Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Hornady .450/400 3" Dies

After shooting some factory loads, I would like to put together some "home grown" loads of may own for my new Ruger #1 in .450/400 3". I understand Hornady has assigned a stock number (546421) and that they have been "sent to heat treat", but have yet to find the new dies.

Has anyone seen them yet? I have all of my components, just lacking the dies....

..I am waiting for them to bring out some of their bullets as reloading componants. Would like to try their 400 grain bullets ina Ruger #1 .405 Winchester.

Bob

My .450/.400 3 1/4 uses .411 bullets....Woodleighs.

You have to be careful, my 450-400 3 1/4" won't chamber the .410 woodleighs (yes, they're marked 410 on the box). I had to go with 408s.
The lesson is: rifles on the 3.25" case can have widely varying bores, best to slug before buying bullets.

Will be able to use up the 410s in the No 1, if I can ever get the !#$%ing dies and shell holder.

SOS

I was able to place an order direct with Hornady today for a set of their dies for the .450/400 3". Their price including shipping is just shy of $80.00 for the set. The nice lady I spoke with indicated they had 4 sets in inventory and that they had yet to ship to any of their retailers.

Just and FYI for those interested .

Did she happen to indicate which shell holder the 400 will use?

SOS

Oops, I neglected to ask that very pertinent question. Will have to call her back Monday.

Or, I will ask the boys @ Huntington's when I order my bullets from them...

Thanks for the heads up on the 450/400 dies--I just hung up the phone with Hornady and have a set on the way. Mindy confirmed three sets available when I called (which is now down to two). I did ask about shell holders and they have not manufactured any yet.

Jerry

I called today and added shellholder #25 to my order...they said it would ship right away. Must be one of those big corporate "right-hand/left-hand" things.

Dang--after Hornady told me they didn't have the shellholders, I called and did a "special order" from RCBS with a 4-6 week wait. As soon as I saw your reply, I called Hornady back and asked about shellholder #25 and this time they said they had a couple and would add it to my order. I just canceled the RCBS order and should be rolling my own in a week or so. Thanks again for the good info.

Jerry

I hope they're right about the #25 S.H.
That's also the one for the 348 WCF. When I tried my RCBS #5 with the 450-400 Hornady cases it was a no go. Just went and double checked to be sure.

I know every manufacturer machines there product to different tolerances but this one isn't close. The rim isn't the problem, it's the base of the case itself that's too fat.

Let us know what you find.
SOS

I hope so too--I specifically asked about the #25 and the 450/400 NE 3", and she said it was indeed the correct shellholder for that cartridge.

When I called today I asked the kind lady what shellholder did I need for the .450/400 dies I had ordered last Friday. She put me on hold for a bit while she conferred with a "technician". When she came back, she indicated shellholder #25 was the appropriate choice....

I received my #25 shellholder this morning (still waiting on the dies to arrive) and found it fit the Hornady .450/400 case on my desk perfectly. Progress made!

Still need to order some bullets....should I go with .410"?