Ruger Alaskan & Magtech ammo not good... locked up revolver...

[Magnum Wheel Man]

not the fault of the gun... ( love the gun ) ... fault of bullet creep of the ammo

... beware of Magtech 225 grain solid copper hollow points in 454 Casull... in one in 6 of the 1st 2 cylinders through the gun, the bullets crept forward enough on the 6th round to lock up the cylinder... I was able to push the bullet back in far enough to fire the cartridge, but will not buy anymore of that ammo... ( Magtech 454 Casull 225gn SCHP Lot BH0223 L-02 )

[CraigC]

How does the crimp look?

[Magnum Wheel Man]

A couple of pics I just took ( Whoo Hoo ... finally got the house to myself again... )

the gun & the ammo I currently have...



The cartridges of the Magtech...



A close up of the Magtech, on the left, Winchester, in center, & Remington 45 Colt, on right

[Magnum Wheel Man]

CRAIG... it's hard to get a good pic of the crimp, but the Magtech seems to have the lightest crimp, but it is a roll crimp, ( not just a taper crimp ), but perhaps thier solid copper hollow point doesn't have as deep a groove as the other bullets ???

[WIN71]

And get rid of the stuff.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

Blowing & snowing today, so I opted for the dirt pile in the back yard, rather than the range... but I just put 54 more rounds through the gun... just for fun... BTW... I'd say it has some accuracy potential, as I was able to shoot off a 1" thick branch that was hanging into my sight picture at 20ft on the 2nd try...

12 more rounds of the 225 grain solid copper holow point Magtech 454's ( just to get rid of most of them )... this time I held a much looser grip ( as I was expecting to get my azz kicked the 1st time around ), & 2 cylinders through without a hitch... I doubt I'll buy any more of this, just because it's too close to it's limit on bullet retention, if a "firm grip" is enough to cause the bullets to wander...

the Remington 250 grain lead 45 Colt's... with a normal grip felt about like shooting light 38 special out of my 4" GP-100... I'm sure a hunting 45 Colt loading would pack more punch, but the "kick" was pretty non existant with the lead 250 grain 45 Colts

the Winchester 260 Grain Partition Gold 454 Casull, had much more "kick" than the Magtech 225 grainers... it gets your attention, but is not "painful" to shoot, I tried both a firm grip, & a looser grip with no functional problems... & if I had put a glove on, I'd have not though twice about shooting 50 or 100 rounds of these through the snubbie in a range session, but bear in mind, that I like shooting magnum hand guns...I suppose at a later date I could mic out the cartridges, shoot 5 & re-mic the 6th cartridge, but I'm now down to 1 Magtech for my cartridge collection, so I could do it on the Winchester cartridges, but won't likely buy any more of the Magtech

any suggestions on your favorite factory loadings for the 454, or any cheap loadings for practice ( the Magtechs were not cheap )

one more pic... & a reminder ( wear those safety glasses & hearing protection ) Merry Christmas

[314EPW]

I like Hornady 240 gr. in my 454 Raging bull.But now I reload my ow.250,300 gr.Hornady JHP XTP's.Winchester 296 powder.
Ed

[454 gunner]

I don't buy magtech anymore for several reasons. I had a similar expirience with the 260gr jacketed flat tips. They were also unpredictable, one would be normal, then there were others that seemed much hotter. 3ft fire rings and such. I buy the hornady stuff, cheap and hot!

[Sgt.Fathead]

M/Teach ammo is always pretty cheap but the damn stuff has a rather serious kick and incredible muzzle flash with no advantages in placing rounds downrange. I've stopped buying it myself as it seems to have no value beyong cheap price.

I'm glad you and your Ruger are safe.

[Doc44]

I have talked to another guy with the same problem with same ammo. But he also had issues with another jacketed round. Be careful very short or lite revolvers can have heavy slugs back out. Heavy crimps, rolled or otherwise will save the day. Some of the new 44, 41, and 357 mags in the titanium, lite weights have the same problems. Doc

[Lloyd Smale]

I couldnt come close to full power 454 loads in mine without the cases sticking and having to be pounded out. Good news is that you arent gaining much in killing power by loading them that hot anyway.

[bamatj]

I have the same problem Lloyd. Ive tried Magtech, Cor-Bon, and Hornady. I have sent my Alaskan back to ruger twice and still have the same problem. The last time they put a new cylinder on it. Its better now, but it still aint great. The Cor-Bon atleast now does not have to be pounded out. The Hornady sticks hard everytime, but once you break them loose they come out pretty easy. I guess its a slight improvement but im not to happy about it.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I noticed the Magtech's were a bit sticky, but the 45 Colt & Winchester 454's dropped out easily...