Cheaper bullets for 454 Casull

[pinne65]

I'm about to start reloading for 454 Casull and am looking for suitable bullets for target practicing and to get used to the heavier recoil. So I don't want to load them to light. The only thing the local store has is Speer 300 gr GDHP and they are expensive. Anyone any suggestions?

[versifier]

Take up casting, too.

[pinne65]

Gaawwd,

Why do I always pick up cheap hobbies? Next time I'll take up knitting or bird watching!

[pinne65]

So what would be recomended the cheapest jacketed bullet between 250 & 300 grains ?
I'm paying around 40 C each right now.

[versifier]

That is a bit steep. Check out Midway, Midsouth, & Graf's, you ought to be able to find something a lot cheaper, though with heavy-for-caliber bullets which are not in as high demand you may have to look carefully. They all have regular sales where you can get even better deals if you are patient.

I wasn't joking when I suggested casting, and there is no reason to limit yourself to jacketed bullets. The initial investment for pot, sizer, & mould is a fraction of that needed to start loading and the savings can be significant. PB cast bullets cost me $.03-.04 each, GC's can triple that but they aren't always necessary, especially for big slow handgun bullets like you will be shooting.

[runfiverun]

definately
a 250 to 300 gr cast boolit at 1000 fps will let you know that you are
shooting a serious round. good hunting load also

[pinne65]

Bullets for 3-4C each would be great!

I already loaded a 250 gr cast bullet to go around 930 fps. It does kick a lot more than the regular 45 Colt cowboy style loads I use for target practicing. But it's nowhere near the casull loads. I still brace myself a bit for those. And I haven't quite broken in my hand yet.

The guy at the store said that cast bullets will start leading your barrel at around 1000 fps and that it's a pain to get out.

As I understand it you can make the casted bullets out of harder alloys. How hard can you get. What velocities.

Thanks again for all advice!

[versifier]

Past makes recoil gloves for pistol shooters and they work very well.

From what the guy at the store said, he doesn't have much experience with shooting cast, though he is right that leading is a pain to get out.

I have not found that really hard bullets are necessary until approaching 1800fps with rifle loads. (Some do like to shoot harder bullets in auto pistols that have feeding issues.) Generally though, the size and lube matter much more. As to what your top end might be, I cannot say. Only your revolver can answer that. As to what you can reasonably expect, that is best answered by a search next door at CastBoolits. I don't shoot the Casull, and as there are many there who do, they can help you with specifics. I have pushed pb 300gr in 45Colt over 1000fps using wheel weights and tumble lube without any leading in a Ruger Blackhawk. The owner sold it a while back, and I traded the mould for a lighter one to use in my .45ACP's. He hunted deer successfully and shot sils with it until his failing eyesight made it impossible.

It's only fair to say that not all revolvers are as cast friendly as we might wish. Many are and those that aren't can usually be fixed without a big outlay of time and cash. Variations in the cylinder throat diameters from chamber to chamber can really make things difficult with cast and not affect jacketed performance at all. Sometimes there is a constriction where the barrel passes through the frame, and there can be forcing cone issues, too. Not to scare you off, but you do need to check out the revolver, slug bore and throats, etc., to determine optimum bullet diameter anyway. All that info and more you can find next door, too. I could go on for pages, but it isn't necessary as a quick search will get you what you need easily.

[mcsphog]

I cast 260 grain SWC bullets with a gas checks in front of 21.5 grains of Blue Dot and heavy crimp. It is stiff, but not too bad. I have played around with working up the powder with this and it took some time for the best accuracy. I am getting around a 1/2" group at 50 yds in my scoped 454 with no leading and 1389 fps on a chrono.

[kg42]

I have pushed pb 300gr in 45Colt over 1000fps using wheel weights and tumble lube without any leading in a Ruger Blackhawk.

Tom, did you use LEE's liquid alox, and how did you apply it? I've always had bad leading with it in revolvers, whatever the bullet size....

kg