450 NE and 400 Jeffery Loading Questions

[Moose Masher]

It seems that I have developed a bit of a thing for the Boddington # 1's.
I have an urge to aquire the 450 NE or the 400 Jeffery.

I'm leaning a little towards the 450 NE, based solely on the wider selection and availability of bullets.

I think that I'll need a least a new press, to handle the length of either of these rounds.
What are the options for a press that has enough stroke?

For trimming, I think a trim die is probably the way to go.
Where might a fellow find those dies?

Any experiences, info, tips, tricks, or load data that anyone wanted to share would be greatly appreciated also.

Thanks,
MM

 

[sunray]

"...450 NE..." Very expensive stuff. Bertram 450 NITRO 3 1/4" brass runs $117.95 per 20. Same money for 404 Jeffery brass.

 

[burnt_servo]

i have a 45-120 , which is very close to the 450 nitro in size .

if i use my press , i mark where the die sits in the press , thread it out , place the empty brass on the holder , then thread the die back into place and resize / seat bullet .

a pain in the ass , but it works .

but for 99% of the rounds i reload for this cartridge , i use a lee hand loader in 45-70 and just necksize a very small portion of the neck ( roughly 1/16 of a inch , the chamber for my rifle is very very tight around the neck and most of the time i don't even need to neck size to keep the bullet in the case mouth ) .

not sure if the larger rim and base on the 450 nitro would work with the 45-70 handloader dies , but i can't see it being that hard to modify a set to make it work .

btw to trim the cases , use a regular rcbs hand trimmer and wrap tape around the shaft ( in my case the shaft i use is the 30-06 one ) till it fits snugly inside the case mouth then hold it as square as possible when triming the case mouth . to measure the length i use a set of calipers .

 

[Arctic]

A Rock Chucker Supreme works well but the standard requires backing the dies out as described. A Forster Classic trimmer is designed for the big ones and does wonders.

 

[spooksar]

By the RCBS Supreme press a good source for data is the load data web sight by Wolfe publishing, it cost about $30 a year but is well worth it. search around for brass, Hornady is making some big calibers now. Trade Ex has Woodliegh bullets. There are a few people on this site that can help with components also.

 

[mbogo3]

reloadersnest.com has free data?Harold