.454 Reload

[dannyboy]

I’m a new reloader, but I’ve done a ton of research. I sat with a neighbor for several reloading sessions, but he was unfamiliar with the 454 Casull.
I have a Ruger SRH 7.5” 454 Casull. I’ve run several hundred rounds of both 454 and 45LC through it, and the cost made reloading more appealing. Increasing consistency with handloading was also a plus.
I have a box of Hornady 250 gr HP/XTP .452 (it was a good price and hard to pass up), a pound of H110, a box of Rem 7 ½ primers, and piles of Win brass. I have a brand new RCBS setup with 454 and 45LC carbide dies.
I’ve pulled data from Hodgden, IMR, Win, and have looked at several manuals, including Speer.
I cannot find one published manual that covers the components I have. I realize the safest thing at this point is to buy a box of bullets that are included in the tables, like FA JHP.
I managed to find quite a few posts with similar components, but at times I think people are mixing up the 45LC with the 454. I found some charts that show 27.5 to 28.5 gr of the H110, but then others that show upwards of 36gr.
Can anyone give me guidance on how to find published loads for .454 Casull with Hornady 250gr HP/XTP .452, with H110?

Thanks!

[versifier]

First off, welcome to Gunloads.

Before you go any further, you need to invest in some real, actual loading manuals. The Hornady manual will have the specific data you are looking for, and I also recommend the Sierra and Lyman manuals as well. Three current manuals is the minimum number I believe a loader should always have on hand. They are the least expensive life insurance money can buy and you are in the danger zone without them.

You can use any data for 250 or slightly heavier jacketed bullets, but you must start at minimum loads and work up. There will be a lot of differences between sources, some minor, some significant. Every tester used different firearms and components to generate data. The more manuals you have to compare loads, the more you can make sense of the data available to you.

Sierra does not list H110 with its 240gr bullet, but does with its 300. (This tells me that they were not seeing consistant performance with in using lighter bullets in their test revolver.)
Lee lists that specific bullet, but not with that powder. (Lee's manual is a compilation of data from many sources, they do not to my knowledge do their own testing.)
Hodgedon says a Max of 36.0 of H110 with a 260gr jacketed bullet. (That is fine, but it lists no starting loads. If I were more familiar with the powder, I might be temped to guess where to start and it would probably be in the upper range of the powder in the .45Colt, that being what I would do with .38spec data if I was short on data for a .357 mag load. But I do not know the powder and the only .45 cal round I load is the .45ACP. I am in uncharted territory. It is not worth the risk.)

So.....
I do not have enough specific information on hand to safely evaluate the loads you have found. One source is not enough, especially for a cartridge and powder with which I (and you) have no experience. After 35 years of loading, I know when to stop and seek more data before proceeding. This is for certain one of those times. In the mean time, there is TONS of data for the .45 Colt and you can load and shoot them until you get more manuals.

Others will likely speak up with data from other sources, but you still need to add to your library first before you get yourself into trouble.

[dannyboy]

Thanks Versifier for the quick response.
I agree with and understand everything you said. I have the Speer #14, and I used several of my neighbors (which I DO intend to buy): Lyman, Sierra, etc. I haven't seen a Hornady manual, but another friend has it an is looking up the .454 data for me. I plan to buy that manual next.
From a lot of reading, it sounds like H110 is a good power for the 454, so for now I'm going to stick with it.
I also discovered the Hornady MAG bullets are built for the 454, so I'm going to save the 250 gr HP/XTP I already have for 45LC loading. I just picked up some Hornady 300 gr XTP/MAG (.452), which I have found data for. I think you nailed it when you said there's not a lot of data for the lighter loads. Hornady does make a 240 gr XTP/MAG, but I decided to stay with 300 gr just for the availability of data. Several reloading friends have sung the praises of Nosler Partition Gold, but geez they don't come cheap. You get what you pay for, I know.

So when I get three published sources that show me the load for H110 under a 300gr Hornady XTP/MAG, then I'm going to load a few and try them. I'll continue to build a library. Any thoughts on LoadData.com ??

I'm open to any advice. I plan to seat and crimp in two separate passes. I'm going to have to play with the crimp a bit, but I understand it has to be solid. I'll test the rounds in the cylinder as I make them, just to be sure there are no issues.

thanks again!

[versifier]

Understand that the .454 was specifically designed for hunting large game. For most handgun hunters, that means using heavy for caliber bullets. The .45Colt is very popular for target shooting, hence the tons of data for lighter bullets. Hunters kept pushing it beyond the pressure limits of the many older revolvers chambered for it, and Dick Casull's answer was a longer case that could handle it but wouldn't chamber in .45Colt cylinders, just like the .327, .357, and .44mags. Those Noslers are premium hunting bullets, but more than cost, it comes down to which bullets your revolver will shoot best and the only way to find out is to try a bunch of different ones. Another powder wouldn't hurt either - sometimes a gun will like bullet A, but only with powder C - with powder B it patterns like a shotgun, but you'd never know it would work unless you tried it with C.

I always take any data I find on the net (even here) and do some very careful comparisons with the books at home before trying it. Be wary whenever someone quotes you a specific charge weight. It may work best in their gun, but that doesn't mean it will in yours or that it is safe to try without working up to it from a starting load. Even matching models with consecutive serial numbers often prefer different bullets and powders. That's why there are so many different ones to try.

I always crimp as a separate operation. I get more consistant OAL and lower SD. IMO, the BEST crimp dies on the market are the Lee Factory Crimp. The handgun dies have a carbide sizing ring to insure that all the rounds will chamber properly.