.452" XTP in Ruger SRH?

[mrawesome22]

Anyone here have experience with the .452" XTP in the Ruger SRH? I want to load the 250gr XTP but my Lyman manual says "Larger than .451" bullets will not allow the cartridge to be used do to the tight tolerances found in the chambers."

They give load data for the .452" XTP then tell you not to use it
I don't get it.

 

[iburnpowdah]

Ruger SRH

Mr A.,

All Hornady XTP 44 mag jacketed bullets are .452 whether factory loaded or in component form. That is the correct diameter. Hornady XTP's are extremely high quality, fly well and you will find it near impossible to get jacket/core seperation at any 44 mag velocity especially in a handgun. I use Winchester 296 or Hodgdon H110 depending on what i have on hand. Buy yourself the newest Hornady reloading manual. It will have loads of solid info you can use. And don't afraid to shoot high quality, hard cast bullets at any reasonable speed. They are really all you need in that caliber. Grab some lead, some WLP primers and a # of Unique for some great shootin'. Try 240-300 grainers over 8-10 grains for a handy, dandy handload. Hope that helps! -dean-

 

[zxcvbob]

Is that SRH a .45 Colt or a .454 Casull?

 

[SL1]

Iburnpowdah,

You were asked about 45 Long Colt and gave an answer for .44 mag?!

I think you meant to say that all Hornady 45 Colt revolver bullets are 0.452" diameter. But you said .44 mag bullets are that diameter, when they are really 0.429".

You then went on to write about .44 Mag, so, is the load data you gave for a .44 Mag or a .45 Colt?

My Hornady Manual (4th Edition) shows a maximum of 7.7 gr Unique for 250 grain 45 Colt standard loads and does not list Unique for the hot "Ruger & T/C only" loads. A look at Lee's "Modern Reloading" lists a maximum of 6.8 grains of Unique for a 300 gr XTP in 45 Colt at the standard pressure levels (12,600 CUP).

So, your "240-300 grainers over 8-10 grains for a handy, dandy handload" seems pretty hot for a Long Colt. Those loads do seem OK for the .44 Mag, so I don't expect them to damage a Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt, because the same gun can handle 454 Casull chambering. But, They are over published maximums for a 45 Colt and need to include a caveat in postings on sites like this one.

SL1

 

[rantingredneck]

Is that SRH a .45 Colt or a .454 Casull?

Both. .454 Casull is a "magnumized" version of the .45LC. Longer stronger case, but same bullet diameter. Most .454 handguns will fire .45 Colt as well. I believe Freedom Arms, manufacturer of the original factory .454 Casull, recommends not doing this, but the Ruger's cylinder is marked for both calibers. If you move up to the .460SW you can fire all three.

 

[mrawesome22]

My cylinder is marked for the 454 Casull and the 45 Colt.

iburnpowdah, you should seriously consider changing your name to Miss Information LOL.

BTW, Hornady is about the only bullet maker using .452" diameter for their 45 cal jacketed bullets. Other's use .451" for their jacketed bullets.

Anyway, I'm going to pick up some factory Hornady rounds today and if they work, I'll start reloading the .452" XTP. I just don't understand why Lyman says not to use a .452" jacketed bullet, then shows load data using them

 

[SL1]

One more note on the Unique data:

I did find in Speer's new manual (#14) a Unique load for one of their older "cup & core" (not Unicore) type bullets in 45 Colt "for Ruger and Contender only" section. Those bullets are similar to XTPs in construction. The load is 10.5 grains Unique for a 260 grain bullet, giving a pressure "roughly halfway between standard 45 Colt and 44 Magnum pressures" which I guess means about 25,000 psi. It produced 1079 fps from a 7.5" Blackhawk barrel. No data was given for Unique behind a 300 grain bullet.

That seems to confirm that the "240-300 grainers over 8-10 grains" of Unique is going to be OK in a .45 Colt Super Redhawk (stronger gun than the Blackhawk).

SL1

 

[mrawesome22]

I'm going for full house 454 loads. I'm going to try a 250gr XTP with around 36gr H110. That should produce around 2000fps Awesome.

 

[markr]

I'm going for full house 454 loads. I'm going to try a 250gr XTP with around 36gr H110. That should produce around 2000fps Awesome.

Be prepared for the need to knock the emtpy cases out of the chamber with a cleaning rod. That was my experience with the 240gr XTP @ 2000fps fire out of a SRH, .454c, w/ 7.5" barrel. Since you will be shooting a slightly heavier bullet at the same velocity, pressure may be higher, and the stuck case issue compounded. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds. I did quite a bit of research on this issue, and with the same ammo. It seems a lot of folks have had the same issues.

I started a thread over at RugerForum.com on this issue to learn more about it.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18423

It is interesting to note that Ruger started making the .480 SRH with a 5 shot cylinder. Some folks also sent their guns back to Ruger to have the chambers polished, or even cylinders replaced. My opinion is that Ruger may have pushed the 6 shot pistol to "One-up" 5 shot Freedom arms pistols, and may not have had the metallurgy to back it up. It is still a great gun, just don't expect to shoot maximum loads without some issues. I am interested in knowing what your outcome is.

One more note and I'll quit: When I researched Ruger's web site, it was funny to note that Ruger does not recommend reloading ammunition for their firearms. (Damn liability!) Freedom Arm's web site give you reloading data though.

 

[Dr. A]

I'd suggest reading up on the thinner skinned 250gr. XTP. Hornady has told me and Speer, in their most recent manual states some bullets ares intended for lower velocity because of the greater friction going through the forcing cone as compared to the thicker skinned (jacketed) 240 and 300gr. XTP's that were specifically designed for the higher pressures. I originally used the bullet with good success in my Muzzle loader at much higher velocities. If it works there why can't it work in my 454's? It was inferred that flame cutting and damage can result. Read up on this cartridge. Its not just a revolver load you're making, but rather a little bomb. Going for the max 55,000 CUP and up is going to make a less reliable load than one that produces 1500 or 1600fps. and significantly less pressure.

The metal in the SRH is high tech, but will expand at this very high pressure, and then go back, making the softer cases (early Hornady) very hard to extract. My recent manufacture SRH has not had case extraction problems, and has functioned easily with any higher pressures I've used. I just don't want to erode the forcing cone. I get good low pressure loads from shooting cast with slightly sub-max velocities and good effect on game. This goes for both my 5 shot cylinder gun and the SRH.

 

[zxcvbob]

Have you thought about using 300+ grain cast bullets?

#9 and 2400 are better powders for full-house .454 loads than 296 or H-110 because the latter are too slow and bulky to get anywhere near 65000 psi in a .454 Casull cartridge. Probably 25% of the powder will get blown out the barrel unburned.

 

[Dr. A]

I'll second that. My 300gr. cast bullet load shows no pressure signs, and I use a dose of AA#9 that is significantly under max to even attain 1600fps. Not much more you could possibly need.

 

[mrawesome22]

Well I have the dies ordered and I'm going to try the 240gr XTP Magnum. I'm going to start out with 36gr H110. That should give me around 1900fps. These should be very powerful, and hopefully they will also be accurate. I bought two boxes of the Hornady factory 240gr loadings yesterday and shot all but 10 of them. They were very accurate at 20yds shooting off hand. I was literally cutting holes. Hopefully my hand loads will do the same. I had no extraction issues and hopefully my hand loads won't either. I'll keep you posted.

I'm also considering the Oregon Trail 360gr gas check bullet. That should be a real thumper. But I've never loaded a gas checked bullet so I'll have to read up on them.

Thanks guys.

 

[Apache6]

I have the same gun. I use .454 diameter cast bullets. If you use XTP's, use XTP MAG bullets or they won't stay together at Casull velocity.

 

[colt45fan]

.452 XTP in Ruger 454 casull

I use the .452 XTP 250 gr. in my Ruger Super Red Hawk .454 casull, I have had no problems with this load. My friend has a Raging Bull and puma lever action in the same caliber and uses the same bullets without problem. I load about a half grain below max, not very exciting I know, and can usually keep 6 shots under 4 inches at 100 yards with a 2x burris. I have used this load to kill a cow elk at about 60 yards and a pig at about 30 yards. The only problem I have seen in sticking cartridges in the cylinders is in my friends Taurus, but it wasn't the guns fault, it is because he fired 45 long colt ammo first. The reason manufacturers don't want you to fire long colt ammo is because it is shorter and will consequently build deposits up in your cylinder that will interfere with the crimp on your 454 being able to open up, which can lead to an increase in pressure. You just have to clean the cylinders after firing 45 colt ammo and you'll be fine. It's nothing unusual, 38/357 and 44spcl/44mag have the same problem. There was a review of the SRH when it was introduced in the 454 caliber that many people misquote. Basically an articles writer couldn't get the shells to eject, had to bang it on the table, so he blamed the gun. Turned out, he had loaded and fired 44 mag ammo out of it and they were swollen.

 

[markr]

I have the same gun. I use .454 diameter cast bullets. If you use XTP's, use XTP MAG bullets or they won't stay together at Casull velocity.

I have HNDY factory ammo in 300GR. XTP, not mag. So they must be ok. I think you want the MAG's for really hot loads. The Hornady factory ammo in 240 gr. XTP/MAG is listed at 2000 FPS at the muzzle. That is pretty hot.

In response to colt45fan. The stuck case issue is not just related to the author of that article. There are quite a few people having the same issue, including me. I had this problem with the Hornady factory 240 Gr. XTP/MAG in my SRH, and not because of firing lead bullets. It is odd that I have found folks using the exact same ammo and gun with no problem, and others with the same problem. I haven't had this problem with any other ammo, probably because it wasn't near as hot. So I am not suprised that you don't have stuck case with that 250 grainer since it probably isn't clocking 2000 FPS or equalling the pressure of the 240 gr MAG. Or is it????? I'm not responding to dispute you, I am just on a quest for information about my favorite revolver, and reloading for it. The only answer I really have thus far is "Don't shoot those bullets".

 

[colt45fan]

stuck cases in 454 casull

The only factory ammo I have fired is cor bon and didn't have any stuck case problems. I ordered 100 pack of starline and began reloading immediately, so I have not tried the hornady 240 factory load. I have also loaded 300 gr xtp without problem, but again I was about 1/2 of a grain below max. I haven't fired the 250 grain load over a chrono, but according to my book it should be about 1750 fps. So, I'd say they are no where near as hot as the hornady stuff. What barrel length is the hornady suppose to get 2000 fps out of? I may have to buy a new book.

But, back to the original question that started this thread which was can you fire 250gr xtp out of SRH. My answer is, that's all I fire out of mine lately and have had no problems.