Anyone have .450NE 3.25in. / .45-120NE reloading data to share?

[Maverick223]

I have been scouring the internet, looking in manuals, and asking a few knowledgeable folks I know about this cartridge in hopes that I can duplicate it in a .45-120NE (no intentions to use black for this one), that hopefully will begin to take shape next week from my Browning 1885 HighWall. From what I have found out the .450 Nitro Express 3.25in. (henceforth referred to as the .450NE) was based upon the .45-120 blackpowder cartridge, so my idea is to take a stout .45-70 action and ream it out to chamber the larger cartridge and load it to nuclear velocities, and this will keep the rifle in a period cartridge even if it isn't loaded like the original. My hope is to drive a 450gr. monolithic solid to at least 2200fps. Right now I can drive 300gr. bullets at about 2400fps with my .45-70 loads (60-62gr. of RL-7) so I believe this is possible.

...but I have yet to find any reloading information to give me a starting point (powder type, minimum charge, an idea of what max. charge should be, as well as any other relevant information). The best I can come up with so far is to take the capacity of the .45-70 that I am loading now (about 79gr. of H2O) and multiply the starting charge by the new capacity (about 129gr. of H2O), giving me 63% more case capacity and hopefully 50%+ more energy. Unless there are any better ideas put forth, my thought is to stuff the case with about 75gr. of RL-7 and work up from there...does this sound about right?

Merry Christmas and thank you all in advance;

Mav.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I load and shoot the .45-120 Sharps in a Browning B-78 with a really heavy octagon barrel. I load them stiff.

It's my personal policy to not post loading data on public forums due to several reasons, such as lapse of memory, typos, transpositions, etc. However, if you'll look at the Hodgdon site: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp and click on rifle, then .45-120 Sharps, you'll get some of the available data, which is more than most sites offer.

I worked up my own loads for the .45-120 back before there was an internet and they're pretty close to what Hodgdon has on their site, though mine are just a wee bit hotter. (you have to understand that "wee bit" is a highly technical term, only used by the most advanced reloaders) I only shoot smokeless powder (IMR-4895) in my .45-120, since blackpowder makes me sneeze, my eyes water and my clothes and hair smell like rotten eggs. Besides, it takes longer to clean up the rifle afterwards than it does to shoot a few BP rounds through it.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Maverick223]

You sent me a couple of loads quite a while back before my smith moved, and just recently found a new one (who is hopefully pretty good), so now I am ready to get back to the project and pick up reloading research. I won't post them here (but have them saved), but I don't expect that they will perform quite as fast as I would like. Do you think the load that you PM'd me (used a hefty charge of IMR-4895) would be adequate/safe with heavier projectiles, in the 450gr. range. Also you commented on the use of solid brass (Barnes Banded Solids) as increasing pressure, do you think that will deter my efforts as well? To put it in technical terms, the Hodgdon data is a "wee bit" too weak for my taste, but I appreciate the loads as they will likely become my range/"typical hunting" loads for when I don't need a load to relocate my shoulder.

Thank you again, Mav.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Mav,

I do remember sending you the loads via PM. I'm leery of using my loads with a solid projectile that weighs another 30 grains more than my cast bullets. I cast mine from straight wheelweight, so they're a Brinnel hardness of 12. The solid bullets are way up there on the BHN, and I would expect some pretty high pressures.

You can see from the pressure testing that Hodgdon did with their loads that they limited their pressures to 28,500 CUP maximum for the .45-120. The action will take much more than that, and I'm sure the brass will too, but without the proper testing equipment, it would be pretty risky, though I'm sure it could be done. I know the load I used to use with a 350 grain jacketed bullet in my rifle was way beyond what Hodgdon lists for pressure, yet I never got any pressure indications with it. The brass popped right out of the chamber and primers looked normal. There was also not much more expansion at the web than what I'm loading the 420 grain cast bullet at.

Perhaps someone with one of the computer loading programs could help you with a load.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Maverick223]

Hope this helps.

It certainly does, thank you and Merry Christmas!

 

[ReloaderFred]

Merry Christmas to you, too, Mav.

Fred

 

[Maverick223]

Thank you, Fred.

                                  _____                    _____                    _____
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        / \          |      |   /       \     |      |   /       \     |      |   /       \
       /  ^\         |______|  |         |    |______|  |         |    |______|  |         |
      /^^  ^\        |      |  |         |    |      |  |         |    |      |  |         |
     /^ / \^^\       |      |   \       /     |      |   \       /     |      |   \       /
    //^ ^/ \^\\      |      |    \_____/      |      |    \_____/      |      |    \_____/
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^Took me forever to do that.