What is the best way to reload this wildcat cartridge? Is it easier to use 416 Rem brass or Hornady basic brass? How about dies? Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Ming

Ming,
Parker Ackley said it best "unformed NORMA basic magnum brass is just about perfect". Boddingtion suggests using a lead bullet, that is 458 bore and .375 neck, to fireform from 375. I bet you could do the same with 416. dont us remington brass (nickle) it's too hard.
You can get lott headspamps, if you want.
jeffe

Ming,
I reload my 450 Barnes Supreme, which is very similar to the Ackley, by necking down the cylindrical/basic brass (I use "Barnes Ammo" brass) in the sizing die, trim and chamfer, and fireform with a light 458 bullet and a stout load of just about any powder.

You could also get some perfectly formed brass by popping off the 416 Remington ammo in the 450 Ackley chamber and let the bullet rattle down the bore, since they headspace on the belt, if you wanted to waste some 416 Remington ammo.

I also load the 416 Barnes Supreme similarly, or just fire some factory 375 H&H ammo to get brass.

My 450 Barnes Supreme predates (before 1949) The Watts, Ackley, and Lott, of course. The 416 Barnes Supreme has been around since before 1949 too, I think, and I am not talking about the 416 Barnes lever action round with a rim.

Psst! Don't get the LAF boys started on a 416 rimmed cartridge, please.

I use box stock .375 H&H brass. Put about 20 grs of bulleseye in it, add cream of wheat to the top and seal the case mouth with some soap. Fire this and the shoulder will form. I then load some std 450 ackleys with 500 gr bullets and I'm done. Works like a charm.-Rob

Thanks guys for the good info. I like the idea of using the Basic Magnum brass. I am not sure how hard it is to use the sizing die to form the neck from the straight case. Does anyone know where can I find articles written by Parker Ackley about the 450 Ackley? Cheers! Ming

Thanks Jeff for the info. I will see if I can get the handbooks. Cheers! Ming

ming,
I don't think Ackley's books, above, have much except some suspect load data on the 450 Ackley.

Chapter 51 of the Wolfe Publications book, _Big Bore Rifles and Cartridges_, has a nice article by Gil Sengel on the 450 Ackley.

The sizing die forms the shoulder effortlessly on the basic brass, it just has to be fire formed to sharpen it up.

BTW, I think Jack Lott made the COL of the 458 Lott 2.80" because the 375 H&H shortens from 2.85" to 2.80" when the neck expands in fire forming or necking up. Close to it. Always should trim the new Lott case to 2.79" and chamfer and deburr before loading to prevent wrinkled and collapsed cases in the "ghost shoulder" area.

The basic brass starts out closer to 2.90" and takes more trimming.

About 15 years ago I bought a box of reloading dies at a gunshow. Included was a set of dies which said .450 American. Turns out that they were .450 Ackley dies. As you know, since one has the dies, one must build a rifle. I had several P-14 Enfield actions at the time which weren't doing anything so I found a new barrel in .458 Winchester and had it re-chambered to .450 Ackley. I lucked onto an unfinished stock at a show and after a while I had a real boomer. With no ammo. I bought some .375 cylindral brass from Huntington and found an old Ackley book which suggested some loadings. Of course, since Ackley went a little overboard on his powder recommendations I down-loaded everything about 20% as a starter and worked up. This rifle weighs about 10 1/2 pounds and firing 500 grain bullets at 2350 fps (93 grains of 4320) it really doesn't beat you up too bad. I believe that if I had a grandaddy tusker in my sights, I wouldn't feel a thing.

Thanks DaggaRon for the info. I know that the 458 Lott is becoming a standard cartridge but I just like the wildcat (450 Ackley) version better. I already have a custom made Winchester M70 in 458 Win. so it does not matter if the 450 Ackley is not compatible with it. I got a CZ 550 458 Win on the way so it will be rechambered into a 450 Ackley hopefully soon. I also got the basic brass ordered. I will try to call CH4D to see if they have a 450 Ackley die set in stock. Cheers! Ming

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ming:
Hi Ming,
Mast Technologies sells 375 H&H cylindrical brass without a headstamp by the box or by the 100. There is a link on my site at www.470mbogo.com. As mentioned these should be no problem to form and will need trimming and your ready to reload.

take care,
470 Mbogo

You can also get 450 ackley brass/ammo with the proper headstamp from A-square, or at least yo could. - Dan

470 Mbogo

My friend just got some Bell 458 Lott brass and he is not very impressed with the quality of the brass. That is the reason why I try to stay away from them. I have ordered some Hornady basic brass and hopefully they will be better. I have used Hornady brass in other calibers and have been happy about their quality. Anyway, all my reloading components for the 450 Ackley should be ready sometime next week. Now I need to find a good gusmith that would rechamber the CZ 550. Thanks for all the info guys. Cheers! Ming

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ming:
Hi Ming,
I think you will find that Jim Bell is still making brass undeer the name Bell and Mast Technologies is a seperate maker of brass. My buddie ordered the 375 basic brass without the headstamp for both his 375 Weatherby and his 450 Ackley. I use their 416 Rigby cylindrical brass withpout the headstamp for my 470 Mbogo brass and I have yet to replace one even after 14 reloadings. Call them or e-mail them and ask for yourself. I think you might be better off for it.
470 Mbogo

Ming
Call Pete at Quality Cartridge. I have called and talked to him about something simple and an hour later He is still talking. Pete works with CH$D on alot of stuff. Pete also does not prefer to work with the bell basic but loves the Hornady Basic. I have a 450watts and have used or resized cases like everyone above has posted it all works.My favorite is a charge of 2400 a 45cal black powder thick felt wad fill the rest of the case with canning wax. CH4D also is where I got my dies set/resizing set. I called him told him what I was going to do, 375h&h to the watts and he sent me everything I needed and it works great.good luck RNS

http://www.ch4d.com/
http://www.owlnet.com/quality/index.html

That Quality Cartridge link doesn't seem to work. Anyone have a new one? - Dan

ming,

I have a .450 Ackley biuld from a CZ 550 Mag.

The best way is to purchase RWS brass in .375 H&H, and form it with dies to blow up the neck and made a tubular brass without shoulder. After that you can use RCBS dies for .458 Win Mag with no problems.

Hi guys,

I just got some Hornady basic brass today. They measured around 1.840 in. I ran a few of them through the resizing die and they are around 1.845 in. These brass are just perfect for the 450 Ackley. I need to fireform them to form a real shoulder. Who would like to fireform some 450 Ackley brass for me? How much? I only need 6 or 7 of them fireformed and I perfer somebody from America. Thanks. Cheers. Ming

My bad about the dimensions! It should be the following:

2.840 new Hornady basic brass.
2.845 sized.

Thanks. Cheers! Ming

Ming how do you like the Hornady brass?? I have resized some for my 450 watts and got it as long as 2.90". I like the extra lenght since it will chamber in my rifle. The brass seemed very to be good stuff. I just have not yet made it to the range to fire some of it.

Quality Cartridge
try this link http://www.qual-cart.com/

RNS

Thanks RNS for the link. I will try to ask them to see if they could make me a few 450 Ackley rounds for the feeding work.

Yes, I like Hornady brass a lot. I am using Hornady brass for my 475 Linebaugh, 454 Casull, and 308 Winchester. Of course, I will be using their basic brass for the 450 Ackley as well. I wish they would make some for the 416 Rigby as well as other non-common calibers.

So you got a 450 Watts? I assume it is basically a 458 Lott made to 2.85 in. I am a big fan of the 458 Winchester but decided to have a 450 Ackley instead of the 458 Lott. The Ackley just looks more impressive with a minimum body taper and a parrallel neck. Oh well, I hope that it will turn out good. Thanks. Cheers! Ming

Ming Ibet you will have a blast with it. Have fun and good shooting. RNS

Ran into the designer of the the 50 Capstick.

Gene suggested the 458 AI was the way to go, since it was the most efficent case design of the group, and, you could also fire 450 Lott, and 458 Win in a pinch.

Sounds like I'm going to have to rechamber a 458 CZ 550 for this one...
gs

Thanks RNS. That link worked. - Dan