Hornady muzzle loader bullets in 45 LC?

[feets]

I know it sounds whacked but I've been fighting the urge to stuff the 45 caliber Hornady bullets in my 45 LC. I even went so far as to buy a pack of 'em today.
These are what I couldn't live without:

Diameter .452"
Weight 250 gr.
Ballistics Coefficient 0.210
Sectional Density 0.175

I found out that they will fit in my Vaquero with an OAL of 1.7" without any problems. This puts the bullet depth inside the case equal to half way between the two cannelures on the 300 gr XTP.

That should leave plenty of room for 25.5 grains of H110. Velocity would be around 1200.

The jackets would be a little thinner than normal I'm sure. However, they still have to be thick enough to control expansion at 1800 fps or more from a rifle.

If it isn't obvious already, I'm going to skip the sabot.

Am I missing something here? Is this a bad idea? If it will work out, I may end up stuffing them in the 460. I want to use the big one for some long distance work and these may open up a new window.

Go or no go? Whaddya think?


I gotta be careful. I almost wanna load the 45 caliber sabot using 180 grain .40 bullets in the 460 Encore. If I could only get the sabot to enter the rifling...

 

[redneck2]

What's the comparative length of the bullets? Just make sure you don't have to move them inside the case too far so that the cylinder will turn.

I'm not sure that you'll gain a lot at pistol velocities, but if it's safe go for it.

 

[feets]

The ML bullet won't stick into the case as far as the Hornady 300 XTP when set to the front cannelure.

The Vaquero won't pick up much but the 460 would definately run 'em above ML velocities.

 

[Grumulkin]

These are the very bullets I used in my Encore 460 S&W Mag. on a recent South Africa hunt. If you want to see photos, go to:

http://www.orchardphoto.com/RSAUbathi.html

Oh, and they're accurate as well. Here is a target shot at 200 yards off the bench getting me a 1.5 inch group:

 

[feets]

Cool!
It's nice to know that I'm not the only weirdo out there.

 

[feets]

Hey G
Which brake do you have on the 460? I've been eyeing the bellmtcs.com brake but haven't sent the barrel off yet.

 

[Grumulkin]

My barrel is a T/C Custom Shop barrel with a T/C brake.