Several Questions for reloading .460 S&W

[goathollow]

As I've stated in a couple of earlier posts I'm new to pistol reloading and I'm finding some of the things I read confusing and can't find answers to some other questions. I would appreciate some help with the following:

I am loading once fired Hornday .460 brass. I am using H110 and a 200 grain lead bullet. These are just for practice both the gun and reloading. I followed the Hodgon website data for a 200 grain FTX but here is where things begin to concern me....especially now that I have 40 nice looking reloads sitting on my bench.

The gun I am shooting these out of is an TC Encore rifle with the 20" barrel

1.) Is it ok to use data for jacketed bullets when reloading with lead bullets?

2.) where does one find data specific to lead bullets.

3.) I was told that it was ok to go below the starting load by 3%. That made sense to me since the a .460 can also shoot the lower charged .454 Casull and .45 LC. That being the case in my mind...certainly a .460 charge less 3% should be sufficient to not have a bullet hang up. But now I have read that one should NEVER go below the starting load. I have 10 rounds loaded with 44.5 gr of H110, the starting load is 45 grs. The question here is it safe to shoot these undercharged rounds if for no other reason that to retrieve the brass to load them correctly.

Thanks in advance for your help. Aaron

 

[Gryffydd]

Is it ok to use data for jacketed bullets when reloading with lead bullets?

...Sometimes. The first thing to keep in mind is that a given bullet profile might cause more of the bullet to be seated inside the case than a jacketed bullet of equivalent weight. This would lead to higher pressure.
You also may not want to push a non-gas checked cast bullet to the ~2700+ fps that the 460 should do with a 200gr bullet out of a 20" barrel. And you'll certainly want to make sure the bullet alloy is up to that kind of speed.

where does one find data specific to lead bullets.

Lyman's manual is a good source. Hodgdon's online Reloading Data Center has some as well, but only for heavier bullets.

I was told that it was ok to go below the starting load by 3%. That made sense to me since the a .460 can also shoot the lower charged .454 Casull and .45 LC.

That would only make sense if you're actually loading in 45 Colt and 454 Casull cases. The increased size of the 460 case means lower pressure--which is what H110 does not like.

I was told that it was ok to go below the starting load by 3%.

Hodgdon's advice is to not go below the max load by more than 3%.

All that being said, if I were to load 200gr cast bullets for a 460 I would choose a faster powder than H110, more along the lines of AA #9 or similar with the intention of a lighter practice load. If you want a full power load with cast bullets I'd go with 270gr and up, but that's just personal preference.

Edit to add:
It's probably safe enough to shoot them, as long as you inspect your bore after every shot (easy enough on a single shot) and you're ready and willing to hammer a stuck bullet out of your bore. At 4.3% under max you're *probably* not going to get any stuck bullets, but if you add that to shooting in cold weather it gets more likely.

The better answer might be to just use a bullet puller and start over.

 

[goathollow]

Thanks! Man I have a lot to learn!!

 

[kludge]

I have a friend who lives on Goat Hollow Road. Neighbors?

Anyway, I don't see any online data on Hodgdon's website for a 200gr FTX, but there is data for a 200gr Barnes.

1. Almost never. Generally speaking, jacketed bullets have more friction and loads can be quite different. I would unload what you have and start over.
2. From powder and bullet manufacturers, mainly... those are the trusted sources. The Lyman and Lee manuals will also have a good amount of lead loading data.
3. H110 is a powder that has a narrow window of usefulness, and most often it's not safe to reduce the loads by more than 3% for a start load. With most other powders the start load will be 10% below the max load. I've seen loads for the same weight bullet and they don't correlate, so it's wise with H110 (or W296) to use the EXACT bullet that the load data is using. My choice is Allaint's 2400, which is a much more forgiving power - and I don't have to stock magnum primers for the few rounds that I shoot every year.

.460 loads with light lead bullets and H110 almost certainly won't mix. If you want to use lead you'll probably need to step up in weight - probably north of 300gr - before you get into the range where lead and H110 will play nice.

If you want to use Trail Boss with those 200gr bullets, that would probably be OK.

I have used the 240gr and 300gr Hornady XTP/MAG bullet in the .454 Casull and they work great. Barnes makes a couple pointy bullets with much better ballistic coefficients for the .460

The 240 and 300gr from the .454 are all I can handle. I can't imagine shooting 360gr bullets at the same speed. I think I could probably hang on to the 200gr loads though.

ETA: P.S. if you do live on Goat Hollow Rd., I could probably give my friend a couple 240gr XTP/MAGs for you to try.

 

[goathollow]

Kludge:

Presumably you are referring to the Goat Hollow Rd must south of the Muskatatuck River? I don't live on Goat Hollow Rd, at least not yet anyway. I own 72 acres with a small cabin. I actually live up near Indy. Maybe we can chat via private messages about who your friend is. I know some but not all the folks down there. We've owned the place for about four years and I'm looking to get to know more folks in the area.

Thanks for all the info. It's really helpful. I am working loads for an Encore rifle, not a pistol which complicates things further since all the data is for pistol loads. Things seem to go haywire when the velocities start pushing 2600-2700 fps. I coming to th conclusion that I can't shoot lead out of a .460 with a 20" barrel. If you don't mind parting with a couple of the xtp mags I'd like to try them.

Thanks, Aaron

 

[kludge]

Actually it's the Goat Hollow Road off of Hwy 67 near Mooresville, also not too far from Indy.

PM me your address and I'll mail you some. I live up north of Indy.

In addition to the 200gr and 275gr Barnes bullets http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/components/pistol/
another great option for an Encore is the 250gr FTX made for the .450 Bushmaster.
http://www.hornady.com/store/.452-45-CAL-c-1073/

There's no crimp groove, but in an Encore you don't have to worry about bullet setback from recoil like in a revolver. I would still put a bit of a crimp on it though.