Riflecrank
AH veteran
DrBob,
If you ever wish to be a Knight of the Square Table of King Four Five Eight Winchester Magnum,
we'll have to call you Sir Robert or Sir Bridges, since we already have our most senior member called Sir Bob.
Sir Toby already has a chair there with his Sir Name on it.
Amen to the Hodgdon Extreme powders, all of them from H4198 through VARGET,
all having excellent TBI (Thermo Ballistic Independence).
BENCHMARK is probably the best, so it is designated as the benchmark for load testing to eliminate temperature considerations.
Since 2016, the ball powders AA-2230 and AA-2460 have been reformulated for excellent TBI also.
They are very close to the same powder, IMHO, AA-2230 is a form of AA-2460 in which the little spheres have been flattened to make them burn just a little faster and pack into a smaller space.
Lots of great new powders and old, stick and ball, I use AA-5744 for max loads with light bullets,
and CFE 223 for max loads with heavy bullets.
IMR 8208 XBR has been proven excellent too. Too many excellent powders to shake a stick at,
Alliant Power Pro line, etc.
H4895 may be the most flexible for use in the widest range of loads.
From +60% LR reduced loads to +110% compressed after drop tube use.
As a stunt, I started with the Maximum .458 Lott load in the Woodleigh manual for their 400-gr PPSN,
for use in the .458XL/.458 WM+, so sure am I of the King of Cartridges' capabilities:
And that reminds me of the .458/404-gr Shock Hammer by Hammer Bullets, developed by Square Table request to Hammer Bullets.
It can be driven at 2500-2600 fps in the .458 WM+/.458XL, at COLs of 3.38" to 3.58", depending on the PDR trough used to crimp it (PDR stands for Parabolic Drag Reduction drive bands, of sinusoidal shape with peaks and troughs). G1 BC is about 0.419.
It can also be loaded at 3.28" COL minimum in 2.5" brass, or 3.58" maximum COL in 2.8" brass.
Two of our Knights have taken cape buffalo with one shot kills with that bullet at +2500 fps MV with 2.5" brass and COL of 3.48" or 3.58", non-Norma brass.
3.48" COL in Norma brass is equivalent to 3.58" COL in the other makes, listed above, for net capacity.
The 404-gr Shock Hammer is a great deer bullet too.
CEB has a brass FN Safari Solid, either 400 grains or 450 grains your choice.
Match it to your soft point, your choice.
If you ever wish to be a Knight of the Square Table of King Four Five Eight Winchester Magnum,
we'll have to call you Sir Robert or Sir Bridges, since we already have our most senior member called Sir Bob.
Sir Toby already has a chair there with his Sir Name on it.
Amen to the Hodgdon Extreme powders, all of them from H4198 through VARGET,
all having excellent TBI (Thermo Ballistic Independence).
BENCHMARK is probably the best, so it is designated as the benchmark for load testing to eliminate temperature considerations.
Since 2016, the ball powders AA-2230 and AA-2460 have been reformulated for excellent TBI also.
They are very close to the same powder, IMHO, AA-2230 is a form of AA-2460 in which the little spheres have been flattened to make them burn just a little faster and pack into a smaller space.
Lots of great new powders and old, stick and ball, I use AA-5744 for max loads with light bullets,
and CFE 223 for max loads with heavy bullets.
IMR 8208 XBR has been proven excellent too. Too many excellent powders to shake a stick at,
Alliant Power Pro line, etc.
H4895 may be the most flexible for use in the widest range of loads.
From +60% LR reduced loads to +110% compressed after drop tube use.
As a stunt, I started with the Maximum .458 Lott load in the Woodleigh manual for their 400-gr PPSN,
for use in the .458XL/.458 WM+, so sure am I of the King of Cartridges' capabilities:
And that reminds me of the .458/404-gr Shock Hammer by Hammer Bullets, developed by Square Table request to Hammer Bullets.
It can be driven at 2500-2600 fps in the .458 WM+/.458XL, at COLs of 3.38" to 3.58", depending on the PDR trough used to crimp it (PDR stands for Parabolic Drag Reduction drive bands, of sinusoidal shape with peaks and troughs). G1 BC is about 0.419.
It can also be loaded at 3.28" COL minimum in 2.5" brass, or 3.58" maximum COL in 2.8" brass.
Two of our Knights have taken cape buffalo with one shot kills with that bullet at +2500 fps MV with 2.5" brass and COL of 3.48" or 3.58", non-Norma brass.
3.48" COL in Norma brass is equivalent to 3.58" COL in the other makes, listed above, for net capacity.
The 404-gr Shock Hammer is a great deer bullet too.
CEB has a brass FN Safari Solid, either 400 grains or 450 grains your choice.
Match it to your soft point, your choice.
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