I'm extremely pleased with my .454 Casull in TC Encore, especially after I had it pillar-bedded so the forearm screws wouldn't back out. Here are my results after load development this summer, over 30 load combinations of powders, primers, and bullets were tested. The best primer by far for accuracy and consistency was the CCI BR-4, so that's what is now on my bench, and that's what all of the following loads use, along with exclusively Starline brass.
My plinker/target/squirrel and bunny load is 10 gr. of Unique and a cast 255 gr. Keith bullet, great accuracy, very little recoil, and doesn't damage a squirrel anymore than a .22 LR HP, I've already collected with it!
My hunting load options are these:
14 gr. Unique, cast 300 gr. Keith, very accurate, moderate recoil
30.5 gr. H110, Hornady 300 gr. XTP-MAG, very accurate, manageable recoil, not as bad as I expected.
27 gr. H110 320 gr. cast LFN GC, most accurate load, also the hardest hitting on both ends, I would feel comfortable elk or moose hunting with this load, I know this isn't a legitimate test, but my backstop at the range is a pile of big logs, this bullet penetrated an ash log 18" in diameter and kept going, I couldn't believe it!
This ends my load development for this season, but I still have some unexplored powders on the bench, like HS-6 and Accurate #9, any suggestions for these two powders would be appreciated. Good luck hunting, I'll let you know what I come up with this fall!
Selmer
