460 practice load

looking for a good practice load for my s&w 460 8 3/8 bbl. i have a couple good loads worked up but they are at or near max 460 loads using hornady 200 ftx & 240 xtp. accurate powders shows a reduced load using accurate 5744 but i can not find it anywhere. i was going to use 454 casull brass since a friend of mine has a 454 and he don't reload so he gave me about 200 pieces of brass, and just use starting loads and go from there. i have never shot 45 colt ammo through mine but i have heard since the case is so much shorter that you could not get very good accuracy out of a 460. normally i do my own research on matters like this but there is not a lot of load data on 460's.especially light loads. i don't mind the recoil it's just i would like to have a milder load to practice with not off the bench but under normal field positions. i have 44 spc loads worked up for my 629 44 mag & 38 loads worked up for my 357 686 for the same purpose. this has probably been discussed before but could not find any info.i usually do not trust load data on the internet unless it comes from a good source and i still approach with caution & use my chronograph. but i would trust you guy's a lot more than these other so called reloaders not handloaders to me there is a differance . i have been handloading for about 27 yrs so any info on this matter would be greatly appreciated
GOD BLESS & SAFE SHOOTING

460 reduced loads

Yeah, not too much reduced load data for the 460 but some for the 454 Casull which you can base some loads on.

Concerning using the 45LC & 454C cases in the 460, I only shoot mine at the indoor range (25yds max.) so that's not much for the "free ranging" shooters but my "off the cuff" check using a 250gr XTP bullet in these shorter cases gave similar results & satisfactory for this distance. But using lead bullets is another story. Mine (3-1/2" Carry) doesn't care for lead even in the 460 case, but in the much shorter cases they were noticably worse, so I don't load plain cast lead anymore. However, I have loaded up some 460s with Missouri Bullet's 250gr Hi-Tek coated casts, at reduced power, but I haven't got to the range to try them yet though I believe they'll be fine from my other loadings with it.

I like to have a mix of power loads too. You didn't say what powder you have available to use for reduced loads?

My favorite 460 reduced load combo uses Unique & 230gr Zero JHPs. I've used from 13.0gr to 16.0grs (~1030-1275fps) with this. These are still pretty snappy (~37-45K CUP ?) but I've never tried going lower. 14.0grs is my usual load.

I seat the bullet just past the ogive/midline & then use a taper crimp. Since the crimp is just at the curve (~.449" dia.) & these are reduced loads, jump crimp is not an issue. The Zero bullets are inexpensive & tough enough for this load & accuracy is satisfactory for this distance for me. These loads fill the case from 59% to 67% full but, as always, be mindful of dispensing errors.

I'm almost out of Zero bullets so I bought some Xtreme's 230gr heavy plated concave base bullets (rated to 1500fps) that I've also loaded up to try next trip to the range. (I did a smash test on these & the plating is bonded very well to the lead.) The Xtreme bullets are .452" & I think they'll be good for this reduced load, but I'll let you know.

I've also tried some Bluedot, for mid-power loads, but otherwise it's mainly full charges of I4227, 2400 or W296 with Hornady XTPs too.

I'm sure someone will poo-poo these but if you're a conscientious loader, you shouldn't have any issues.

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Xtreme 45-41-357 bullets - smash test


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Suggest using the 225 FTX bullets and running them at 1850fps.
Use 43 gr H110 and crimp in the cannelure. Won't give you the wow of Hornady Factory 200 loads but will cut reloading cost by about 40% and still provide a reasonable 460 experience.

If you want really reduced loads then use Trail Boss per IMRs instruction on the bullet of your choice.

TinStar should also provide a very mild load but I have not personally used it yet, have the powder but just to many projects going to test it.

Good luck and be safe.
Ruggy

yeah i wanted to stay with bullet weights under 240 gr. the powders i have on hand are. H110 - W296 - LIL'GUN - ALLIANT 2400 - UNIQUE - W231 - ACCURATE NO 5 & TITEGROUP WHICH I WOULD NOT USE UNLESS I HAD TO. I ONLY HAVE 1 LB IN ALL EXCEPT UNIQUE & 2400 I HAVE 3 LBS IN THOSE. SINCE PISTOL POWDERS HAVE BEEN SO HARD TO FIND I HAVE BEEN SHOOTING FACTORY AMMO IN MY 9MM - 38 SPL 40 S&W - 44 SPL- 357 MAG & 45 ACP AND SINCE I HAVE SEVERAL HANDGUNS IN THESE CALIBERS I HAVE BEEN SAVING MY POWDER SUPPLY. SINCE HUNTING SEASON IS ABOUT OVER WITH THEY SHOULD START MAKING PISTOL POWDER'S SOON. I HAVE BEEN TOLD PISTOL POWDERS SHOULD BE COMING AVAILIBLE AROUND MAR OR APR. GOD I HOPE SO. I NEVER BUY FACTORY AMMO UNLESS I BUY A NEW GUN I USUALLY BUY A COUPLE OF BOXES TO BREAK THE GUN'S IN AND TO JUST SHOOT'EM. SINCE HANDLOADING IS MORE THAN JUST A HOBBY FOR ME IT'S MY OBSESSION. THANK GUY'S FOR THE REPLY'S KEEP'EM COMING GOD BLESS

IMO if you aren't shooting with a scope and willing to put in the many hours of practice time required on a weekly basis you'll NEVER see the degradation in accuracy from using a shorter case. BTW, I base that statement on the results I've seen with my 620. I've shot both 38 special and 357 Magnums at 25 and 50 yards and I'll be darned if I can see any difference. However, once my group size gets down to under 1 inch at 50 yards I call it good enough and am unwilling to put in the time that would be necessary to see a difference between the 2 case lengths. What I am saying here is load up those Long Colt loads and ENJOY.

Power-Pistol and 2400 will probably give you the best reduced recoil loads, while a 90-95% case capacity of TrailBoss will give you a good powder puff load. Speer has some good reduced load in their manual. The problem you will have with the reduced loads are the big difference in printing on the target. I've found that the changing the sights all the time between standard loads and reduced loads was more of a pain than just shooting standard loads. Especially when one realizes they do not have to load the .460 to max for it to be effective and accurate. I used .460 cases that had been fired 4-5 times previously with standard loads for my reduced loads. I found they gave me better performance than using .454 or .45 Colt cases.

thank's for the reply's. every reply made since so i think what i am going to do is what i do best work up load's. as i said before i have a lot of 454 casull brass but i would have to buy or borrow 454 die's. so i am just going to stick with 460 starting loads. it's not like i am going to shoot hundreds of round's through it every year. i just want to shoot maybe 50 rds every couple month's until hunting season come's in. also i shoot other softer shooting caliber's to keep me sharp. also the only manual i have for the 460 is hornady's no 9 manual. i do not think nosler's new manual has 460 data and sierra does not have a new one yet but i will be buying a new speer manual plus the other manufacture's manuals cause all my manual's are older one's THANK"S AND GOD BLESS