any .454 casull plinking loads?

[mohican]

Does anyone have any plinking loads for a .454 casull?

I am interested in loads for 250-260 gr bullets and 300 gr bullets but I would look at any loads.

Thank you
Mohican

 

[JohnK]

How about any standard 45 Colt load? Increase the powder charge by a grain or so in 454 cases and go to town.

Try 10.0 gr of Unique under a 255-270 gr Keith or 310 gr LBT.

 

[Desert Dog]

9.0 grains of Unique under a 255 grain SWC is sweet.

 

[winwun]

Mo, I used to have a LC and due to arthritis, I kept trying to keep the recoil down to levels around a light .38 spl, and I found that consistency just wasn't there.

I have talked to others who echoed my findings that large caliber loads are difficult to down-load to any significant degree.

It seems the smaller the caliber, the more you can download and still get acceptable accuracy.

On .38 spl's and .357's, I have no problem at all with 50% loads, and with my Blackhawk .30 carbine, it shoots sweet with 25% charges.

 

[Mal H]

I don't think I've ever seen the words "Casull" and "plinking" in the same sentence before.

I think any cowboy action load in a .45 Colt case would do what you want.

As winwun says, serious downloading in a large case seldom yields good results, and it could even be dangerous due to the possibility of detonation rather than progressive burning of the powder.

 

[redneck2]

I load...

for a 454 with "lite" loads

I use AA5 and 255 LSWC's at the hottest "Ruger Only" 45 LC levels. Dunno about the accuracy. Never shot for score. We just kill paper and bust up cans.

Considerably more "user friendly" than a case full of H-110 and heavy bullets. With the lighter loads, I think you gotta use a fast powder.

Look at .45 acp loads with Bullseye at target levels. Can't come close to filling the cases, but it's been used for millions of rounds.

 

[HankL]

My plinking load, if you can call it that is:
Freedom Arms 454 Casull Case
Hornady 300 Gr. HP XTP Bullet
30 Gr. W 296 Powder
CCI 450 Primer
A good crimp an the cannalure yields an OAL of 1.696

30.8 Grains of W 296 is listed as MAX with this combination in Hornady's 4th Edition. I don't have any chrono data on it as it works good enough for plinking. It does have enough terminal ballistics to make a clean kill on raccoon sized varmits.

I wouldn't use 45 Colt cases for reloading for your pistol as the small problems that can be had using 38Spl cases in 357 Mags will be greatly compounded in your 454. Use your Casull brass because you are not going to wear it out with lighter than normal loads.

If you really want to plink with a 45 Caliber wheelgun consider one of Ruger's New Model Blackhawks that can be had with the 45 Colt cylinder as well as a 45 Colt ACP cylinder. No moon clips are required as the ACP cylinder headspaces on the case neck as it was designed to be. Shooting a target 45 ACP load from a Blackhawk can really be considered plinking and is quite fun. Terminal balistics on small varmits is not as impressive but quite adequate.

 

[RCL]

Mo, some of my most accurate loads for my FA 454 use .45 Colt cases. Nine grains of Unique under a 255 grain Keith bullet is always a good load. A good deer load is 23 to 24 grains of H110 under a 300 grain XTP, with a magnum primer. There is also the Keith standard, 18.5 grains of 2400 with a 255 Keith bullet for a good mid-range load. All of these are in .45 Colt cases.
Just be sure to clean your cylinder before firing .454 ammo in the gun.