454 casull

[warrior1]

is there any one given bullet design and weight that works best in this caliber?
i'm just getting into this caliber and have tried 300gr ltc,and 255 lswc. the 300s are definitely doing a better job,
but i'm thinking maybe 325-350grs. might be better suited for the 454.any input will be appreciated.dan

[Graybeard]

My personal preference is for a cast bullet in the 320-330 grain range pushed by H110/W296 to about 1550 fps.

[BIG Dog454]

I'VE Done a lot of reloading or the .454 in a Ruger SRH, and found the the SRH seems to llike heavy bullets at full velocity.  I've been able to get 250 gr bullets to shoot min. of a pie plate at 100 yards, at a velocity of 1250 fps (avg). This is my deer hunting load. It is very devestating on deer at that vel. using 250 gr XTP bullets designed for the 45 colt, not the Mag XTP's.  For heavier game I have reloaded 310 gr cast gas checks which shoot 1 in. groups at 50 yards using 4227 powder at max velocity according to Lyman book. 
  The reason I bought a .454 in the first place was because my .45 colt when I increased the velocity above 1000 fps would shoot eraticly so with the .454 I load it light and its a real pleasure to shoot at about 1250 fps and .250 gr bullets.
Mike

[warrior1]

greybeard and big dog 454 thanks for the input, the information sure does give a starting point.dan

[Lloyd Smale]

Id go with a 300-350 cast bullet either a lfn or swc preferably a gas checked design. My favorite heavy 45 bullets are in this order the rcbs 300 swcgc the ballistic cast 320 lfngc and the balistic cast 350 lfngc. Personaly i cant see shooting bullets lighter then 300s out of a 454 unless its the only big bore your have. If i want lighter loads id take out a 45 colt.

[warrior1]

thanks lloyd, i'm going to definitely try someyhing in the range of 320-330gr cast.

[Selmer]

I'll give a +1 for Lloyd's recommendations.  I using the 320 gr. LFNGC he mentioned and out of my Encore is running 1600 fps and grouping sub-MOA at 100 yds.  It hits Iowa whitetails like a freight train, it ran my 12 point buck from one end to the other and kept going last December.  I haven't recovered a bullet shot at a deer from it yet...
Selmer