Heavy mold suggestions that feed in a 454 Casull

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sawzall
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Heavy mold suggestions that feed in a 454 Casull

Post by sawzall »

I'm looking for mold suggestions for my new to me 454 Casull Puma! I want a boolit with a large meplat for maximum thump for hunting. Also looking for 300 grains plus in weight. Was looking at these options: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... P-or-solid
Will a Kieth feed well without modifying the rifle? Also, I'm assuming it wouldn't be able to handle full house loads without a gas check.
How about a Lee C452-300-RF? Love the look of the boolit and it's readily available as opposed to the undetermined wait for a Miha mold.
Last one I had in mind, even though I would prefer a larger meplat is http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... 1-325Gr-RF. I'm sure it would have no feeding problems.
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Re: Heavy mold suggestions that feed in a 454 Casull

Post by Ranch Dog »

MiHec 454-308-Keith
I'm not real sure, after reading about it, what cartridge the design is intended for. With a .416", meplat to crimp length, it is not the 454 Casull. Using spec brass at 1.380" would result in a 1.796" OAL. Both the CIP & SAAMI spec calls for 1.680". The R92 will let you get away with about 1.775". As you noted, without a gas check you will not be able to realize the potential of the cartridge.

Lee C452-300-RF
This bullet has a .285" meplat to crimp length making it just about optimal for the R92 at 1.665" OAL. It is gas checked and I suspect has the 72% meplat that their "RF"designs favor. Both my 45 Colt and 454 Casull R92s shoot a .452 bullet very well. The gas checked base will help you get more out of the design. With the right alloy, the potential of the cartridge is huge.

NOE 454651
I do like the looks of this bullet but it is not available on his web site and the group buy is closed. The double crimp groove, though I don't really care for this feature, will allow a little play in fitting the bullet to the chamber with either a 1.678" or 1.760" overall length. More than likely the latter will not work. Same as the Lee, the gas check will make this cartridge what it was intended to be.

On the latter two molds, I sure would like to see the gas check shank spec in the drawings. Many pistol molds are still designed for Hornady pistol gas checks which haven't been available for years. The shank for a .452-.454 bullet should be designed for the Hornady .458 gas check. It is a small deference but a critical one as there must be room for the extra copper to flow evenly onto the shank. Using a Lee push through sizer, I size the bullet first and then put the check on the shank and push it back through the sizer, gas check (base) first.

Out of the lot, I would choose the Lee C452-300-RF first.
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sawzall
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Re: Heavy mold suggestions that feed in a 454 Casull

Post by sawzall »

Thanks for the advise Michael, pretty much what I was hoping to hear! I ordered a 2 cavity Lee and I actually also managed to get one of the NOE molds ordered, again, a 2 cavity. Gonna try them both! I do have a 92 in 45C to play with as well, so I'll make use of both molds one way or another. I have a TLC460-360-RF I've though of trying to size down to .452-.454 but I don't know how the check or lube grooves would like that!
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Re: Heavy mold suggestions that feed in a 454 Casull

Post by Rooster59 »

I have the Lee 300 for my 45LC Puma and it feeds great. With my alloy it drops at 308gr. It makes beautiful, crisp round holes like a Keith but with a wider nose.
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Re: Heavy mold suggestions that feed in a 454 Casull

Post by 454PB »

I use both the Lyman 452651 and the Lee 300 RF in my Puma .454 Casull. They feed well when seated to crimp in the forward crimp groove.
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