dr_hunt Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Doc, do you have a 686 converted to 44? Give up some details on that bad boy! Custom cylinder? John Ding Dong, hello?!!! Sometimes I'm not thinking correct! I have sooooo many that it's hard to keep track of. 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629,629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629, 629. Maybe I'll remember next time SORRY GUYS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 The problem with .45 Colt loads is that they're made for the lowest common denominator, which is the guy with the 19th century Colt SAA who pulls it out and wants to fire off a few. It's been a while, but I seem to think that you can expect about 800 fps out of a 220gr lead bullet. Not stunningly powerful by any stretch. I think they're about the same as your typical .45 ACP round. You can load them up a lot stronger, but if you're going to handload, might as well do the .454 cases and get the bullet that much closer to the forcing cone? My SWAG is that it would be more accurate with the bullet as close to the cone as possible. I remember my uncle telling me not to shoot .38 specials in my .357, but I can't remember the reason, so I'm guessing a bit there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe d. Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Last year my dad shot a 10 point buck with a 50 cal. desert eagle at from 5 feet away. (it was attacking him) He said it stood up on its hein legs like it was going to start boxing him so he quickly aimed at the neck area and pulled the triger. the bullit went in at the base of the neck and the only thing holding his head on was about a 3 1/2 inch piece of skin and meat and some viens. my brother said it was because he used to much deer uren sent. I say any man who sprays deer piss on himself deserves to get his ass kicked cause thats sick....lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Standard 45 Colt rounds are pretty sedate, 250grn bullets at about 800fps. They would be a good starting point to get used to the gun. Buffalo Bore offers a "heavy" 45 Colt load, 255grn cast at 1000fps, and several 45 colt +P loads at 1100-1300fps that are pretty potent loads and a good choice for hunting. http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm Shooting the shorter 45 Colt cases in a 454 chamber can result in an accumulation of fouling in the area where the chamber tapers to the throat, the "leade". It won't hurt the gun at all, but it means you may have to clean the chambers more often and better than if you were firing the longer cases. Handloading is the ideal way to approach the 454. You can taylor the loads to the power level you're comfortable with, and some combo's will have much better accuracy than others. Maybe since 80LT1 and his roommate are new big bore owners, they can go together on a handloading setup, although handloading is another addiction just like cars and guns. Recently I've been shooting my 454 with a 260grn cast Lyman 452424 and 9.5 grns of titegroup. It's around 1100fps, very comfortable in the FA83, and groups less than an inch at 25 yds. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCchris Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Ok I know we have some real gun nuts on the board so here's what I'm looking for.... Guy Not only do we have gun nuts, aparantly some of them have read Elmer Keith! chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 one point thats not been brought out is that bullet constuction has a huge effect on the pistols effectiveness. properly sized and lubed cast bullets having significantly less friction, can be pushed noticably faster than jacketed bullets of the same weight,up to the point barrel leading becomes a problem, this velocity varies but about 2000fps is getting into the limit, its best to keep the velocitys slightly milder and the bullet weights heavier http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt445sm.htm http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt44mag.htm http://www.sixgunner.com/Articles/RevolverHunting/CastBulletsOnGame/tabid/350/Default.aspx http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000152660650 bullets like this with a good sectional density (heavy weight to dia.) and having a wide flat (MELPLAT) NOSE tend to cut a clean hole and penetrate deeply, properly made cast bullets expand slowly BTW a good cheap alloy can be made from wheel weight scrap melted down with 5%-7% by weight of 60/40 lead/tin solder added to the mix, and size the slugs 1 thousand larger than bore dia. heres two known accurate and effective mould for that 454 cassul http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0004482083 http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html I think youll find H110 or BLUE DOT powder will work well on the mid pressure lods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I'm with joe d. Desert Eagle .50 CAL from Magnum Research. BTW, the case is thicker on the .50 AE which allows use of stronger gun powder. You won't even need to grind the meat. http://www.remtek.com/arms/imi/desert/index.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_Action_Express Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 Jesus is there anything this board doesn't know about guns! I think you guys know more about loading bullets than building engines! LOL I loaded my own shotgun shells when I was tournment shooting so I know the basics on reloading. I had to reload because I was going through 1000 shells a week easy! My GF's dad is big into loading shells and bullets so he should be able to help me get what I need to load. I will have to talk to my roomate about buying a press together so we can load our our bullets. That should keep the inital cost down! Thanks for all the links Grumpy! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Well, we are multi-talented what can we say. Elmer Keith was a big fan of the .44 mag. and long range shooting and hunting with the .44 Grumpy, casting your own is alot more difficult than most people think, so that may be alittle over the newbie reloaders head. Proper lead temp, mold temp, mold storage, and all the little borax here and there may be alittle too intimidating. Not to mention the different lubes available. BTW have you tried deer tallow, bee's wax and 90w oil mix? I use that on my 45/70. Your right about higher velocity but gas checks are a necessity and leading at higher velocities can be a problem, although my muzzle loader shoots .490 patched round balls at 2300 fps. Typically over the chronograph IME you'll see about 200 to 300fps higher velocities with lead than jacketed. Lead is easier on the bore IMO too. The quickest way to de-lead a barrel is to fire jacketed slugs through it for those who don't know. Don't buy into the lead remover solvent theory IMO. I find about 6 to 10 rounds wipes the lead out then clean as normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 these are two presses I use this one loads rifle calibers also, great precision but slow,best over all value http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000449356 these are much more expensive but spits out loaded cartridges like popcorn out of a machine, once youve got one you wonder what what took you so long to get one http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=24&dyn=1&cookieClean=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Way back when I was reloading I used the single press style and always coveted the progressive reloading equipment. I would not even bother with the single press style especially since you've got the experience with shotgun shells. Get a progressive and start cranking em out!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCchris Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Way back when I was reloading I used the single press style and always coveted the progressive reloading equipment. I would not even bother with the single press style especially since you've got the experience with shotgun shells. Get a progressive and start cranking em out!!! Same here! One thing, as with any "dangerous" hobby, only reload when you can contribute the time and concentration to complete the task. You can "batch process" your brass, IE, resize all or prime all or charge and seat bullet. Just don't stop in the middle of a process then pick it up later. Consistency in your friend for safe accurate ammo. Grumpy's progressive setup will eliminate a lot of my concerns and is a better (more expensive) way to go. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 All this talk is making me lust for an Eagle .50... DAMMIT!! I want my car in shape too and don't have the funds for ALL the toys I want!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 Which one should I get if I get the progressive one? The .454 or the .45? Also I should be able to get a .44 die for the same reloader so that me and my roomate can go in on it together right? Oh and I would never go with a single press, I had a progressive shotgun shell reloader and it was the best thing since sliced bread! I could pump out 100 shells in about 7-8 minutes! If the primer trayn didn't screw up here and there it would have been a little faster but MEC just couldn't seem to come up with a primer feeder that worked decent! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I might be wrong on this, but I think you can get the .454 die and reload .45 with it. It's been at least 14 or 15 years, but I think you can adjust where the crimp goes by screwing the die up or down. I'm sure someone else can verify that for you. You can definitely get a press that will do both the 44 and the 454. EDIT--Guess I didn't forget everything... http://www.nextag.com/Redding-3-Die-Set-63106876/prices-html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 One other thing about reloading .454. You need a HEEEEAAAAAAVVVVY crimp. If you don't crimp hard enough, firing one shell can make the bullets walk out of the other shells in the cylinder. Buy some factory ammo and look at how it's crimped. It's pretty insane, but if you don't do it heavy enough you can jam the cylinder when the bullets walk out of the brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 All this talk is making me lust for an Eagle .50... DAMMIT!! I want my car in shape too and don't have the funds for ALL the toys I want!! The 50 AE is a nice round, but it is not overly popular . That will make finding cheap ammo for it that much harder. The S&W 500 round has a much brighter future and a MUCH bigger hit. http://www.shootingusa.com/SIGHTING_IN_SHOWS/7_HANDGUN_HUNTING/7_handgun_hunting.html Plus those Desert Eagle guns can be a handful to shoot. Compare the S&W round to the other top contenders. Ballistically it has over 600 ft-lbs more energy than a 454 Casull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Dillon is the class of progressive reloaders. High quality machines, and their customer service is excellent. http://www.dillonprecision.com So far as dies, going from 45 Colt to 454 is just an adjustment of the dies, since the 454 is a lengthened 45 Colt. Get a carbide sizer if you go with a progressive press. On a progressive press, you will have to adjust the dies, adjust the expander/powder funnel, and change the primer feed. The 45 Colt uses a large pistol primer, the 454 a small rifle primer. To change to 44, you switch the shellplate, the dies, powder funnel, and the primer feed if necessary. An extra toolhead makes this real easy, you just switch toolheads with the dies in place. When learning on a progressive press, be sure to use a slow enough powder that a double charge will overflow the case and be obvious. Don't use light charges of fast powder until you've got some experience, because a double charge isn't easy to spot with light charges. jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I have a new favorite:shock: The 50 AE is a nice round, but it is not overly popular . That will make finding cheap ammo for it that much harder. The S&W 500 round has a much brighter future and a MUCH bigger hit. http://www.shootingusa.com/SIGHTING_IN_SHOWS/7_HANDGUN_HUNTING/7_handgun_hunting.html Plus those Desert Eagle guns can be a handful to shoot. Compare the S&W round to the other top contenders. Ballistically it has over 600 ft-lbs more energy than a 454 Casull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCchris Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 One other thing about reloading .454. You need a HEEEEAAAAAAVVVVY crimp. If you don't crimp hard enough, firing one shell can make the bullets walk out of the other shells in the cylinder. Buy some factory ammo and look at how it's crimped. Yes, yes, and also a heavy crimp helps to get all that slow burning powder lit. Most large (44 up) handgun rounds use H110, Blue Dot, WW 296 etc. Consistant velocity and accuracy can be affected quite a bit by your crimping depth and process. Also remember autopistols will not tolerate quite as severe crimp an a round for a 6 gun or single shot. The use of magnum primers helps too. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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