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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Big Bore Rifles
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GreenjoyTJ
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Reged: 04/05/03
Posts: 28
Loc: Pickering, Ontario, Canada
Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H&H?
      #5475 - 07/12/03 02:09 PM

I noticed in the Lyman 48th edition reloading handbook that
cast bullet molds for the .458 Win Mag (& 375 H&H) are available. Has any one tried using cast bullets perhaps at lighter load levels to duplicate hot 45-70 Gov. loads.
It looks like it would be a lot of fun target shooting with this type of handload. The book shows a .375 335gr bullet
with a SD .335 and B.C 360 which should be quite formidable on game as well as targets.

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RobertD
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Reged: 16/11/03
Posts: 67
Loc: East Bay, CA, USA
Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H&H? [Re: GreenjoyTJ]
      #5491 - 07/12/03 08:31 PM

I haven't tried cast bullets in the 375, but I did try them in the 458 and the 416. I think loading standard weights is a good choice, so the sights will still regulate correctly. You can push them close to factory velocities and get good results that way.

Just don't push them too fast. I did that in the Rigby with a 350 grain cast and had terrible leading problems.

But, if you want to shoot NA game, they are the perfect choice.

You don't have to cast your own, as there are several cast manufacturers that make cast bullets in those calibers. Try to find hard cast ones with high velocity lubes on them, then stick to cool buring powders.

RobertD

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KDMCustom
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Reged: 01/04/07
Posts: 38
Loc: Arizona, USA
Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H&H? [Re: RobertD]
      #82147 - 10/07/07 08:53 AM

I have shot many cast bullets in the 458 Win Mag. 400 grains up to 550 grains. They're great for target shooting and hunting. You can load them down to 1300 fps or up to 2000 fps. I did get some pretty decent accuracy too. The heavy weights penetrate really well.

--------------------
KDM Custom
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Tatume
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Reged: 09/06/07
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Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H&H? [Re: KDMCustom]
      #82148 - 10/07/07 10:13 AM

I have been shooting cast bullets in the 458 Win Mag for years, with complete satisfaction. Weights from 350 to 500 gr work perfectly. The lighter 350 - 400 gr bullets make great deer loads, and can be used at surprising distances.

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watto
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Reged: 10/06/07
Posts: 90
Loc: Victoria,Australia
Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H& [Re: Tatume]
      #82547 - 16/07/07 11:28 PM

I had a Ruger #1 in .458WM in which I shot 350gn Woodleighs as my Sambar deer load and played with
500gn cast bullets with a card wad between powder and projectile base, with if I remember correctly
about 74 grns of ADI 2207 (?close to RL7) @ 2000 fps. This used to consistently produce clover leaf
groups at 50mtrs.

All the best, Ian.

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9.3x57
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Reged: 22/04/07
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Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H&H? [Re: GreenjoyTJ]
      #82554 - 17/07/07 01:30 AM

Have shot targets with cast bullets in the .375 and deer, bear and range cattle with the very excellent LEE 402 grain {wheelweights} Hollow Point bullet in the .45-70 at 1640 fps which would make it a likely performance level for your .458.

Remember, HARD does not necessarily mean the elimination of leading. An undersized, hard bullet will lead like the devil. I want my cast bullets to be .001" or .002" over groove diameter. A softer bullet will upset some, fill the grooves and if lubed properly lead very little at all or none at all. You may find leading more annoying in cold weather than hot.

The LEE is actually just about .0005" under groove in my Marlin and I had to work up a load using a felt grease wad and card column to eliminate all leading in summer, with just a smidgen in winter.

If you can find that LEE HP {I believe it is discontinued} you will have the best .45 cast hunting bullet ever made for deer and black bear in my opinion. It acts just like a Nosler and sheds the front HP portion with the shank penetrating deeply. One of the range cattle i shot with it was injured by a car, raving mad and charged me hell-for-leather and that bullet penetrated 24" of head, neck vertebrae and shoulder muscle. It is a very impressive performer. I once shot a doe deer with it, she standing angling from me at about 40 yards and at the shot she flipped and when I walked up to her there was a piece of liver the size of a fingersteak laying on the ground next to her with an exit wound you could slide a pack of cigarettes through without getting it bloody, the bullet continuing on toward the next Zip Code. Another incident where that bullet proved itself was when I had to shoot thru a 4" thick fir bough to get to the chest of a treed bear. Bullet penetrated the bough, the bear's forearm, chest and exited out the critter's back. I do believe you will have a tough time recovering one of those things inside a game animal if you cast them from wheelweights and shoot them at 1640 fps.

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DarylS
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Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H&H? [Re: GreenjoyTJ]
      #82560 - 17/07/07 02:07 AM

I've shot cast in both calibres since the early 70's. In the .375, using LBT Blue, I went all the way to 2,740fps with the .375 Lyman gas chekced mould, sized .377" without leading, using hardened and tempered WW bullets to about brinel 20.
: In the .458, I've shot several bear and moose with cast bullets in the 340 to 560gr. weights, from 1,650fps to 2,100fps with the 340gr. and 1,960fps with the 560 gr. Lyman, all in straight unhardened wheelweights. I've never had leading problems in 3 different .458's using WW alloys as long as descent lubricant and .459" bullets are used.
: The nice thing about the .458, is that straight WW alloy, if cast and sized oversize and a descent lube is used, like the Lyman Moly, the alloy will take up to 2,200fps without leading and expansion is pretty much gauranteed, without breakup that happens with harder alloys.
; .458's are easy to cast & there are a lot of good moulds available in that calibre. My current .375 mould is the RCBS 250gr. Mine runs 265gr. in WW alloy and shoots splendidly sized at .377" both in the .375 Big Bore '94 and .375/06IMP at up to 1,900fps in straight WW alloy. I haven't tried hardened WW bullets in it yet.
; Straight WW alloy will harden up to about brinel 33, which is 50% harder than Linotype, but not as brittle, so it still penetrates fairly well while allowing higher velcities.
; Shooting lead in the bog bores is fun and allows much cheap shooting. Most powders work well in the large ones as well, with H4895 being one of the best for powerful loads and down to about 1,600fps too.
; Lyman's cast bulet handbook is a good one to get, with some good articles in the front on cast shooting as well as much needed general info on shooting lead.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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jhrosier
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Reged: 21/11/04
Posts: 3
Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H& [Re: DarylS]
      #84485 - 23/08/07 12:44 PM

I've shot cast bullets at targets in the .375H&H, Ruger #1 rifle.
I used a light load of 4198 under a Lyman bullet #375449, which casts at about 265 gr.
The velocity is probably about the same as a 38-55.
This load will put 10 shots in to one big hole at 50 yds and is fun to shoot.
I use a 3/4" sized piece of dacron fiber to keep the powder near the primer.

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Stuart
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Reged: 24/05/07
Posts: 58
Loc: Mission, B.C., Canada
Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H& [Re: GreenjoyTJ]
      #84516 - 24/08/07 12:48 AM

GreenjoyTJ,

If you don't end up casting your own, you might check out thebulletbarn.com here in B.C. They do good hard cast bullets with gas checks and are great to deal with. (Shipping to Ontario could be a bit costly, though.) There is also a fellow from Sask. on the Canadian Gunnutz forum, Ben Hunchak, who is "Mr Cast Bullets."

Stuart

--------------------
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smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles
who really mean it. (Mark Twain)

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BillfromOregon
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Reged: 27/10/04
Posts: 254
Loc: Sweetwater, by God Texas
Re: Any one using cast bullets in the .458 Win mag or 375 H& [Re: Stuart]
      #89067 - 16/11/07 02:59 AM

I haven't shot cast in the .375 or the .458 WM, but have shot some in .38-55 and a lot in various .45-70s. I did have a Ruger No. 1 in .416 Rigby several years ago, and got 1.2-inch groups at 100 yards using the RCBS .365-grain gas check and something like 51 grains XMP5744 for about 2,000 fps. Very pleasant to shoot.

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