Super Redhawk 454 Casull showing some promise

[sasu]

If you remember I have complained that my Super Redhawk 454 Casull is not accurate enough for Metallic Silhouette. I have measured the throats with pin gauges and they are 0.454"+. I thought that is the problem but David Bradshaw kindly informed that such a throat is not an accuracy killer.

So I have continued searching for a suitable load. Today I got some promise with two loads using Vihtavuori N340 powder. The groups are not the best they could be as I was shooting through a chronograph and putting the gun down after each shot to write down the velocity.

I was shooting at 25 m from a bench, with just my hands supported.

This target has most of the hits of three five shot groups with Magtech 260 JSP bullet and three different charges of N340. I was not shooting for groups but this cluster gives some promise. The difference in powder charge was one full grain between each load. One of the loads gave a 2" group. The tape measure is in centimeters. The velocity range was 1060-1250 fps.

I had only one test load with 300 gr Lasercast bullets, also with N340. I got a 2" group with a flyer opening it up to a little more than 3". The velocity was 1200 fps. It is a pity I have no source for the Lasercast bullets anymore, I have only a couple hundred of them left.

This was a happy day as the Super Redhawk gave some promise of accuracy.

Oh, one set of experimental loads gave results I have never seen before. The powder charge increment was one full grain again. I was shooting 200 gr H&N coated lead bullets with N340. The first load gave one (sic!) hit out of five on the target which is two feet across! The second load put three shots in a 4" group in the center of the target and two shots missed the target altogether. The third load, the hottest, put all five in a 4"-5" group in the center of the target. Wild, wild variation! I do not remember experiencing a load that would not stay on a 2 ft x 2 ft paper at 25 meters. The hottest load was doing more than 1500 fps which is quite a lot for a swaged lead bullet, but there was no leading as the bullets are coated.

 

[Galaxiedan]

Have you tried shooting off a rest? I use a leather front rifle rest to help with accuracy.

 

[David Bradshaw]

sasu.... of your SRH with .454-inch chamber throats, unknowns which must be identified include:
* Groove diameter (desirable 451" groove or less.)
* Forcing cone. Is it short concentric, smooth? Photos from both sides important.
* Chamber-to-bore alignment. Chamber offset greater than .006" spells bad news, especially in conjunction with a deep or off-axis forcing cone.

To sandbag the revolver, as opposed to your hands or wrists, should improve groups. Whether your barrel is 7-1/2" or 9-1/2", one bag under butt, with another bag under barrel, should improve consistency. If you have just one bag, try the TRUNNION REST----nestle angle formed by barrel/frame into bag. Dry fire 3 or 5 "shots" before live fire.

I do not worry about changing my grip between shots of a group. Do it all the time. Consistency matters.

Load notes----be specific
1) Bullet
a) If bullet is not widely known, describe: cast; powder coat; jacketed soft point, JHP, copper plated, etc.
b) bullet diameter
2) Powder and charge
3) Primer
4) Case
5) Velocity (when available)
6) Target
a) distance
b) shots fired & group, measured center-to-center

Vihtavuori N340 is a fast powder for the .454 Casull case. Were I to load a fast powder in the Casull case----I don't----I would DEEP SEAT the bullet and crimp above the front band, or on the ogive. And not make pretensions to high velocity. Many .45 bullets are made which produce poor accuracy. Unlike the .357, .41 & .44 Mags, for which a great many bullets are very accurate. It is imperative to find whether the .45 bullets you're loading are accurate. Spraying of shots at close range----25 yards or meters----may be attributable to revolver, bullet, or load. When a small change in powder blows up the group, look at the powder. If possible test bullet in another gun.

Try the .45 Sierra 240 JHC (Jacketed Hollow Cavity) if possible. If available, try Vihtavuori N110; IMR or Hodgdon 4227; Winchester 296 or Hodgdon H110 (H110 is 296); or Accurate 1680. These powders load best close to the base of the bullet. DEEP SEAT the Sierra to crimp on ogive (just above the shoulder of the bearing surface and above the crimping cannelure).

Slug the bore to check for hard or sift spots, and especially for presence of a compression ring at barrel/frame juncture. A compression ring must be removed, as it will fling bullets. You cast bullet should be .001-inch wider than groove diameter.
David Bradshaw

 

[sasu]

David,

Thank you for many items of advice in that posting.

In my experience N110 gives good accuracy only at max or close to max charges and by then the 454 Casull recoil is too much for prolonged target shooting. That is why I am experimenting with the N340, to get 44 Magnum level power. N350 would be a better candidate but I do not have any at the moment.

I will not publish my loads for the N340 as they are not from any official reloading books. I deduced the charges from other powders and other bullet weights and even 45 Colt loads. Fortunately the loads I have tried did not show any signs of excessive pressure, looking at the primer and ease of extraction of cases and the resulting velocities. The box of empty cases is here on the desk waiting for a session of base expansion measurement á la Ken Waters with my Mitutoyo micrometer. The loads were conservative as I understand these fast powders give exponential pressure rise quite fast.

With the 300 gr hard cast bullet there was the one 2" (3.3" with a flyer) group which is promising in the sense that the gun is not totally hopeless. Those bullets are a measured 0.454" diameter. I am happy with that group shooting from my impromptu rest arrangement (table and chair). Now I need to continue testing and hope to make such groups repeatable. And of course set up a couple of bags for proper support, my old bags have been lost in moves.

Cannot wait to find an accurate load so I can move to the 100 and 200 meter distances.

Those wildly behaving 200 gr copper plated and plastic coated lead bullets were not meant for this 454 Casull but I was curious to try them out. 1500 fps is not a reasonable velocity for them even though the manufacturer designates them for over 1050 fps.
https://www.hn-sport.de/en/reloading/swc-452-200-gr-hs
Those bullets will go into my 45 ACP pistols and 45 Colt Cowboy Action revolvers.

By the way, the S&W M25 45 Colt with the twisted frame came back from the gunsmith today, he said he managed to press the frame back straight. The weekend shooting session will show what the gun is capable of now, but I am not expecting miracles. The next step is to buy a used M27 or M29 and transfer the 45 Colt cylinder and barrel to that frame, or bore the donor cylinder to 45 Colt if the existing cylinder will not transfer easily. "Shade tree" gunsmithing in lieu of factory warranty repairs that are not reachable from where I am.

 

[sasu]

Interesting. The S&W M25 45 Colt that had the frame straightened by a gunsmith shot several under 2" groups at 21 yards today, both with factory Cowboy ammo and reloaded test ammo. I am happy the fix was a success.

As an example a group with H&N 200 SWC lead bullets and N340, the bullet that gave wild results in the Super Redhawk 454 Casull.

 

[txpitdog]

If you are looking for 44mag level power then why not shoot 45LC in your 454SRH?