Shooting .454 bullets in my USFA

[TDW]

I did a search before posting, and it looks as though this should be O.K. I will probably size to .452 as soon as I can pick up the right Lube/sizer die. In the mean time I have 300 .454 bullets (1-20 soft lead, 255 gr, rnfp,SPG lube over the Holy Black)I would like to shoot while I'm waiting. Any real negatives about shooting the .454 in the USFA single actions.
Thanks,
Tom

[jdpress]

I shoot unsized soft lead cast bullets, 230 grain weight, that are .454 diameter in diameter with a black powder lube and a compressed charge of 33.0 grains (40 grain Black Powder charge by volume measurement) Hodgdon Pyrodex, with no issues.  This round has a stout recoil, a lot of smoke and excellent accuracy; about one inch five-shot groups from a rest at fifteen yards.  There is no leading in the barrel or cylinder bores and the powder residue cleans off completely after shooting.  I have been lubing the bullets with a 50-50 mixture, by volume, of Thompson-Center Bore Butter and pure, filtered beeswax.  I shoot this round in a USFA antiqued finish Rodeo I, .45 Colt caliber with a 4-3/4 inch barrel.  I have fired up to 75 of these rounds at a single range session without any functioning issues.  The Holy Black, or in this case the Pious Pyrodex, is so much fun to shoot that there is no comparison to smokeless Unique rounds.

[MotownStan]

I bought some Mag-Tech 250 LRN a couple months ago, after shooting about 50 I decided to measure them. They are .454, but they worked fine, no problems.

[Tascosa Joe]

I shoot  454 sized bullets with SPG in both 250 and 230 grain weights over a case full (36 gr in LC and about 30 gr in Schofield cases) of GOEX 2F in my USFAs and Colts.  These loads have worked well for me for 20 years.

[Fox Creek Kid]

I thought USFA (post-Uberti) had 0.452" chamber mouths, so how the hell can you use a 0.454" bullet?

[jdpress]

I thought USFA (post-Uberti) had 0.452" chamber mouths, so how the hell can you use a 0.454" bullet?

I use very soft, almost pure-lead cast bullets, and it is not an issue.  I have not measured the cylinder chamber mouth diameters, however, a lubricated .454 inch diameter bullet almost falls right through a cylinder when dropped into a cylinder bore. This includes several different USFA Rodeo models and a USFA Single Action models.  I have also fired them, without any issues, in a USFA Ainsworth Government Inspector Series revolver.

J.D. Press

[Fox Creek Kid]

Well, I don't work for NASA but even I know that a 0.454" bullet will not fall through a 0.452" hole.    Slug your chambers to be exact.