Colt brass in .454...again!?

[doghawg]

 So here I sit with some .452" SWC cast bullets that are tough to chamber in my Mod 83's. These are left-over bullets from an ill fated attempt to get a Smith .45 Colt Mountain Gun to shoot something tighter than shotgun patterns but that's another story. While I'm new to FA's and to .454's I know this subject has been covered many times since (lucky guess here )about 1983. My search efforts (not too sharp on the 'puter) weren't too productive so here's a couple questions...........

 Can someone come up with a link or whatever to where this question has been thoroughly covered? I know FA discourages the use of .45 Colt brass in a .454 chamber and I understand where a 55,000 psi .454 cartridge jammed into a carbon fouled cylinder would be a problem but how about if the chambers were completely cleaned after firing Colt brass?

 Next question is whether any of you have had good results with using .454 brass and crimping over the front of the driving band? Obviously a reduced boiler room capacity would dictate a slightly reduced powder charge and my .454's won't see much use beyond .45 Colt +P levels anyway.

 Thanks in advance.

 dawg

[paul105]

Dawg,

On the old Leverguns site, Jim Taylor said he and Paco Kelly shot  “thousands” of rounds in the FA 454 using .45 Colt cases.  This was before 454 brass was readily available and was really expensive (I’ve still got some old FA cases that I paid $50 for a box of 50 unprimed brass – mid 80s).  Jim Taylor said he used a belled case to scrape the carbon/lead buildup from the chambers.  I think he mentioned filing some teeth in the mouth of the belled case.  I’ve had good luck with a .45 cal bronze brush wrapped with medium bronze wool, chucked in an electric drill.  Just make sure you get all the buildup removed.

I’ve also crimped cast SWCs over the front drive band in .454 cases with excellent results.  I’ve only done this with loads in the 900 to 1,100 fps range.  One of the most accurate loads in my .454 was using a 270gr SAA sized at .454, crimped over the front drive band, driven at about 950 fps using HP38.

[doghawg]

 Thanks Paul. I'll probably shoot the Colt cases sparingly and then clean the daylights out of the cylinders. I did find some 255 gr. .452 SWC Keith's that will chamber (when crimped in the crimp groove) in the newer (2004) production FA but not the older one. I'll try some 270 SAA's crimped over the driving band with mild charges of 231 or Universal.

 BTW I see there's a NIB 6" Premier up for auction for $1350...........another .454 would be a mite excessive though..... ....wouldn't it? Besides, I NEED a 97 in .44 Spl  .

[Chris Potts]

I would very much appreciate a link to the auction.

Chris

[doghawg]

 PM sent

[Chris Potts]

Dawg,

Thank you very much for the info.

Chris

[texbestshooter]

The American Handgunner on Sep/Oct 1988 printed a load for the .454 Casull in .45 cases. it was NEI #310 mold for 310 gr. with 26.0 gr of WW296 powder at 1395 fps. (25.0 gr is 1336 fps). And they also showed a 400 gr cast with 24.0 gr WW296 at 1353 fps. These are very definitely MAX loads and you really cannot get more powder in the case. I shot the 310 gr load a lot, but I wonder if anything other than a Casull could handle many of those loads. These loads were developed on the .45 cases because the loads would be too long for the cylinder in .454 cases. AJ

[doghawg]

 Thanks texbest

 Since posting this question I've given it more thought and....yes I've got some .45 brass and some bullets that won't fit in the FA's but that just gives me an excuse to watch for a .45 Colt Bisley.