Hi guys, thinking of a gunsmith project.

I have a nice little NEF 45 Colt Carbine. I also have a 454 SRH. Just for loading convenience, could I re-chamber the 45 colt into 454? Details:

NEF single shot rifle,
same frame (SB2) as is used on their 30-06 and 500 S&W
20" barrel
1x16 inch twist

Questions: What about the twist? OK for 454? Will I still be able to shoot 45 Colt in it after the conversion? Can I still use LilGun, H110?

Also, I'm not a boomer, I shoot medium loads, usually with LilGun.

Is this a big job, or pretty routine?

THANKS!

I've been able to run 300gr. bullets at something like 1700fps in a Marlin 1894 .45 Colt. That kills on both ends..... I question whether the gains in going to the Casull round are really worth any additional cost.

You may never shoot max .454 loads through it, but someday, someone might.

Those are just my first thoughts.

Hope that helps. Maybe one of our resident gunsmiths can pipe up with a qualified opinion.

I would be curious as to the load you are talking about, powder, etc. I reload for 45 Colt for my SRH. The highest I can get with my chrony is about 1250 fps with a 300 gr. Does the extra barrel length add 450 fps?


I've been able to run 300gr. bullets at something like 1700fps in a Marlin 1894 .45 Colt. That kills on both ends..... I question whether the gains in going to the Casull round are really worth any additional cost.

You may never shoot max .454 loads through it, but someday, someone might.

Those are just my first thoughts.

Hope that helps. Maybe one of our resident gunsmiths can pipe up with a qualified opinion.

Oh yeah it does. Keep in mind that the Marlin was one of the 'cowboy' models with the 24" barrel.

The loads were straight out of the Hodgdon #26, and generally ran between 1200 and 1300fps in my .45 Colt revolvers.

Oh yeah it does. Keep in mind that the Marlin was one of the 'cowboy' models with the 24" barrel.

The loads were straight out of the Hodgdon #26, and generally ran between 1200 and 1300fps in my .45 Colt revolvers.

Oh, 24". Yeah that would do it. The NEF has a 20". I got a light load (45 colt) 300 gr up to about 1400. I suppose with 4" less, a stout load could get to about 1500+. I'll see!