.454 Casull

[Turk]

Anyone got any good hunting loads for the .454? Last week I got my SRH in .454 Casull. I've tried 255 gr. SWCPB, 300 gr. SWCGC, (Saeco moulds) Speer 300 gr. FP & Speer 260 gr. HP. I tied all of them with with H-110 at near max. I was getting 3' groups from 25 yards but these aren't loads for long term practice. I shoot 41, 44 mag. 45 Colt and 444 Marlin from handguns but that 260 Speer was a real hammer seemed to me worse than my 444 from the Contender. Ended up putting on a padded shooting glove.

I've got a 45 cal 325 gr. LFNGC mould from Ballisti-Cast coming and it will be interesting to see how it shoots. If it's anything like the 41 WFN I have it will be a great shooter.

I also tried 25 gr. of #9 with 300 SWCGC and this was a real nice pleasant load. From 100 yards I was getting 4-5" groups with usally three bullets grouping bullet to bullet.

So If anyone has any load data I'd be interested in seeing it. It would sure save me some time.

Also anyone do any long range shooting (200 yards) with the 454?

Thanks and remember to pray for our troops around the world.

Turk

 

[rick_reno]

454

I used to shoot mine at 200 yards. The city range I volunteer at during the summer had the NRA guy out and he suggested we take down the 200 yds. gong (12 inch piece of pipe). No one has come up with a flat piece of metal to replace it yet.
I load 29.5 grains of H110 using a Laser Cast 300 gr. bullet I get around 1630 fps with this load thru my Oehler chrono. A mould you might want to hunt down is the Lyman 454647BV, it was something Dick Casull devloped with them and used to sell with his handguns (this is many, many years ago). I don't know if it's in current production. It'll produce a 285 gr. gas checked bullet that I found very accurate in my FA 454's. I stopped casting, or this is what I'd be shooting. I had good results years ago shooting the Hornady 250 gr. XTP bullets, but don't remember the load data.
The recoil from these guns with full loads can be punishing. I don't know what the grips are like on your SRH (what is that?) but the grips on my FA guns allow the gun to rotate/slide in my hand. It helps. I tried some Pachmayr grips on one of them and it was terrible, the rubber and or the shape prevented the gun from sliding and my hand/wrist/arm took the recoil.

 

[Turk]

rick_reno

SRH = is a Ruger Super RedHawk. It has rubber grips that help but as you stated the 454 can be punishing.

Thanks,

Turk