Is it me or h110

Any suggestions on what jacketed I should try. Out of swift a frame and they are expensive any good cheaper ones I should try
 
According to the manufacturers, Hornady's 240gr and 300gr Mag XTP, and Speer's 300gr Deep Curl bullets are rated for full power 454 Casull loads. Their other 45 caliber bullets are only suitable for velocity/pressure levels below that of full power Casull loads. Sierra's 45 caliber offerings are also only suitable for loads below that of full power 454 Casull loads. The respective bullet loading manuals go into further detail concerning 454 Casull loads.

As I'm sure you are aware, you don't really need a full power Casull load to effectively dispatch deer. A suitable reduced 454 load can be developed using most any of the 45 caliber jacketed bullets.
 
Road Clam said:
I've downloaded H110 about 8% over max load suggestions and saw no real loss in consistency per my chrono testing but the general consensus is don't do it.
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It's not just a general concensus; it's a published warning from Hodgdon. It used to be on the front page of their load data site, but it disappeared when they remodeled the site. I wrote and asked them why they had removed it, and the tech responding said he hadn't realized it was gone and that it was an oversight that would be corrected, so it will eventually reappear.

The reason not to load the powder down is indicated indirectly by all the fouling you see. If it isn't burning hot enough or under enough pressure to burn well, the powder is actually capable of extinguishing, leaving a bullet lodged in the barrel. Since this doesn't happen the majority of the time, it is easy for the shooter to fail to notice the gun has not fired properly and then fire the next round into the stuck bullet, bulging the barrel at a minimum and bursting metal in the worst case.


T. O'Heir said:
...They're about igniting the powder only. H110 doesn't require magnum primers anyway...
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The first sentence is true. The second may be so in some situations. The way to tell is to see which primer produces the lowest standard deviation number in your chronograph. That's the one you should be using as it is producing the most consistent ignition.

In 1989, CCI reformulated their magnum primers to better ignite powders in the St. Marks Powder plant's Wester Cannon (WC) series of spherical propellants. These powders include many favorites such as WC748, WC760, WC844, WC846, WC852 (sold in canister grade as 748, 760, H335, BL-(C)2, and H380, respectively) as well as WC296 (sold in canister grade as 296 in the Winchester brand and H110 in the Hodgdon brand). What they all have in common is heavy surface deterrent coatings that are needed to make their burn progressive (evolving gas at an increasing rate as the burn progresses). The heavy deterrent coating plays a role in the extinguishing phenomenon mentioned earlier. Getting these powders to light consistently through that heavy deterrent layer can require a hot, enduring flame. Hence the 1989 CCI reformulation of their magnum primers to provide those characteristics. Since then, other domestic primer makers seem to have followed suit with white hot spark throwing formulas.

CCI freely admits over the phone that their magnum small pistol and standard small rifle primers are the same primer with the same amount of the same priming mix and the same cup size and thickness and anvils. They are just split out into two sets of packages for marketing purposes. So, if you are using CCI small rifle primers, you have magnum pistol primers already. For most other makers, something similar probably holds true today. The question then becomes, do you want to move to small rifle magnum primers?

The reason against that is the cups tend to be heavier so you need a strong firing pin blow for them. If you have that, the plus for doing so is to raise start pressure to help ensure extinguishing does not occur. This may help address the cast bullet problem which is they are easier to push through the throat than jacketed bullets are, so they offer less resistance for the powder to build pressure against. Hotter ignition could help with that. More crimp could help with that. Again, lowest SD over the chronograph will tell the tale.
 
Thank you unclenick. I think I will save my h110 for the jacketed rounds and stick with my Vihtavuori n110. It burns really clean and is not quite as accurate but shoots well in my gun. Although it could just be me on the accuracy side as I am trying to get back to iron sights again. Like all casull rounds after ten my hand hurts and I start flinching. Today I shot a couple of double tap 400 grain bear loads that I picked up for fishing in Alaska bear protection. Only words are oh dear God. I think I will set them aside for just Alaska carry. I think I still have my hand and wrist. Dang that hurt
 
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The OP needs to use magnum primers w/ full-house loads, and a heavy crimp. A longer barrel also helps.

H110 is my goto powder for .44mag, .30 Carbine, .458SOCOM, and .221FB.
 
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My rule of thumb ... Is it accurate? Then don't worry about dirty. Shoot, try some black powder revolver shooting and see what dirty 'really' is! Fun!
 
Kevin Rohrer said:
The OP needs to use magnum primers w/ full-hour loads
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In my S&W 460 XVR 12" bbl XVR magnum I tested 50 gr of H110 using the Hornady 200 FTX bullet with both CCI standard and mag primers. Saw NO measurable difference in velocities or accuracy. Both were dirty, both burned all the powder, both exhibited a HUGE fireball, and both had velocities running about 2220 fps and SD's about 16 fps . I have yet to see any clear data advantages of using mag primers in leu of standard primers for typical smokeless loads. I do however notice better consistency when using mag primers in my 45-70 Sharps black powder rifle. (this along with the large rifle primer pocket flash holes enlarged to .094".
 
I'm starting to move away from H110/W296 now that I've found IMR4227. No, it doesn't produce the absolute velocity the H & W powders do, but I don't really need all that, anyway. I've found IMR4227 to be a bit more forgiving in load workup, and a lot easier on the wrists.
 
I load for the 454 Casull... by no means use my load data

I use an XTP Mag 240 gr. Hollow point
38.2 grains of h110
Small rifle mag primers.

These are full house loads from the Lee handloading book.for freedom arms hard cast bullets.
I tried to use a standard srp and had alot of squibs and if the did ignite... dirty as hell
Went to a sr mag primer... cured it all and burned clean very clean.
 
Charlie try Vihtavuori n110. Lyman starting load of 26.8 is sweet on the wrist and should do the job I need on whitetail. I am still playing with h110 I increased the load and it is better dirt wise but not as clean as n110. If the going out of business store has the other powders you guys recommend at the cheap prices I will try them also. I love shooting the thing but not at full power and I don’t want to shoot long colts
 
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It was much better after I kicked the load up two grains. However still dirty but lot less. I think it’s much better for full power loads as the Vihtavuori n110 is very bulky powder and I don’t think you could get full power loads from it but I am not experienced enough to call it
 
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Charlie try Vihtavuori n110.
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I work for a living... I can't afford that high falloutin' VV powder!

I'm getting along pretty well with IMR4227, and as I mentioned, I don't need maximum velocity. It works better, in my experience, with cast bullets, which is what I shoot primarily, anyway.
 
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