Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 458-400 Express

Does anyone have any load data for the 458-400 Express?
This cartridge uses .458 Bullets and .480 Ruger brass or cut down 45-70 brass.Custom built on a Ruger Bisley.
Need any and all loads or info.This round/data is scarce as hens teeth.
I did find this tidbit but no cigar on the load data..
http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/handguns/29738-i-think-we-need-handgun-photo-thread-126-print.html

Check out handloads.com, I did a google search.

Honestly I'd just use 480 data as a starting point. I'd venture a guess that with 400 gr bullets starting at 20gr of H-110 lit off with a CCI-350 and working up will cut to the chase of finding your ideal load.

Somewhere I have the issue of Handloader that has an article on the round. Note 480 brass is likely too short, you'll need to start with 475 Linebaugh brass if you want a 1.40" case.

Should I use start loads for 475Linebaugh and work up with Linebaugh brass
and same for 45-70 cut down brass
and
start loads for .480 with .480 brass & work up?
Finding .458 bullets with the correct crimp groove for correct length will be the next trick?
Thanks for the help!

Crimp groove and hence seating depth will have an effect on your pressure so I'm not going to say what data to start with as I have no idea what components you'll be using. As .458" bullets of the same weight have a smaller bore and more bearing length .475" bullets the same powder charges for the 480 and 475 will be opperating at high pressures in the 458-400. You'll definately want to use a chrono to work up loads.

If it was my gun and I had a bullet I could seat to a COL of somewhere between 1.7" and just shy of the cylinder length I personally would be comfortable starting with 20gr of H-110 under a CCI-350 based on the many, many rounds I've put through the 480. I'd make sure I had a chrony and work up to a 1200 fps load. You can probably load a bit hotter but recoil increases significantly past that point and most experienced handgun hunters claim killing power doesn't.

Thanks!

Give John Gallagher a shout as I think he ran a few of these builds.

http://www.gallagherfirearms.com/default.asp?page=2

Hey there KeeKeeRun,

Sorry I just got here a few years too late but I do have some data. Winchester 45-70 brass trimmed to 1.400 inches and NOT inside neck reamed. I would agree that above 1200, you won't notice much improvement but you will notice the recoil and the problems keeping the bullets in the crimp. I mostly shoot the "reduced loads" any more. My "favorite" is the Speer 405 FP at about 1200.
Speer 400 Gr. JSP 23 gr H110 Win LP 1250
Remington 405 JSP 23 gr H110 WLP 1250
RCBS 350 FP cast 26 gr W296 WLP 1400
Lee 340 FP cast 27 gr H110 WLP 1450
Lee 340 FP cast 10.5 gr Unique WLP 1000
405 laser cast 22 gr W296 CCI 350 1160
425 LBT LFN 10 gr Unique CCI 300 850

Of course the standard disclaimer applies. Safe in my gun. Work up loads safely from below this data for your gun.

Have fun.
BLD451

Now there's a cartridge I haven't heard of. Not sure what to make of it...I mean, why not just use a .454 Casull, or a 5 shot .45 Colt Ruger? As a "fighting" round for large game that can bite back, I think I'd rather have the larger bullet of the .480 than a higher velocity .45.

It's a round that was designed in the 90's as I recall. 45 colt and 454 didn't have much for component bullet choices back then beyond 300 gr, the 475 was a wildcat, the 480 didn't exist. In theory the 458-400 offered a practical step up from the 45/454 with reasonably available component bullets. Didn't really pan out or take off, but if you're looking for something just a bit different no doubt it's a suitable hammer.

FWIW, I think I remember a Seyfried article in "Handloader" about the round back in the 90's. Might give you another place to peek around.

While the Linebaughs were around at the time, one had to source 348 brass, trim, inside ream, and find or cast 475's etc to obtain that level of performance. John's 458 was a pretty straightforward design that allowed near that power level to the average guy who had the usual loading equipment and readily available components. 45-70 components and molds were plentiful and you just cut/trim your brass and start loading with what you found at the gun shop. It basically duplicated 45-70-405 Springfield loads (buffalo medicine) out of a 2.5-3 lb gun you could carry in a traditional holster. Nice insurance when fishing in bear country. Of course, now there are so many options that are production guns and factory loaded and that a guy can have pretty much all he can handle at a fairly reasonable price. What a day we live in....

It is a pretty neat gun. Accurate and powerful. Kind of like birdshead Rugers, custom 1911's, custom Mausers, etc. They were all customs at one time, then the companies saw what people were paying for "custom" touches and capitalized on it with factory offerings.

The 500 Smiths are nice and all, but any more, if I am going to carry a 4-5 pound gun with that kind of power, I will have a stock and sling on it. Getting old, I guess........

BTW, the write up was John Kronfeld, Handloader #187, June 1997 It is kind of a funny read if you find it. Pretty typical of most people who I've let shoot it.

The first thing I thought of after reading the OP was that it sounded like the 458 Whitehorse Magnum that Seyfried wrote about a long time ago.

The Seyfried article was a different round, as I recall a cut down belted mag case with 0.458" bullets. As bld451 mentioned, it was a John Kronfeld article on the 458-400.

It was definitely a different time 20 years back when if you wanted more than a 454 casull with 300 gr bullets you were looking at a custom gun, custom dies, custom bullet molds, modifying rifle brass, etc and even the 454 casull was an expensive proposition.

And in less than a decade from the mid 90's to mid 2000's you had a huge selection of commercial options in 454 Casull, 475 linebaugh, 480 Ruger, 500 S&W and 500 Linebaugh with reasonably available guns, brass, dies, component bullets and bullet molds. Not sure when the 500 JRH came out but with BFR chambering it you can have a reasonable affordable 50 cal that meets John Linebaughs PPP criteria.

Just noticed that Potsy mentioned and article by Seyfried in Handloader magazine. I distinctly recall reading a Guns & Ammo magazine article by Seyfried about a Whitehorse Magnum as a kid. It would of been in the early/mid 80's at the latest because my dad stopped subscribing to it around then.