Any advice on a 45cal with a heavy cast lead bullet?

Today I used Hanks adjustable bullet die and all I can say is it’s easy to adjust and it’s awesome. I could size my cast .458 bullets with one pass through the die. I didn’t get a chance to work up a smokeless load but I did shoot it with American pioneer powder and it seemed to shoot well. I didn’t have a target set up but I shot into a snow bank and it looked like the bullets hit in the same spot. When the snow melts and the mud dries up I’ll have a chance to do some serious target shooting and work up a smokeless load with heavy lead.

Interesting show us and tells more??

The best way to pursue this:

1. You can use any alloy that will shoot in your gun with your load. I prefer softer alloys for hunting (BHN 8 to 15) depending on the powder charge.

2. You can use a bullet with or without lube grooves for paper patching. If you are shooting at greater distances than 200 to 250 yards a bullet without lube grooves is more aerodynamic/accurate. You can choose a mold from Accurate Molds (email Tom and tell him what you need) for that purpose. The mold should cast a bullet that is a bit larger (.002 to .004) than your groove diameter (not bore diameter), this will give you some fudge room when you cast different alloys. For stiff charges of powder I prefer a gas check or a wad, for light charges of smokeless or black powder a plain base will do. You want a flat base bullet NOT a hollow base bullet for the higher fps/pressures of a SML.

3. Cast your bullets and run them through Hanks sizer with very little lube (wipe the lube off of the bullets...they must be clean for the fitting and patching process) until they slip fit in your bore (you can seat the bullet into the muzzle with slight thumb pressure feeling just a bit of resistance).

4. Once you have that perfect fit you can paper patch the bullets. You can patch wet or dry....sometimes that makes all the difference when it comes to accuracy. You can use any paper for patching but I suggest you use 9 pound onion skin paper from Buffalo Arms and the wrap should be tight, no wrinkles, and the seam of the wrap should match perfectly.  Take no more than two wraps on your slip fit sized bullets.

5. Once the bullet is patched and dry I put a thin coating of PURE carnuba wax on the bullet and let it dry. Then I GENTLY send the bullet through the sizer one more time and the bullet with patch should be a perfect fit for your bore. Wipe the carnuba wax with a soft cloth (the bullet/patch will look like it is polished) and you are ready to start working up a load. No lube is necessary and your bore will be lead free no matter how hard you push your bullets.

6. If the patch is separating from the bullet as it leaves the muzzle (it will be on the ground in front of your shooting bench) you know you have done everything right. With a good load the cast/patched bullets will be just as accurate as a jacketed bullet and they are devastating on game when you have all your ducks in a row.

www.mrhollowpoint.com/6764.html

I think you may find this page both interesting and helpfull . Good luck to you .

aa5744 can spike really high with heavy bullets with no air space. An example is the high pressure 45 colt round with only 18.8gr of 5744 with a 395gr lead bullet is just about touching 30k psi and it still has a little air space. I have 5744 but I decided against for those reasons.

Yes...two wraps of 9 pound onion skin paper and then it through the sizer one more time and the fit should be perfect. If you have any issues let me know.