doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com bullets for 577/450

Anyone here know of a source for cast bullets of .466 diameter? Having a mould made is another option. Suggestions for a maker?

Buffaloarms.com

Paper patch cast .457” bullets.

Final diameter can be varied by using different paper thicknesses.

https://accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=27#catalog-anchor
They will decrease the diameter to whatever you want.

These are all helpful suggestions, and I'll follow up on them. My rifle has Henry rifling. Ross Seyfried says those barrels tend to do better with patched bullets. In the past I've had good results with grooved bullets in Henry barrels. The bore on this one is like new. It should shoot well with something. Thanks.

The style of a rifling really has nothing to do with whether they will work with paper patches or grease grooves, both bullet types will shoot equally well in any kind of rifling.

The big bugaboo with your rifle is that I believe it has extreme taper to the bore. I had a Martini 577/450 With the same remarkable taper, and it was extremely challenging. Because I shoot paper patches almost exclusively, I did not have a .458 bullet to work with. I found patching up to meet the diameter of the lands in the throat required so much paper, that I never really did get anything like decent accuracy. I believe my land diameter at the top of the throat was approximately .472 as I recall.

In any event, I would suggest getting a decent custom mould from Buffalo Arms with a diameter to match your paper in making bullets the land diameter of your barrel at the top of the throat. Paper which is not more than 2x the height of your rifling is best. Always start with the paper when specing out a custom mould. BA moulds are pretty much the benchmark in lead bullet molds. They are worth every penny.

I would be interested to know how they made such tapered bores In their rifles. The depth of the rifling does not change throughout the length of the barrel. They must have used some pretty interesting techniques to do that.

Good luck with your rifle.

Brent, My barrel has the sort of taper you describe. I have some skill development ahead in order to do the pp route. Old South Ammo sells a bullet I want to try before I spend for a mould. I like a challenge, but not one that goes on and on.

Bill, I have a fair bit of experience and experimentation with paper patches and use them for hunting and competition in a variety of guns and calibers. I would be happy to help you work through it, but the 5778-450 with strongly tapered bore is definitely a challenge. The one I bought, I thought I would take to Africa but I was not happy how it was shooting as things came down to the wire so I took a '74 Sharps .45-2.6, also paper patched, of course. I later sold the Martini to a friend who made a mould for it and got it shooting quite well. They are excellent rifles, but need special effort to realize their best.

Brent, Your offer is generous and appreciated. Before I take you up on it, I want to try a grooved bullet. I ordered a mould from Buffalo Arms for a 480 gr bullet of .468 diameter. If that doesn't work, I'll either learn the pp routine or I'll put rifle up for sale. Cheers, Bill