45 colt to 454 Casull mag. ??

[a303smoker]

Hey guys hoy's everyone,
my question that i have is...can an H&R 48 Topper single shot rifle that is chambered for the 45 Colt Long, can that rifle be reamed to the 454 Casull Mag, and will it be able to handle the pressure ??

 

[rbernie]

Call their Customer Service at (866) 776-9292 and ask 'em.

 

[tractorshaft]

How about a .45LC Magnum loading?

I had often thought of cutting .454 Casull cases down to .45LC length and loading them very hot. I know the cases of the Casull round are thicker and will withstand higher pressure loadings, I would only play around with the H&R and Marlins with this though? Comments?

Tractor

 

[1858rem]

ya know if you use loads for the long 454 in the trimmed 454 cases couldnt pressure jump quite a bit?

 

[1858rem]

or do you mean loading hot lc loads in 454 brass that is designed to handle the pressure better

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Can it be reamed? Yes.

Can it handle the pressure? Absolutely NOT! Terribly horribly dangerous idea, in my view, for an SB1 frame.

 

[rcmodel]

I would not recommend it.

The .454 runs 50,000 CUP pressure.
The .45 Colt, 14,000 in standard loadings.

Depending on the age of your Topper, it may have never been intended to handle that kind of pressure.

As for cutting off .454 cases to hot-load .45 Colt.
Don't do that either.

The .45 Colt case is as strong as .44 Magnum brass, and will safely handle any load the gun it is chambered for will handle.

When a .45 Colt firearm fails, the gun fails first, not the brass.

rcmodel

 

[a303smoker]

can it be reamed to 454 Casull mag.and reload the shells using rifle powders for lower pressures, still mataining higher volosities then the 45 long ?

 

[tractorshaft]

Correct me if I am wrong but this rifle is of recent manufacture, they have only made this model for a few years.I am sure that H&R would tell you not to do it and I would not fire a .454 "Proof Round" without a long string tied to the trigger....But...Given the strength of the H&R and the integrity of design I would be willing to bet it would work just fine. Standard liability applies here, if you rent a reamer and blow yerself up, blah blah, blah. Having said that, I DO like the way you think ! In recognition of your "Thinking Outside the Box" I would like to honor you with a certificate from the;

Wiley E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing​

​

Brought to you by the "Acme Bomb Co.", Makers of the "Movable Black Hole" and other fine products.

 

[Jeff F]

If you want to chance having a bomb go off in your hands that would be a good way to do it. I would think if it was as easy as just cutting the chamber for the .454 the manufacture would already be doing it.

 

[tractorshaft]

I hardly think it would be a bomb, have you ever seen one of these rifles? I would venture to say they are as strong as a Ruger #3, many of which have been successfully chambered in .454 C and other "High Pressure" calibers.

I would not assume that the board of H&R or whomever makes the decisions on what to chamber their firearms in are operating on a strictly technical basis of what it will and will not safely fire. These are pretty cheap guns marketed in large to the "Good ole boy" crowd. .45LC is a common "off the shelf" caliber which I am sure led to the decision to sell it chambered as such. .454 Casull and other such "Exotics" are not to be found on the boolit shelf at Wal-Mart.

BTW: My first gun was a H&R Topper Jr. Model in .410 I got it for my 7th birthday, I have a special affinity for the old break top H&R's, I just cleaned the 38 year old shotgun last week. It will go to my daughter when she heads off on her own.

My 2 centavos

 

[Clipper]

The rifles can be had in calibers like .300mag, so the receiver is easily up to it. There's more meat around the chamber than just about any gun you're likely to find. Strength becomes an issue with the SHOTGUN receivers, which H&R will not fit rifle barrels to, though they will fit shotgun barrels to rifle receivers. But if I wanted to shoot .454 in one chambered already for .45LC, I think I'd just get it reamed for .460, so I could shoot any of the three...