Well guys I got a chance to shoot some different loads this weekend. I was set up off a bench with a 60 yard target. I had 3 different loads. 240 xtp mag with 34 grains of H110 for an approx. velocity of around 1800 fps quoted from the hodgdon reloading center. this printed 8 inches low at 60 yards in an 8 inch group. My second load was the 300 xtp mag with 29 grains of H110 for around 1625 fps. these printed 12 inches high in a 7-8 inch group. My last load was the same 300 xtp mag with 28 grains IMR 4227 for 1575 fps. This was by far my most favorite load. Recoil was much less sharp and severe and my group was a nice 4 inch cluster 10 inches above the bull. Now I am by no means a great shot with heavy recoiling pistols and my groupings show that.
Now here is my first problem. My rear sight is cranked all the way down and my FA is still shooting high with the 300 grain bullets. I don't know if there is anything I can do to change this. In the future I would like to get a pair of express sights but I don't know where to find them.
I ordered some 300 grain regular xtps off midway as that was all I could get. I am really concerned about pushing them to fast and hurting my forcing cone. Is 1600 fps to fast to push them ? If so I need a reduced load with unique powder to keep the velocity down. My biggest problem is lack of supplies. I have 1/4 bottle of h110, unique powder, and just enough 4227 for a couple more loads. I just cant get any of the supplies I need.
So for now my plan is to work up a load with the 240 mags unless if I can get a load with the 300 xtps to work out. So that is what I am working with. I have exactly 2 weeks until the trip. Thanks for any suggestions and comments. SS

your not going to push that 300 to a point where your doing anymore damage to the forcing cone than you are with the lighter load. What I would do is contact FA and get the taller front sight. That will fix the problem and you should be ready to go.

SS - what height front sight are you using on your Casull? You can get taller models that will lower your POI if your rear sight is bottomed out. Most of the Casull's shipped with the low fronts.

Let me know which size you have and I'll send you a taller model - I should have a couple from switching out for Fiber Optics.

I didn't know they made different height front sights. Mine is around .325" tall which I'm guessing is the short one. SChunter, I would be glad to pay you if you have a taller one that would work. That would fix one of my biggest dilemmas. I

No sweat - happy to help out a fellow Handgun Hunter! PM inbound.

Ken O'Neill -- 500WE here makes taller sights for FAs. You should send him a PM -- he supplied me with one for mine.

Sounds like you have a .330", and need a .380". If you want an undercut patridge front sight like I furnish (pictures shown on many of my guns on the FA and Braggibg Boards), send me a PM.
Ken

SChunter was very gracious in sending some front sights for me to try out. He is sending a .430 which should be plenty tall enough to bring the POI down.
I found a supply of speer 260 and 300 grain "plinker" hollow and soft point ammo. Would these be any better to standing up to the high pressure velocities than the original hornady 300 grain xtp?
I also happened to find some sierra 300 grain soft points, anyone have any experience with these ? Thanks SS

I chatted with Bob Baker about the standard XTP bullets when I got my FA 454. He said they could be pushed to a max muzzle velocity of 1500 fps. Take a look at the FA website. They have load data using Unique that will get you 1275 fps with a 300 grain jacketed bullet. I've never used Unique like that but I'd probably ease up on my heavy crimp if I did. A 300 grain XTP at 1200 fps should handle a hog quite well.

Of course, I'm basing these recommendations on your limited time frame and component shortage. IMR-4227 is my favorite powder for 454 by far.

Sight Height Chart

I too use 4227 for my 454's now. I have used the same load you mention, 28 grains, with several different 300 grain bullets. It is by far my most accurate load with the various bullets.

I found the Sierra JSP to be extremely accurate. I am quite certain that your XTP's will also be safe with the same 4227 load, but you did say you were low on that powder.

Not sure what your barrel length is, but my 7.5" FA gun shot almost every 300 gr. bullet at or near 1400 fps. I had some reloading data that said it was in 1500 range, but that was from a 10" barrel.

My favorite load now is the RCBS 300gr. SWC GC with 28.0 4227.

Dan

With the 300 xtp mag in my 7.5" and 32 grains of 296 with a rem 7.5 primer, I usually got 1615. Strangely enough, my 10" at the time only did about 1630 ish

A 300 at 1200 is really nice to shoot and will do what you want. You really don't have to beat yourself up

LOL. 300gr at 1200fps, that is a classic 44 Mag load.


Duane

TCTex, yes I know my 454 loads are a bit underpowered lol, if I could get the proper supplies I would push her to the speeds she deserves to shoot.
I keep wondering why I am messing around with the 454 supplies when I have a perfectly good super redhawk 44 mag sitting there with a ton of supplies to shoot it. I guess I want to break in my single action.
An update on my loads, 14 grains of unique under a 300 xtp and brand new starline brass produced 2-3 inch 60 yard groups. I believe most of my increased accuracy came from SChunter and his green fiber optic front sight he sent me. I was able to focus so much better on my sights and considerably shrink my groups.
My last question is this, I have an old 1987 hornady reloading manual. In it, it states 28.4 grains of IMR4227 with the 300 xtp produces 1400 fps. Now on hodgdon site it states that with a 300 grain FA JFP and 27 grains H4227, it puts out 1541 fps. Now my question is which source is correct ? If they are the same powder, the only other thing different would be the bullet. would the FA bullet provide less resistance to increase the fps by over 145 with less powder ? Maybe hodgdon used a longer barrel ? I want to find a future 4227/300 xtp load that is right around 1450 fps and the different velocities are confusing me. Thanks for any suggestions, SS.

SS - glad she worked out for you!

FYI - there's not a boar in the SE that can hold that 300 gr bullet and shrug it off. Happy hunting Brother!

not all copper jackets are equal and the harder the jacket the faster the bullet will go which is why you try and find specific data for the bullet your using or if you cross data start on the low end. I've had 475's that would push a 400gr XTP over top of 26.0gr of H110 but when I switched to Gold Dots the same charge showed major pressure signs and i had to drop to 23.0gr to correct it. The funny thing is even with the same 26.0gr charge I still lost 200fps with the Speer which is a much softer bullet.

I have never gotten Hodgdon's published velocities. I think it's the test barrel they use. I usually get at least 100 fps less in medium-heavy loads. Based on my experience with the 300 XTP you'll get 1250+ fps in a 7.5" FA, using 26 grains of IMR-4227. This is equivalent to maximum performance in a 44 mag and is easy on the gun, brass and you. With the standard XTP I'd probably stop at 27 grains. If you want to go higher you should use a chronograph to see what's actually happening in your gun. Sounds like you're all set for your hunt. Good luck and give us a report!

One shouldn't put a whole lot of faith in published velocities as I have never found them to be accurate. Ball park, yes, but nothing to live by. The only way to know what speed you are running is to chronograph your gun and load

Exactly, and I have only had a couple times where I've run faster than published it's almost always slower. Alot of times it's the fact that they use a closed breech test barrel longer than most revolver barrels.

I'll add that their chronos probably a lot more sophisticated than the ones we use and they probably have them calibrated every so often. I don't worry too much about what the velocity is, I'm more interested in how consistent it is and when I hit that point where adding more powder doesn't do anything to the velocity.

Dear SS,
- I had very same problem with mine FA .454 but I solved it with higher front sight. While you are waiting for higher front sight (which is the best solution) you can try to play with bullet weight. Since you already noticed vertical spread of POI btwn 240grs and 300grs, you might try something around 260-270grs. It should goes exactly at your aiming point.
- Forget about forcing cone! You are using the best revolver ever and as far as I know only one guy (Paco Kelly) was changing one – but after 30.000 hot-hot rounds!
- I also have experience with Sierra 300grs JFP. If you want extraordinary penetration with zero expansion – that’s the bullet for you. You can consider it almost as a hard cast. In order to compare XTP, Gold Dot and Sierra I done some penetration tests in water jag – if you want to read details again pls check topic “Bullets for 454 Casull” initiated by you. Personally, I vote for XTP MAG 300grs which gives best penetration/expansion ratio.
- Reg. powder - you can not make wrong choice in case you are considering H110 or W296. I had extreme accuracy with both of them
Hope you will have successful hunt in couple of days!

SS, I wasn't trying to be demeaning in any way. There are a couple of users here who shoot non "balls to the walls" loads. And they still harvest more game than most.

I tried the FA 300 JSP bullet in my "28 GR. 4227" experiment. That load was too light for the super hard core heavy jacket FA bullet. I had very inconsistent velocity and no where near 1500 fps. To get accuracy and consistency I had to go to 29.0 grains. After raising the powder charge I had a very accurate load with low extreme spreads that was in the 1400 fps range.

I won't dispute that higher velocity can be obtained with H110/WW296. I just don't use it anymore for the 454.

Dan