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Post by Lee Martin on Jun 29, 2012 10:12:51 GMT -5
When my dad and I started converting Blackhawks to 454 back in the 90's, I tested a lot with Colt brass. Like Seyfried, I used Federal hulls and pushed them really hard in 454 chambers. For all the added blast, recoil, and stress on the gun I got another 150 fps or so. Whitworth and I also did penetration tests between the Colt @ 1,300 fps and the Casull at 1,600 fps (same bullet). The difference between the two was small. This further confirmed what many of us have known for years. The old Colt at 30K PSI is near-ideal for top end. Personally, I like a 270 gr @ 850 fps for plinking. It's accurate, easy on the wrist, and still hits hard. For upper tier I like 335 - 340 WFNs and SSKs at 1,250 - 1,300 fps. Yes you can drive them harder from a 5-shot, but that level will drop just about anything. So I either go light or heavy in the 45 and rarely load mid-level. Here's an article I did on 5-shot 45 conversions if anyone is interested: www.singleactions.com/files/FiveShot45Colts.pdf-Lee www.singleactions.com"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"
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cable
.327 Meteor
Posts: 681
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Post by cable on Jun 29, 2012 11:32:52 GMT -5
excellent article. i have come to the same conclusions as you, and tho i have a 454, i far more often stick with 45 colt loads in the ranges you have quoted. the only large mammal i have shot with one was an irate moose, and the 335 certainly stopped that argument immediately.
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Post by pageophile on Jun 29, 2012 13:45:42 GMT -5
When my dad and I started converting Blackhawks to 454 back in the 90's, I tested a lot with Colt brass. Like Seyfried, I used Federal hulls and pushed them really hard in 454 chambers. For all the added blast, recoil, and stress on the gun I got another 150 fps or so. Whitworth and I also did penetration tests between the Colt @ 1,300 fps and the Casull at 1,600 fps (same bullet). The difference between the two was small. This further confirmed what many of us have known for years. The old Colt at 30K PSI is near-ideal for top end. Personally, I like a 270 gr @ 850 fps for plinking. It's accurate, easy on the wrist, and still hits hard. For upper tier I like 335 - 340 WFNs and SSKs at 1,250 - 1,300 fps. Yes you can drive them harder from a 5-shot, but that level will drop just about anything. So I either go light or heavy in the 45 and rarely load mid-level. Here's an article I did on 5-shot 45 conversions if anyone is interested: www.singleactions.com/files/FiveShot45Colts.pdf-Lee www.singleactions.com"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time" You're input is always appreciated Lee
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Post by buckelliott on Jul 12, 2012 23:55:29 GMT -5
Full-bore .454 loads (65,000 psi) and hot .45 Colt loads give a bit of trouble in DA revolvers, because the case heads swell against the extracter star.. Having pressure applied all around the extracter, from firing a cylinder full, creates a lot of friction on that extracter.. Cases have to be pounded out, and damage to gun and/or shooter may result.. The big X-frame Smiths have to same problem, which is why factory-loaded .500 or .460 ammo tops out at under 55,000 psi MAX, though S&W pestered SAAMI for the 65,000 psi ceiling.. In short: single action and double action revolvers handle things differently.. The SA chamber is supported all the way around, with no breaks or extra moving parts to contend with, And --- cartridges are ejected one-at-a-time, which requires less effort, no matter what else may be happening..
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Post by whitworth on Jul 13, 2012 6:02:08 GMT -5
Smith & Wesson nearly got what they wanted with a SAAMI spec on both the .460 and .500 are just under 62,000 psi. Not all manufacturers load to the same levels and I would bet that CorBon still loads them close to or at SAAMI spec. I will find out.
Ruger's extraction issues with their SRHs was a machining issue. But, not all SRHs were afflicted with sticky extraction.
That said, I have never killed an animal with a .454 that wouldn't have died just as dead with a hot .45 Colt! ;D
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