Is brass for the 450 Rigby any easier to find than brass for the 450 Dakota??

I assume they are very similar.

Can you neck up 416 Rigby and fire form to 450?

Thanks for any details you all might have.

Andy

Andy - Brass, reamers, loading data, and die sets for the .450 Dakota are very easy to find - Call Dakota at 605 347-4686 and speak to Norma. She can provide you with anything you may need.

The .450 Rigby and .450 Dakota are ballistic twins. The cases are only marginally different. The Dakota case has a 26 degree shoulder and the Rigby has a 40 degree shoulder. Both can be fire formed from the .416 Rigby but purchasing the brass is generally the way to go.

I and several others around here have shot the .450 Dakota for some time. It is one of the most versatile .45 cartridges. You can load it down to a tame 2250 fps and up to 2450+ fps. Full house loads are not the most pleasant experience, but they are tolerable.

If you need more info, please drop me a PM...

Andy - Huntington has them in Horneber brass. This brass is first rate, IMO.

http://www.huntingtons.com/CasesHorneber.html

"OldSarge" has strong experience with the .450 Rigby. I suggest you contact him. Bertram, too, has made cases for it but I'm not sure if they are currently availble.

Nick and Zero Drift,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am re chambering my 460 GA to a larger case due to a burr in the shoulder of the chamber that cant be removed.

I have been told by an ammo maker I respect that he has had trouble with headspace on the 450 Dakota brass.

My gunsmith has the 450 Dakota reamer and would have to rent the Dakota. No big thing but if it meant more convenient access to brass I would go with the Rigby which I am not familiar with.

thanks to you both.

Andy

Let me know if you need reloading info...

Unless I was having matching rifles made to a 416 Rigby, I would choose the 450 Dakota. My reasons being that components are their from Dakota.

I have owned two 460 Wbys and this size case, which is the same as the Dakota and Rigby, on the 45 bore is a dream to play with. They do 2300 with 500 grain bullets like a big V8 idling along. I also had very good accuracy with 400 grain Barnes X bullets at 2800 plus.

Mike

Andy

I would go for the 450 Rigby. You can use 416 rigby brass or buy Horneber brass.

I see no advantage in getting the dakota. You can get factory ammo from WR or Rigby for the 450. I would suggest that you handload.

/ JOHAN

I'm looking at building a Rigby or a Dakota. All I really need to make my decision is which one I can obtain dies for at a price far less than the $200+ that I have seen. Any ideas?

Longbob,

I think CH dies will be well under $200US for either calibre.

Mike

Mike,

I did a brief websearch for "CH dies" without any luck. Can you direct me to a site that carries them? Thanks!

Thanks for the links. Does anyone know if the $138 price includes a FL, Seating, and a Neck die? The way I read the website, it almost looks like they are $138 each.

Longbob,

I would bet that the $138 is for a Full Lenght and Seating die. The Neck die will be a separate purchase.

By the way, unless CH dies have changed don't expect them to come out of the box looking like Redding etc.

Last year I got a quote of Redding for a friend of mine for 450 Rigby and they were $400US. The reason they were so dear (I suspect) is that the 450 Rigby does not have the same body dimensions as the 416 Rigby. For something like the 416 Rigby necked down to 375 or 338 with no other changes they are about $140US and that will be because they are already setup for the 416 Rigby.

Mike

Zero Drift,

I sent you a PM re loading data.

John uses RL 15 and gets 2400 fps with the 500 TBBC.

I would like to use the 450 North Fork.

Any data would be appriciated.

PS The Dakota brass is quite a bit cheaper than the Rigby. $1.80 each per 100 vs almost $3 for the 450 Rigby.

My 460 GA had the 25 degree shoulder rather than Jack Lotts original 15 degree (?) and it held fine, so I am not too worried about the Dakotas.

thanks for your help.

Andy

Andy - Let me know if you need anything else...