SD Shooter

I recently purchased a used Browning Safari bolt gun in 458 Win Mag. It has been a lot of fun to shoot and I have been loading a variety of different weight jacketed bullets. However, I can not find any load data for hard cast lead bullets. I have all of the current loading manuals and they all give info for jacketed bullets, but no info for cast.

Does anyone have an idea where to locate reliable load data for cast bullets in 458 Win Mag?

Thanks in advance.

RANGER RICK 45-120

SD SHOOTER

I have one working load that a buddy is working on . You did not mention the weight of cast you were shooting . The load I have is for a 720gr WFNGC bullet , Alliant 2400 27 gr vel 1450 . This is a starting load that has been working good at 100 yards . Here is a picture of some of the 720's loaded into some of my Sharps rounds not .458 win mag .

RR

SD Shooter

Hi Ranger Rick,

Thanks for your reply. In lead cast, I have 400 gr., 500 gr. and 540 gr. bullets. I have loaded all of these in 45-70 which were used in a Marlin 1895 Guide Gun. I don't think that a 720 would work in the 458 Case because of the limited length. Any other info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

SD Shooter

RANGER RICK 45-120

SD

That working load is for the 458 win mag . I also have a friend that shoots these out of his 458 Lott . Not to sure where they seat the bullet . Another friend shoots these in his 45-70 for sub sonic loads , what type of single shot he has I do not know . I also questioned him about the 45-70 , I did not think it would work .I guess it does .Have a good one .

RR

castman

What mold did you use to cast the 540 grain bullets for the 45/70?

SD Shooter

I bought the 540's from Midway USA. They came prelubed. I've had good results from them in my 45-70. I have weighed them and found them to be very consistent. I also fired some into a Fackler Box and found that they maintained their shape quite well, which means that they are, in fact, hard cast. In the Fackler Box, they traveled 5' to 6'.
When I was working up the loads, my son and I were getting ready to do a bear hunt in Saskatchewan. I wanted a round that would be accurate enough for hunting and have adequate penetration in the event we ran into a grizz.

The hunt was successful for black bear and we never came across any big bad boys (or girls). After we finished in Saskatchewan, we went to Alaska for six weeks. We were in a campground just outside of Anchorage and got to watch a nuisance black bear tear into a tent at about 12:30 AM. The tent was occuppied by a middle age lady who handled the bear very expertly. She yelled and screamed and called that bear things that I hadn't heard since I retired from being a cop. She proceeded to beat the bear with a 2x4 and chased it off into the woods. The bear didn't return that night. I haven't laughed as hard since.

Sorry for the digression. The 540's worked pretty good.

James B

I have hunted bears around Canada. I always used the 45-70 with the 350 grain Hornady round nose at about 1950 fps. It will shoot through a bear from almost any angle. I have been working on some cast bullet loads as well. If you still need info, I have a friend in Sioux Falls that would know where to get good cast bullet data. I will email him and find out. I will post it here. Good luck.

castman

Great story about the bearstompin little lady

Evidently Midway doesnt sell the 540s anymore, the closest thing I can find is a saeco mold for a 540 that looks too long in the nose to feed in an 1895.

By the way, the lyman cast bullet handbook lists loads for cast pills in the 458 win, and Im pretty sure the hodgden manual lists loads.

SD Shooter

Castman,

I have the Hodgdon Manuals and they don't have any cast bullet data for the 458 Win Mag. I don't have a Lyman manual but I will check at the local gun shops and see if I can find it.

Also, I checked Midway and found a variety of cast bullets from 500 to 600 grains. Look under the listing for Rifle Bullets and then look under .45 (which would be for 45-70) rather than 458 Win. The diameter is the same.

Thanks again for the info and the response.

SD Shooter

Rockfish1

hey ya'll check these 2 out... I use bullets from both and find them quite satisfactory in my 45-70's...

http://www.laser-cast.com/

http://www.castperformance.com/