454 casull loads

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fuzzybatman

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i know nobody wants to hand out loads but i have looked everywhere i know for target and factory lods for the 454 any help?

thanks kirk
 
I have had great success with the Vihta Vuori powders with the .454 Casull cartridges. I also use the Vihta powders almost exclusively in most of my large caliber handgun loads of various calibers, I have found their powders to be very clean burning, measure very well and provide great accuracy in all of my handguns. The .44 Special is one of my very favorite calibers and I have used the Vuori powders in this caliber for years, it has been superior to all the more common powders in my opinion.

You can find complete loading tables on the following site: Lapua: English.

I have had many conversations with old time reloaders which includes myself that the Vuori powders are too expensive, I have had the same conversation about Norma powders, for myself the additional cost is justified if the propellants do the job I require. I am not a competition shooter so do not expend thousands of rounds per month, if I did than cost would probably be a bigger consideration.

One final caution on the .454 Casull, if you are loading maximum loads monitor your cases carefully the .454 Casull runs at 55,000 psi. when maximum loads are used. The latest Speer No.14 Reloading Manual has some very good advice regarding this caliber and loading information, it would be an excellent addition to your library of reloading manuals. Speer advises using cases only once at maximum pressures, then use those cases for lighter loads after the first firing.

Good luck and be careful.
 
I thought that at first, but then I re-read your post and assumed you meant ammo.

Here is a link to Hodgdon's site. There are several loads listed for cast lead. Also, order a back issue of Handloader #232, Dec. 2004. There is an excellent article on loading the .454, with a bunch of loads listed that are pressure tested.

Cartridge Loads - Hodgdon Reloading Data Center - data.hodgdon.com


BTW, the .454 runs at 65,000 PSI when maximum loads are used.;)
 
Paul105 said:
Freedom Arms load data for the .454. If you are using other than a Freedom Arms revolver, I'd stay away from the max loads listed.

http://freedomarms.com/loadingdata.pdf

Paul
Click to expand...

Be very, very careful with these loads. The factory loads listed are Freedom Arms brand factory loads for Freedom Arms guns. Freedom Arms stopped loading ammo about the time other manufacturers started chambering the 454.
The loads listed are only for their hardcore bullets, of which only the 260 is still offered. Hodgdon Manual #26 has a large warning at the bottom of every 454 page, "Use maximum loads with Freedom Arms Hard Core Bullets only.".

The max loads listed here are hot, and one must carefully work up to maximum. For example, I've run the 260 grainer up to 37.0 grains of H110 in my FA gun with CCI #450 primers, and all was fine, but when I switched to the Reminton 7-1/2 shown in the data, I started to get blown primers at 35 grains of powder using the same lot of H110.

I'd be nervous using this data in anything not made by Freedom Arms, and would disregard it entirely if I wasn't using FA bullets.
 
Gun for Fun,

You are technically right about top pressures being stated at 65,000 for the .454 Casull; however the Speer manual states that when they attempted to load to those pressures extraction of spent cartridges became an issue. They determined that just slightly over the 55,000 psi. was a practical limit for proper functioning of the firearm. They developed their loads with the Freedom Arms revolver which most would agree is one of the strongest handguns manufactured.

The .454 Casull is at best a real handful and the 55,000 psi. that I have held as a top load is more than enough for any repeated shooting. This is a cartridge that deserves real respect when loading anywhere close to maximum.
 
In the past year, I have become the owner of two Taurus Raging Bulls (what an embarrassing name "tsk-tsk") in .454 Casull. I have not yet started to load for them. I have been loading forty-four magnums for fifty years. I have given this some thought and have decided that I have little reason to try to push the envelope.

I'll be loading cast bullets (Lyman 454424 at 250 grs). Hodgdon stops at 42,000 psi with cast bullets. This gives nearly 1800 fps (no doubt in a pressure barrel). My 454424 bullet will probably not give decent accuracy beyond 1500 fps (plain base bullet), anyway. Regardless, whether it is in a pressure barrel OR a revolver, that seems a good place to stop.

In fact, heavy .45 Colt load level is probably where I'll "live" for most of my efforts. I do have the Lee 300 gr gc bullet and I'll not be exceeding Hodgdon's levels there, either.

Anything that I'll be shooting with a revolver can certainly be handled at 1400 fps with a 250 or 300 gr bullet. If not, I'll use my .375 H&H Magnum rifle....

Dale53
 
thanks for everyones help ,the problem is i have purchased cast bullets at 255gr and 265gr and cant find data for those bullets

thanks kirk
 
Nygma said:
The loads listed are only for their hardcore bullets, of which only the 260 is still offered. Hodgdon Manual #26 has a large warning at the bottom of every 454 page, "Use maximum loads with Freedom Arms Hard Core Bullets only.".
Click to expand...

I have several sources that say that Winchester struck a deal with F/A at the same time that F/A stopped making them, to make those bullets that were once available from F/A, and to the exact same design specs, so they should be safe with the same data. I am referring to the hard cored 260's, (and 240's if you can find them)

I agree that a lot of the data that is out there was developed before anyone else chambered for the .454, and therefore should only be used in F/A guns.

According to an article I have here by Brian Pearce in Handloader, the Raging Bull/Ruger SRH is safe with any load data that is published in any of the current loading manuals, but the older stuff that has been out there for a while, again, should only be used in F/A guns.

The Taurus is a 5 holer, and theoretically allows for a larger safety margin than the 6 shot Ruger, plus there have been numerous complaints from guys about cases sticking in the chambers of their Rugers with published data. Again, according to Pearce, the steel that Ruger is using is a Carpenter series 465 stailess that has an elastic quality that allows the chamber to stretch slightly under the pressures of firing, which also allows the case to expand out the same distance, then when the steel returns to its original specs, the brass is wedged in the chamber nice and tight. This was told directly to him by a Ruger engineer, and is published in one of his columns in Handloader.
 
Last edited:
Gun 4 Fun said:
I have several sources that say that Winchester struck a deal with F/A at the same time that F/A stopped making them, to make those bullets that were once available from F/A, and to the exact same design specs, so they should be safe with the same data. I am referring to the hard cored 260's, (and 240's if you can find them)

I agree that a lot of the data that is out there was developed before anyone else chambered for the .454, and therefore should only be used in F/A guns.
Click to expand...

The 260 grain Hard Cores are still available from Freedom Arms, product number 954-1260.
 
The 454 casull is probably the one caliber I wouldn't use a cast bullet. If I did, I'd load low.

I load low in this caliber anyway. If I need to shoot some wrist jarring rounds I'l just buy a box of Hornady or Corbon.

If I want to plink, then I'll shoot some hot 45 LC or low load 454.
 
I bought my Casull when they were new. At that time they offered bullet moulds by Lyman, so I bought the 260g GCTC.

Using the supplied load info from FA, my load for this bullet is 32 ~ 34g W296/H110 with CCI SPM.

Over a chrono I got an honest 1875fps for the 32g load. No extraction issues.
 
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