & measure the 5th round & see if you have any bullet pull, you shouldn't have.
A 454 is a Corvette on steroids, velocity & power! A 325-340 gr. bullet of the correct alloy will kill anything on earth or in Texas trust me! Take your time in setting up your dies, the extra time is worth it. The guns shoot amazing, just be sure to seat separate from crimping & then run every round through your gun before hunting. Over crimping is a no-no & a high primer & the 4th of July can come early!

Dick

[jsh]

One thing I will touch on that was not mentioned. Loading traditional cast bullets, all three dies can use a good cleaning. Lube and lead slivers can and will build up.
I would also say to check completed rounds in your cylinder every so often.
Jeff

[onegoodshot]

Crazy morning and had to drop my 11yo son off at noon for his first missions trip to Ohio.

Was loading .452 320gr WFNGC (28BHN) made by fellow West Virginian Harles Dawson.
My dummy round loaded. I made a rookie mistake. Been loading since 1985 or 86.
I'm thinking that I didn't full length resize the 30 rounds of virgin star line I used. It was in a 100 count box of 50 rounds that were once fired or unfired. I just took for granted that I had resized them before loading. I primed and flared them yesterday. I'll run them through the sizer die and see if that makes a difference. I've encountered this befor with the FA and just assumed it had been done, but I'll wager that I didn't. Notes in box show loaded 10-18-14.

[matts]

Well came home tonight after finding out someone hit my 44 day old truck and decided I needed a little time alone and went to my reloading dungeon to check this ammo. Ran a couple through the Lee fcd and it bulged the case on the second one so I stopped there and looked at the bullets again. This time I took my micrometer to the cast Bullets and found anywhere from .4521 to .4532. Crud. Majority were .4526 or larger. Ugh. I guess this just means I need to start casting for this sooner than later.

[zeus]

Try using your RCBS seating die. Seat and crimp in two steps. Just ease it down after all of them are seated. Once you see the slinger flat appear, back let it stay there and you should be good. If you go too far with it and it bulges slightly, I have been known to pull the top from the sizer die and run that round in there to knock the bulge out to get it to fit. FA used RCBS dies when they made them at the factory from what I remember. I've never used the Lee die, just RCBS as described

[dougader]

I had some old handloads I made with bullets cast from a Lee tumble lube mold. The ammo worked fine in a GP100, but some would not chamber in my old model Blackhawk (OMBH); tighter specs on the OM. So I did just what Zeus posted with the top and guts from the sizer die removed (the primer decapping pin parts). It worked the cases and cast bullets down enough so I could chamber the reloads and fire them off. I was expecting poor accuracy, but at my modest ranges of 7 - 20 yards, they shot just fine.

[magnumwheelman]

I also often remove the decapping stem on the sizer die... infact, I decapp using a universal decapper from Lee, & most of my sizing dies are now "topless" so if I need / want to run something through again, most are ready... & it seems to work well