Nomercy448

Just a curious question.

In the past, I have loaded many .44mag cases with powder charges designed for the .44spcl, as well as .357mag cases with .38spcl charges. I don't like to shoot "short" ammo if I can avoid it, to prevent ringing the cylinders, so I started working on "reduced loads" for the magnum cases, and it seemed to work just fine.

However, I've never tried this with a .454 cassull. My concern is the huge discrepancy in charge between the .45colt and .454 cassull. Loading a 8grn .44spcl load in a .44mag case that would have a max load of 10.5grn (unique using a 240grn JHP) is a different story than loading a 18grn .45colt charge into a .454 cassull case that would normally take a 30grn charge.

Even "light" .454 Cassull loads are pretty peppy, so I'm just curious if I can't swap down to a "peppy" .45colt load. The .45colts clear the barrel just fine spitting from short cases, but I'm a little nervous about getting them out of the barrel safely if I'd cut the charge in half?

HatchieLuvr

The bullet knows not what it's fired from, so it doesn't know if it's in a .45LC round or a reduced 454 round. The .45LC is completely interchangeable in a 454C gun, just like the 44mag/44spcl and 357/38spcl. So Good way to enjoy shooting and practice without burning more powder, stressing your gun (and hand) and saves on wearing your cases. (Tho I'd honestly just buy or get some spent 45LC brass for reduced loads instead of stretching your much more expensive 454 brass!)

Enjoy,
HL

Nomercy448

This isn't entirely true. It's a pretty commonly understood fact that you can blow up a gun by using an under volume charge with too much void space in the case, hence my concern with using a 50% load in the .454 cassull.

I was really hoping to find out if someone had actually TRIED loading .45colt loads into .454 brass. I'd much rather spend extra money on brass than ring my cylinders, YMMV, but that's my druthers...

HatchieLuvr

Maybe I mis-understood you're question. Were you asking about regular 45LC pressure/power loads in your 454 brass or were you looking at doing some considerable reduced loads (by 45LC standards) in the 454 brass? Regular 45LC pressure loadings will work fine in the 454 brass, I wouldn't put a heavy crimp on them tho. But if you are talking about loading "below the 45LC charts" in 454 brass, then yeah you could run into problems.

More power is like boobs and money, never heard anyone complain about havin to much of either!
HL

emtrescue6

Loading outside the accepted safe load's in any case (brass) is not a safe activity and should be avoided. Extra void space in the 454 case using a 45 LC load could very likely cause problems for you and your weapon. Nosler notes that the acceptable powder charges for a 260g bullet using IMR4227 in the 45LC are between 22 and 23g's...the same power/bullet combo in the 454 calls for a charge of between 31 and 33g's, a very big difference in the world of handloads and one I wouldn't chance. Ringing of ones cylinder is hardly worth the risks and really has no impact on weapon performance...shoot 45LC's like I do in mine and ensure the safety of yourself and those around you.


Check http://www.saami.org/specifications_...wnload/205.pdf for acceptable pressures.

Nomercy448

Yes, I was planning to use standard .45colt loads.

I've used this technique for years for .357mags and .44mags (using .38spcl and .44spcl load data, respectively). Usually a "special" max powder charge is a REALLY comfortable "Magnum" load, so I typically just start with the max charge from the "special" section, and start tweaking up and down to get it grouping better.

The good news about the .38spcl/.357mag and the .44spcl/.44mag is that 1) the powder charge isn't THAT different, and 2) they both use the same primer. However, the .45colt/.454 Cassull spread is pretty big on powder AND the .454 Cassull uses small rifle primers, instead of large pistol. I'm assuming if I use .45 colt data for Cassull cases, I'll have to swap over to large pistol primers (or maybe magnum pistol primers). .454 cassull cases are also thicker (especially case head), so I'm worried they may not properly expand into the chamber under lighter pressures.

But I'm guessing there is someone out there that has done this and can weigh in?

emtrescue6

Another point...if using one of the slower burning powders you are more likely to experience detonation in light loads...using a faster burning powder like WIN 231 will lessen the possibility of detonation...which can be experienced in "under-filled" cases...