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My new smokeless .45 should be done in about a week, with a 1:20 Brux barrel (used my Remington Ultimate to supply the stock and action). I have shot 300gr bullets for years out of my .50 muzzleloaders, with my favorites being the Barnes Original Spitzers and Furys. Here are my three questions:
1) Would you droop down to a 275gr bullet or stick with 300grns? I would probably be sticking with Furys and sizing them, maybe try some of the no-sizing required Arrowhead bullets
2) What powder would you recommend? I have N120 and 4895 on hand. My builder recommends H322, but I can't find any available, and I see that I would need to use quite a bit of it per load. I have also read it is a bit dirtier than some others. I have read on some other forums that 4198 is a go to powder for many. My personal favorites for my .50 Savage ML II have been N120 and 4895, both around 60grns pushing 300gr bullets
3) What would be your starting points for the various powders above. Most of what I have read is centered around 300gr bullets with 4198. But I would like to know some starting points for N120 and 4895 since that is what I have on hand, as well as starting points for 4198 (both for 275gr and 300gr bullets).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
60gr of N120 and a sabotless 300gr will be over 45kpsi but should be ok in a 1.2" shank. It would be pretty hot for a Remage barrel though. I know one of the guys shoots pretty stout loads of it on Hanks but his barrel is really thick. So use caution with N120 and heavier bullets in smaller contours. Peak would drop a fair amount by going down to a 275gr. 4198 is better if you want more fps than what 60gr of N120 delivers.
 
60gr of N120 and a sabotless 300gr will be over 45kpsi but should be ok in a 1.2" shank. It would be pretty hot for a Remage barrel though. I know one of the guys shoots pretty stout loads of it on Hanks but his barrel is really thick. So use caution with N120 and heavier bullets in smaller contours. Peak would drop a fair amount by going down to a 275gr. 4198 is better if you want more fps than what 60gr of N120 delivers.
I actually shoot 57grns of N120 right now out of my Savage, and if I remember correctly, 60gns of 4895 (would have to look at my book to be certain of the 4895 load though).
 
4895 is really really slow for 50cal and even needs a ton of powder in 45cal. In 50cal 60gr of N120 and a 300gr is max recommended.
Yeah, I knew 60grns was the max for N120 with the Savage- and at 60grns I wasn't getting consistent results, 57grns seems to be the sweet spot for me with either a 300gr Barnes or Fury. I know that the accuracy of the N120 and the 4895 are equal with the 300gr bullets I'm using, which is good if I am running low on either powder.
 
I did not like max loads of N120 either. :D 57-58gr was plenty and shot good. Drop down to a 275gr and that 60gr load seemed better.
 
H4895 is needed here............ ;)
I use ammoseek.com to find many powders and primers-they even alert you when something comes in. The website is basically a search engine covering many reloading/ammo retailers. Just found some 4198 and h322 yesterday, now I need some more large magnum rifle primers-none of those to be had anywhere.
 
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