[lukeamdman]

I see most use H110 powder for maximum velocities in the 460, but it looks like Lil’Gun can do the same but with lower pressures? Anyone have any input on that?

Also, should I be using large rifle magnum primers, or would standard large rifle primers do the trick? This gun will be used for hunting deer in these cold Minnesota winters.

Thanks!

 

[mjyeagle]

i use h110 and lil gun for my 460 the h110 seems to be a little more accurate but have not worked up the lil gun load yet but in my 45 colt lil gun workes best for heavy bullets i only use magnum primers what type and weight bullet are you useing

 

[lukeamdman]

I ended up buying a pound of H110, and since I already had a bunch of CCI large rifle magnum primers I'll just use those.

For fun, I bought some 200gr Hornady FTX bullets. I won't use those for hunting because I've read they tend to fall apart and won't go through bone even on deer.

For hunting I bought some 240gr Hornady XTP's.

However, I've run into an issue with the 240gr bullets. I bought the Lee 3-die set, and even on a full crimp (crimp and bullet seater are the same die), the 240gr bullets are still not very tight. If I try hard enough I can actually rotate the bullet in the brass! If set the crimp any further, even a half turn, I crunch the entire case, so the crimp is at max.

For my .45, my Lee dies came with a carbide crimp die which I LOVE. Bullets are tight and I've never had a single FTF. However, I don't see one of those for the .460 on midway. They do have one for the .454: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=217484

Would that work for the 460?

 

[txhunter77]

For my .45, my Lee dies came with a carbide crimp die which I LOVE. Bullets are tight and I've never had a single FTF. However, I don't see one of those for the .460 on midway. They do have one for the .454: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=217484

Would that work for the 460?

I've used the 45 LC Lee Factory crimp die on 460 S&W. It took a couple of minutes to get it adjusted right but once set properly it functioned flawlessly. As for the 454, it uses the same as the 45 LC.

 

[lukeamdman]

Excellent!

If I use that carbide crimp die for the crimp, should I only use the bullet seat to seat the bullet and forget the roll crimp?

Thanks!

 

[unclepaddy]

Something is wrong if you can spin a loaded bullet in the case even without a crimp. Use the collet crimp die after seating without the roll crimp, and after you've figured out why the bullet is so loose in the case.

 

[lukeamdman]

You bring up a very good point. For my .300wm and .45acp, after sizing the case and seating the bullet they are really tight without a crimp. I can't even get close to budging that bullet.

I checked and diameter of the bullets are .452 just like it should be. I'm checking the dimensions of my brass.

 

[broom_jm]

You bring up a very good point. For my .300wm and .45acp, after sizing the case and seating the bullet they are really tight without a crimp. I can't even get close to budging that bullet.

I checked and diameter of the bullets are .452 just like it should be. I'm checking the dimensions of my brass.

Your resized brass will reflect the dimensions of your die: If your necks are THAT loose, you've got an over-sized neck expander. It should be roughly .451", but is it because you're not using a 460S&W sizing die? I think the expander on the 45LC might be designed for bigger bullets, like .454"?

 

[lukeamdman]

I'm using Lee 460 S&W dies. I just got them last week from midway.

I'll post the dimensions of my brass after full length sizing them later today.

 

[lukeamdman]

Ok, brass and dies are fine. After full length sizing, the outside diameter of the brass averages .474". The inside diameter averages .447".

I think the issue was there was too much crimp, and it was causing a very slight "bulge" in the neck right behind the crimp. I couldn't see it by looking at it, but the caliper registered a .0015" bulge.

I moved the die out so it would only seat the bullet, and sure enough the bullet was very snug and wouldn't move even with zero crimp. I then screwed in the die one turn for a slight crimp.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mjyeagle]

i use horniday dies for my 460 4 die set never had any of these problems i dont shoot jacketed out of the 460 anymore hardcast gas checks shoot way better hit harder and you wont shoot out your barrel with heavy cast i have found that if i dont have a heavy crimp the bullets will unseat themselves from the recoil when shooting a full cylinder the last 2 or 3

 

[lukeamdman]

I'll chalk it up to beginners error. I was the problem, not the Lee dies.

I took the gun to the range for the first time today, WOW!! I've never seen such a fireball, it was blinding! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Question, has anyone used Hornady's loading data for the 200gr FTX?

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ftx_load_data/460_sw_magnum_ftx.pdf

I was just asking because 52gr of H110 seems like quite a lot!

 

[MikeG]

Half that much under a 255gr. SWC in a .45 Colt is a fireball. 52gr. of H110 under a 200gr bullet.... closer to a mushroom cloud than a fireball, it would seem to me!