Myself and a fellow forum member have been talking about launching heavy bullets in our .45Colt rifles for quite awhile. Well today was the day I made it to the range and ran the first test loads. Since both of these loads are unpublished and using a non-traditional powder I'm not sharing the data so I don't step on any forum rules. I wanted to get into 45-70 Trap Door power levels, while using a slow burning powder to keep pressure down. Keeping the recoil to a shove instead of a smack would be a bonus. With that in mind I selected RL-7 rifle powder. Both bullets were cast from Lee molds. The 340gr 45-70 mold was cast as is and then sized to .454. The 300gr mold was opened up a bit and I removed the gas check shank and used it plain base. It was also sized at .454. You definitely know you pulled the trigger when you light these off, but the recoil is tolerable. I was shooting in a T-shirt with a slip on Limbsaver on the butt stock. I know you can't have enough pictures...so here's the rifle set up and the target results.
You could probably get any animal's attention directing those semi trucks into a small area like that. Very good results I'd say.
I used to load 300gr JSP's to the 1500fps level in a Marlin 45 Colt Limited. It will take make the same speeds as 44 magnum loads with less pressure.
