Author Topic: .458 Bullets ok for a TC .45 Colt barrel? (Read 511 times)

Anthropas · « **on:** April 12, 2006, 12:24:25 AM »

Hi All,

I'm a beginning reloader and only work with the help of my father who is much more experienced and walks me through it at this point. We were wondering though if we can consider .458 bullets to reload for a TC custom shop 15" .45 LC barrel I bought? Is this ok or will it be dangerous?

Also, I don't know what the rate of twist is in this barrel. Would finding that out guide me towards looking for the most appropriate bullet weight to shoot? Thanks for the info.

Anthropas

huntswithdogs · « **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2006, 04:23:30 AM »

458 bullets are generally for rifles, not pistols. Some older revolvers required a bullet larger than 452. 45LC bullets should be 452 for lead and 451 for jacketed.

Look in your reloading manuals. They lay, all the above, out pretty good.

HWD

reallybigfoot · « **Reply #2 on:** April 12, 2006, 05:13:53 AM »

Shooting a .458 in a .452 barrel would be very dangerous. If it is a lead bullet, you could resize it and load according to weight and design.

Jerry

rickyp · « **Reply #3 on:** April 12, 2006, 07:42:58 AM »

old 45 colt guns had a .454 bore, new barrles have a .451-452 bore and the 45-70 uses a .458. that .007 is a very large amount of bullet taht neds to be squeezed down. this would raise pressure way way to high

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 12, 2006, 09:32:47 AM »

Short answer. No.

Patriot_1776 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 12, 2006, 03:07:03 PM »

Anthropas,

In addition to what everyone else is saying, the casings aren't designed hold a bullet that big. The bullet would be so overly large, the case could bulge conspicuously enough to cause chambering problems, or even ruin the brass. The 45 Colt casings are designed for .451-.454" bullets only. I think cast bullets are sometimes cast up to .454", so anything bigger than that would likely spell trouble.

-Patriot

Questor · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2006, 03:46:41 AM »

Now that the hazard issue has been covered, let's refine things a little. You need to use bullets that were designed for the cartridge. There are plenty of .452 bullets that are not good choices for the 45LC because they were designed for 45ACP or 454 Casull. The rule of reloading is that we are not in this as a creative enterprise, we are following what amounts to a cookbook that specifies ingredients, or components if you prefer, that are not interchangeable. This is especially important for beginning hand loaders.

For 45LC look for cast bullets weighing about 250 grains. A good source of data is the Speer #13 manual, which contains data for cast, jacketed, and swaged (i.e. soft lead) bullets.

Anthropas · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2006, 04:22:00 AM »

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the answer to my question, read you loud and clear! No .458 bullets will be tried.

Now, as for my other question. Would knowing the rate of twist of my barrel help me narrow down which bullet weights I should be trying? I'm just trying to avoid buy one box of every .451 and .452 bullet on the market to see which my barrel likes. I've already tried the 250gr and the 300gr Hornady xtp's and they didn't do so well. 1.5" from a benchrest at 25 yards and around 3" at 50 yards. I'm hoping to try taking a dear with it this year, so I'm wondering if there is a way around shooting every brand/weight bullet until I find the keeper? I'd prefer to use jacketed bullets as well I guess. Thanks for any advice.

Anthropas

Questor · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2006, 06:12:53 AM »

Anthropas:

With that barrel, I am more concerned about the overall construction of the bore. If it's a custom shop barrel that's specifically for the 45LC (as opposed to the regular production barrel that shoots both 45LC and .410 shotshells), then you should be OK with any mainstream bullet.

Is your gun scoped? I expect perhaps 2" accuracy or better at 50 yards with a TC barrel. Also check the barrel crown (where the bullet comes out of it) and see if it's smooth.

Finally, put a post on the TC Graybeard Forum and see if you can get any insight from shooters of the same barrel.

If the XTPs were used from a good benchrest position with a scoped gun using published loads for that bullet, then I'm concerned that your accuracy is not as good as it should be. XTPs are among the most accurate of bullets. For example, my 10" 44magnum Contender shoots 3" groups at 100 yards with most any bullet.

Steve P · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2006, 03:55:17 PM »

8.0 grains of Unique and .452 jacketed bullet or .454 cast bullet should print one hole groups at 50. If it doesnt, check your chamber or your crown. If you have the 45/.410 barrel and you have gonga jump to the rifling, you may have to play a while to get anything better than what you have already tried.

Steve