I am setting up a .450 BPE rifle and would like to know what you are shooting. I need to order my barrel and am not fure what weight bullets I will use. Been thinking about using 325 gr or so paper patched cast bullets.

Any one here loading for original English BPE rifles? Do you know what the original load was for your rifle? ANy good resources for loading these cartridges?

thanks!

Marc;

Which 450 BPE? As I recall the 450 3 1/4" wasn't necessarily an express round, i.e. light bullet-large powder charge. It appears you're building a new rifle, which type of action will you use? If this is a single, with a good barrel you can load any bullet weight the rifling will stabilize.

The one I load for is the 500/450 3 1/4". The original load for this was 140 grains #6 black powder and either a 320 grain hollow point paper patch or a 360? grain solid lead paper patch bullet.

I load only nitro for black using 56 grains of H4198 and dacron filler with a hard cast lead bullet between 320 and 370 grains. If the chamber of your gun will accept them the bullet should be groove diameter or possibly .001 over.

Find a copy of Graeme Wright's book "Shooting the British Double Rifle" ISBN # 0 949749 40 0, it's currently the bible on reloading for all early British cartridges. I believe it's out of print but may still be available.

Good luck with your project.

thanks for the reminder about the Wright book. I have it and it never crossed my mind to look in it for this project. I also have the complete set of Double Gun Journals and read a ROss Seyfried article on projectiles last night, adn will find his article on cases and powder tonight.

I am building this on a new Henry action-well, actually the Wesson variant of the Henry action. It will be strong enough to handle the nitro load if I choose to shoot it, but I am thinking about using a twist set up for cast bullets. I will use the 3 1/4" case.

What bullets are you casting for your rifle? Where did you get your mould?

thanks!

I used to have a Purdey top-lever, hammer, double gun in the .450 3-1/4" BP chambering. When I first loaded for it was the year when Pyrodex first came on the market.

Anyway, just wanted to remind you that if you use some BP substitute such as Pyrodex, BE SURE to load by powder charge volume, NOT charge weight.

Somehow in my haste to try the "new", "smokeless" BP, I loaded the first few rounds by weight. Result was enough excess pressure that each shot re-cocked the hammer used to fire that barrel. (Slap of the primer back against the firing pin would drive the pin back against the hammer with sufficient force to throw the hammer back to full cock.)

Believe me, I quickly learned not to do that!!

Oh well, was much younger and immortal in my "salad" days......and maybe luckier...

Marc,

I'm using several bullets in my 500/450. I have shot several hundred Lazer cast brand(made here in Oregon) .458 diameter, 350 grain flat points. They seem to shoot about as well as anything else I have tried. The bores on my 1880's vintage T. Turner double are badly worn from many, many years of hunting in India. I also have shot several hundred each of the following from Lyman moulds; 330 grain flat base hollow points (Gould type), this same bullet as a non-hollow point of about 350 grains, (I drop in a lead shot to close the hole for the hollow point pin prior to casting) and an old Lyman round nose gas check design of about 375 grains when cast fairly hard.

I am going to make a paper patch mould that is adjustable for weight and is of a diameter that will patch up to groove diameter or as big as the throats will allow. If I cast it of soft lead I'm hoping it will slug up to groove diameter and help with accuracy.

If I can't get it to shoot better than it has been lately, I'll probably make a new set of barrels as I really like the gun and the caliber.

Again, good luck with your project, it sounds like fun.