WB
Big Bad Leroy Brown, the .450 GNR.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019, 18:59

Been thinking about that .450 GNR at max. performance envelope. My .458 Win. RIFLE shooting always ended in a little disappointment and short of published ballistics with jacketed 500 gr. There was just not enough capacity for powder slow enough to give me the velocity I wanted. Usually was just under 2000 fps. It still was powerful and kicked the literal snot out of me. The 10 lb. M77RS Tropical was better to shoot than the 9 lb. No. 1. Cast bullets were a little lighter than the mould indicated and happily sailed out at 2100 fps. That was from a 24” barrel.

The 13”+brake Encore pistol barrel will be really hard pressed to burn powders. I think along the lines of IMR 3031 or H322 will be the most potent at the 60 or so grs. capacity under a long bullet. If you equaled the .458 published ballistics at 2,150 and deducted say 40 fps per inch, that garners you around 1700-1800 fps with a 500 gr. Bullet. Personally I can’t handle that from a 6 lb., scoped handgun. My limit is a 400 gr. at 1800-1900 fps. Ballistically about equal to a short barreled .416 Rigby. It hurts. That .458/500/1800 fps is EXPERT levels and still ballistically the same as a .450 Nitro or .458 Win. rifle at 150 yds. I think a more realistic (for an over the top) goal. My goodness, what would it NOT shoot through? Personally I’d be a bit inclined to back off on bullet weight to a modern homogenous alloy flat tip bullet and get to my 1900 fps and be happy as a clam. There reaches a point that I physically just can’t handle it any more. I have to stay under that or I’m no good, especially under pressure.

This is a link to some really neat “modern” real fancy bullets that are specialty designed to perform in a certain manner, not a gimmick, for a special use. The HP is designed to stick a pointy polymer tip in to aid flat trajectories. A couple bucks each is not a big thing when tens of thousands are on the line AND maybe your life! If I lived in a place where you could not use lead I’d work up a bad boy load for that 258 gr. at around 2200-2300 fps and not worry about anything this side of something as big as a house. The 450 gr. looks like a contender for shooting houses, even the lighter ones look really useful. There are many others from other makers out there too. Got to make your own choices, so there are no wrong ones.

https://cuttingedgebullets.com/shop/cutting-edge-bullets/rifle-bullets?caliber=66