i have fiocci brass and would like to use the lee 452-255 rf mould my main concerns are overall length for loaded rounds and powder charges ,i have bullseye,231,unique, universal,hs-6,red dot. so far i have been seating the bullets so that i crimp in the top lube groove over 3.6 gr. bullseye . i get a lot of unburned powder. any sugestions? i am concerned that if i crimp in the proper groove pressure might be too high.
reloading .455 webley
- Thread starter wayde
- Start date
A lot of good info here;
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1189609-Handloading-455-for-Webley-MK-I
Cheers,
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1189609-Handloading-455-for-Webley-MK-I
Cheers,
KotKotofeich
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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I think we are SOL on the unburned powder - I'm noticing that too. Do you have access to a chronograph? Do you see huge variations in speed? Or is the speed mostly the same (i.e. always the same amount of powder unburned)?
First off, did you slug your revolver, many are very generous on diameter.... Accuracy will suffer. Crimp is very important, it must be as heavy as possible if you want consistency....
They are fun guns and can be very accurate with the ideal load/bullet combination.
John
Bullseye is usually a good powder for burning well even with small charges in big casings. So if you're seeing a lot of unburned powder I'm thinking that it's due to having so much case volume in the loaded rounds that you're not building up enough pressure.
Do you have a chrono available? If you do I'd try crimping in the proper cannelure groove and reduce the charge a bit and work up until you get the proper muzzle speed. Once you hit that speed you should have a proper chamber pressure to ensure a good burn. But just in case keep checking the primers for pressure signs as you do this.
When I look around I don't see a lot of information on .455 Webley. But .45ACP isn't too far different from a .45acp with a 230gn bullet in terms of casing diameter, length and, more importantly, volume. Looking at my Lyman manual suggests that you're not far off the mark with 3.6 even if the bullet is fully seated to the cannelure groove. But playing it safe you'd want to drop back and work up to the right velocity.
Do you have a chrono available? If you do I'd try crimping in the proper cannelure groove and reduce the charge a bit and work up until you get the proper muzzle speed. Once you hit that speed you should have a proper chamber pressure to ensure a good burn. But just in case keep checking the primers for pressure signs as you do this.
When I look around I don't see a lot of information on .455 Webley. But .45ACP isn't too far different from a .45acp with a 230gn bullet in terms of casing diameter, length and, more importantly, volume. Looking at my Lyman manual suggests that you're not far off the mark with 3.6 even if the bullet is fully seated to the cannelure groove. But playing it safe you'd want to drop back and work up to the right velocity.
If you can find it, Unique is a good powder for this cartridge. In the MKI and MKII 455 Service Revolvers, barrels generally run .452"- .453". BUT - most of them have cylinder throats measuring .451-.452", with some I measured the throat as small as .449". Having a cylinder throat smaller than the groove diameter is weird and hurts accuracy potential.
Because of the weird dimensions, the best bet is very soft lead bullets in combination with a healthy powder charge - you need to kick the bullet in the arse hard enough that the base will obturate, sealing the bore and improving combustion and accuracy. I have best results with Unique, and almost as good with Bullseye. Lots of unburned powder usually indicates very light loads.
The HB bullets work, but the flat based bullets seem to work just as well and better from an accuracy standpoint. The HB bullets do not have an accuracy-inducing shape - there is no solid band on this bullet to center it in the bore because of the hollow base and long tapered nose.
The only advantage the HB bullet has is that allows for a very useful increase in case capacity, more than a grain. With flat based bullets you need to be very careful with seating depth because it is fairly easy to seat to deeply and reduce case capacity to the point that pressures can get high. And remember this is a 12,000 psi cartridge being shot in a 120 year old gun.
Because of the weird dimensions, the best bet is very soft lead bullets in combination with a healthy powder charge - you need to kick the bullet in the arse hard enough that the base will obturate, sealing the bore and improving combustion and accuracy. I have best results with Unique, and almost as good with Bullseye. Lots of unburned powder usually indicates very light loads.
The HB bullets work, but the flat based bullets seem to work just as well and better from an accuracy standpoint. The HB bullets do not have an accuracy-inducing shape - there is no solid band on this bullet to center it in the bore because of the hollow base and long tapered nose.
The only advantage the HB bullet has is that allows for a very useful increase in case capacity, more than a grain. With flat based bullets you need to be very careful with seating depth because it is fairly easy to seat to deeply and reduce case capacity to the point that pressures can get high. And remember this is a 12,000 psi cartridge being shot in a 120 year old gun.
If you are using flat based bullets in the 455 MKII case then look for a bullet style that allows you to seat the bullet as shallowly as possible so that the bullet doesn't use up all of the powder capacity. The picture shows 2 cartridges loaded for use in a MKII Webley 455 service revolver. I load these HB wadcutters with one lube groove outside the case and one inside.
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455 webley doesn't use a heeled bullet....
