Loading .454 Casull rounds by using .45 Colt dies?

[Amistad]

I've done some reading here on the forum today regarding this issue. While I see some reloaders who advocate getting dies marked specifically for .454 Casull, I found at least two enthusiasts who mention that they use only their .45 Colt dies for loading both .45 Colt and .454 Casull.

As a related aside, for several years I have used dies marked for .44 Special when I'm loading that caliber. Conversely, when desiring to load .44 Magnum with those same .44 Special dies, I simply insert a washer that is just the right thickness under the die, raising the die up the thickness of the washer. This allows for easy loading from one caliber to the other, and the only thing changing is whether I'm using the washer or not...

If any of you have any personal experience on safely using .45 Colt dies to load .454 Casull brass, please know that I'm all ears and will greatly appreciate your insights. Thanks! :mrgreen:

Clear sights and straight shootin' to ya!

Amistad

 

[Paul B]

I do the same with .38 Spl./.357 Mag. and .44 Spl./.44 Mag. so I see no reason why it would not be possible with the .45Colt/.454 Casull assuming outside dimensions of the brass are equal. Just make sure the washers are of the proper depth.
Paul B.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I own both .45 Colt and .454 Casull Die sets. I read once in ,Handloader magazine
IIRC that often .45 Colt die sets will not give proper dimensions for bullet retention (pull tension) on the often very tight Casull chamber dimensions. Lyman recommends sizing cast bullets to .451" . They claim a larger diameter bullet,may not allow a cartridge to chamber in some Casull chambers.
I own three Ruger .454's and just decided that the expense of another die set dedicated to the .454 was well worth the expense.

 

[Amistad]

Many thanks for the info, gents! I'll get busy and see if I can scare up a washer that is .10" in thickness and I'll be on my way. Happily, I was looking through my reloading cabinet last night and ran across a brand new Hornady .45 Crimp die. (It was part of some stuff that I traded for a couple of years ago, and have never used since I obtained it.) I'll see if I can use this crimp die along with the .45 Colt die set that I have. By using this sort of "hybrid" approach, I may be able to crank out some .454 Casull ammo that works well for me... Time will tell! :mrgreen:

Amistad

 

[WIL TERRY]

This depends ENTIRELY upon the specs of the loading dies in question, when they were made, and who made them. There is no doubt that the 454CASULL has mucho tighter specifications than does the 45COLT who's specs are all over the map since 1873, and the loading dies can be darn near the same. On the other hand I spend a lot of time getting loading dies adjusted perfectly and want a set of dies[ or three or four sets] specifically for this cartridge or that cartridge, quite often to load ammunition specifically for THAT gun, not this one.
Of course at last count I only load for one hundred and thirty five cartridges, have only bought 875M primers for my own use, so what do I know ? I do know this in wonderment; many many reloaders do not understand how their dies work, nor why, nor do they have them set correctly.
And so it goes...

 

[Bucks Owin]

My old Lee 45 LC die sizes correctly for my .454" cast bullets for my 45 BH with oversize throats.
My newer RCBS die is for seldom used .451-2" jacketed...

If I owned a 454 the RCBS set would get double duty...:wink:

 

[Big Old Boy]

I called RCBS last week with that question and was told, 45 die will load 454 but on heavy loads they may not crimp a tight as you would want, I'm sure they will work fine for me.

 

[dougader]

In my limited experience, the RCBS 45 Colt dies work fine for loading 454 with 335 grain Cast Performance WLNGC bullets in 2 Ruger SRHs and 1 Ruger Alaskan. Loaded with 28 grains W296 and WSR primers. IIRC, velocity from the SRHs was 1428 fps and about 1147 fps from the shorter Alaskan.

I never had any bullets jump crimp, but I did use the Lee factory crimp on these loads. I also noticed, the the edges of the 6th bullet would get a little melted/rounded off by the hot gases, especially when I'd keep that 6th bullet in the cylinder for several 5 shot tests on crimp reliability.

 

[Bucks Owin]

Excellent info Doug... :wink: 8)

 

[dougader]

FWIW, I thought those loads were easier to handle in the Alaskan...maybe something to do with less time-in-barrel???

Also, I'm not sure my rounds would fit in a gun held to tighter tolerances like Freedom Arms or a nice custom from Bowen, Gallagher, Huntington, Harton, etc.

 

[Bucks Owin]

FWIW, I thought those loads were easier to handle in the Alaskan...maybe something to do with less time-in-barrel???

Look at the velocity... :wink:

 

[dougader]

Same load, same pressure, or does the unburned powder doing a flame thrower out the end of the Alaskan result in less recoil? I was expecting the lighter Alaskan to kick like a mule, but it didn't. The 7.5" ported gun was the worst for me. It's not the slap in my palm, but the violent "torqueing" the gun does that hurts my wrists a bunch.

 

[Laserbait]

I use the Lee 45 Colt dies to load for my 454 Casull. They work great!

 

[Bucks Owin]

Same load, same pressure....

Yes, but the projectile is exiting the muzzle of the SRH nearly 300 fps faster than it does from the Alaskan.

 

[noahmercy]

I load my 454s using an old set of Hornady 45 Colt/ 45 Win Mag dies and a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die. Zero issues with bullets jumping crimp and accuracy is as good as I can manage.

And not to get too far off topic, but I find that the lighter guns in 44 Mag and 454 Casull are more enjoyable than moderately heavy guns firing loads with identical ballistics; while their recoil is abrupt and heavy, there is less mass trying to continue the recoil and less to "fight" back down. Recoil is over quicker due to less momentum. It's not an exact comparison, but imagine stopping a baseball traveling 100 miles per hour versus a bowling ball at 50...baseball stings, but it stops right now...the bowling ball is gonna' take a while to slow down and bring to a halt. I'll take shooting my 454 Alaskan over a 7 1/2" 454 any day.

 

[Paul B]

There is a very good article by John Taffin on the .454 Casull in the October issue of GUNS Magazine starting on page 14. I consider myself somewhat corrected on whether .45 Colt dies can be used loading the .454. If you're using a Freedom Arm .454, the odds are is that it won't work due to the very tight tolerances these guns a held to in manufacture. Sloppier made guns like the Ruger Super Redhawks and IIRC the Taurus may well allow .45 Colt dies to work. As unusual YMMV. :lol:
Paul B.