I have a .45/.410 revolver which is designed to have a .45-70 cylinder that can be dropped into the frame for sales in California and Maryland. As such, itss barrel has a groove diameter of .458 which causes bullets to tumble no matter what I have tried. I was wondering if I might have better luck if I tried .458 bullets.

Anybody ever done this? Can you even get .458's in a proper wieght? Would it kill the brass or not work in my (Lee) dies?

that particular combo on my to-do list ... well, cut back 454 cases to 45 colt, then 458 bullets.. but havent got there yet

Dan, they would be heavy, but I think I have a 300-grain version of the old Gould mould that Lyman offered. It is in HP form, so that would help some, but still, they would be somewhere north of 300 grains, in all probability.

If you are interested, PM me and I will hunt up the mould and play with it a bit. I may have the same mould in solid nose as well, for whatever that is worth.

And I believe I have a .459 sizer, but if not, that is easily remedied...

A better question is, Is your cylinder big enough to allow a .458 bullet to be chambered?

If the groove diameter of your barrel is .458" diameter your would be fine shooting the .458" bullets but your may need to open the cyl throats up to accommodate this large of bullet. Elmer Keith shot some 458 bullets in a model P colt (probably 2nd generation) and blew the cylinder up on the third shot because of the .454" groove diameter of the Colt's barrel.
I have shot 335 grain gas checked FPL bullets in my Ruger Vaquero with good accuracy and heavy recoil using 454Casull brass. I tried to use 45LC brass but the bullets would jump crimp from recoil and lock-up the cyl. The small rifle primers in the 454 brass require either a heavier hammer or main spring to facilitate consistent ignition because of their thicker primber cup compared to pistol primers. Have you considered getting a 45/70 cyl for your pistol? I have shot a Magnum Research BFR in this cartridge and recoil with factory ammo was less than my "bear killer" load in the 45LC, though the ballistic performance left me a non-plussed but with hand loads could be stepped up. When I said factory ammo was low recoiling I mean way looooow waaaay dismal performance. Good luck and please post what you decide to do.

Cylnder is .480 the whole way down, so no problem there.

I have my eyes out for the 45-70 one, but it may be easier to have one custom made. The guy that owned the company that made the gun (Mil Inc.) ran off with all the money and papers in the mid-90's.

One thing I really want to know is if my dies will function with the bigger bullets. Seating on the ogive, they just might, but I've been wrong before.

quote:

Originally posted by Cowboy_Dan:
Cylnder is .480 the whole way down, so no problem there...

There may be a big problem. With bullets 0.006" larger than designed there might not be enough room for the case mouth to expand to release the bullet. If so pressures will be high. You will not be able to use normal .45LC dies as the expander is too small. Ask how I know.....


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If the chambers in the cylinder of your revolver have no reduced diameter throats as you say you should have no excessive pressure caused by not having case release of the bullet. You might get by loading the .458" bullets with the 45LC dies if you use a flairing die to open the case mouths to accept the larger slug, such as one for loading cast lead bullets. I think it would be worth a shot. (Pun intended)LOL