Hello all

I have just purchased a used FA model 83 in 454 casull.
I intend to use it for handgun hunting but when shooting at the indoor-range this winter I want to use 45 colt loads. I have read on the FA homepage that they recommend getting a separate cylinder for 45 colt loads.

Since I live in Denmark its quite difficult to ship the gun to Wyoming to have a new cylinder made.

I thought it might be possible to load 45 colt loads in the 454 casull cartridges for shooting at the range.

Naturally I will give the cylinder a good cleaning before shooting 454 loads.

Any thoughts on this ??

Shooting .45 Colt-level lower velocity loads in a .454 is done all the time. Just be sure to use .454 brass. Don't use .45 Colt brass.

If you use .45 Colt data in a .454 Casul brass you will probably get much less velocity since the case is larger and the pressure would be less. And it might even cause ill effects since you will probably be out of the recommended loading range of the powder manufacture.

A better option would be to use a powder designed to produce light loads in the .454 such as Trail Boss.

Here is a good source of reloading data including Trail Boss.

http://hodgdon.com/

Ditto on Trail Boss and 454 brass for plinking. If you play with different weight bullets you may find a plinking load that shoots to a similar POI as your hunting load at a specified distance.

Niels,

Your problem may be finding a suitable powder for this with any reloading data, if you are limited by powder brands in Denmark. Rios post/link is great, and hopefully if you are limited by brand you can find at least powders of similar burn rate.

With that said, just use your 454 brass, and work up reduced loads No need to worry about a spare cylinder or cleaning above usual methods, unless you use real soft lead and get the lead rings in your cylinder. I literally have shot thousands of these reduced loads, using either HS6 or Titegroup. I use cheaper plated lead bullets and have zero issues with the gun getting dirty or lead fouled in the chamber. And any leading that you might get would not be the as serious type as using 45 colt brass, as this lead will be ahead of the case mouth.

When you are on the Hodgden web page, they also have a powder burn rate chart that rates most powders by "quickness". If you are brand limited, you might be able to find another brand in this burn rate chart that you could test with your reduced loads. This can be a little tricky, and does take more advanced reloading skills and a chrony, but can be done safely.

Craig

Try using your standard 454 brass then load 22.0 gr of 2400 / a small rifle primer--use magnum if you like--use a 250gr Hornady XTP or if you want to shoot cast go with a very hard cast 250 bullet (I use the Berry but LBT would be better)

This load will give you a low recoil good shooting load 22 gr of 2400 will give you enough charge density that you will not have powder position problems

If you want to get 45 Colt brass to load it will work fine but it's neccessary to clean the cylinder extra good after a shooting session with the shorter brass. You will get a carbon ring built up at the end of the 45 brass that may inhibit loading the longer 454 brass.

I'm not sure what FA's reasonings are but I recommend the same thing on the guns I build although I do acknowledge it is safe to shoot the shorter rounds whether it be the 45 in a 454 or a 480 in a 475. I recommend the second cylinder for a couple reasons, first it removes the issue of the carbon ring build up and second because have seen guns that aren't as accurate with the shorter rounds. I believe this is because there is to much room for the bullet to be out of position when it engages the throat although if the throat is the correct size it should still shoot ok. Bottom line though is it is safe to shoot the 45 colt ammo in your 454 cylinder.

I personally shoot the same loads for practice as I do to hunt with, it is more expensive but I figure by doing that I'll know the gun and load inside and out by the time I get in the field with the gun.

Good luck Neil and Welcome to the site!

Thanx for all the very useful replies.
Here in Denmark its mostly Vithavuori powders that are available.
I will try to find a load that works best. I will only be shooting jacketed bullets in this gun.

the Vithavuori 110 is probably the top powder for full house loads from what I've heard. I could't say for reduced loads though.

It is only within the last couple of months that 44 and 45 has been allowed in Denmark. Until then .357 mag was the most we could use. We are not allowed to go hunting with handguns here. I will hunt abroad with it.
For indoor range shooting I think my fellow shooters will have a fit if I start shooting 454 hunting loads ;-)
This is the reason for wanting to shoot 45 colt loads when I´m here in Denmark.
I naturally would prefer to shoot hunting loads at the range too, but I will have to see how it goes.

Just one more question here...........................

Do I need to crimp the case/bullet for the 45 loads as hard as 454 ?

I use the same crimp for all my 454 loads. Unique would be another powder worth looking into if it's available.

so wait, a european country had gun laws that became more lenient and allow more choices. awesome.

Hahaha.........yep............I cannot believe it either ;-)

But I really appreciate that we have more options now.

Alot of good info here.

Food for thought...

I am loading 44sp loads with the bullet extended out with GREAT accuracy. I actually shot my 44sp load more than my mag because it is more accurate than my 44 mag load.