I have an old .458 280 gn mould. It drops at 300 gn even. I am still powder coating and resizing at .460. Working out pretty nice. I am interested in seeing how your pressed slugs.
Upvote 0
AEA Precision Challenger Bullpup .45
- Thread starter gendoc
- Start date
What kind of speed do you get with those? I am much less impressed with the 265 and 290 grain slugs I tried than with the lighter stuff although it's all .457 that I've tried as of now
Upvote 0
Her are 3 four shot strings that I have been working with. I think this will be my deer load. Accuracy has been very good at 25, 50, 75 and 100 yards. Not the fastest load or the heaviest. But it’s good middle of the road. The .45 pup is stock. For now…
Upvote 0
These were with NSA 240s at 50. Just a full pressure string. It was hard to break 400 with anything lighter then 290 out of my rifle. I did go through and did a complete tear-down and clean-up. It picked me up 20 to 40 fps on all slugs. Plus it is a lot smoother.
Upvote 0
So I finally decided to try putting in the washers for more power. I got some unexpected results that don't really make sense to me. Here were the numbers. Each 6 shot string started from 4100 psi.
196 grain NSA slug:
923 fps
993
1017
1023
998
960
Average fps: 985.66666
Average energy: 422.93 FPE
This is more than it was without the washers, as expected
220 grain NSA slug:
888 fps
869
863
873
821
799
Average fps: 852.16
Average energy: 354.83 FPE
This was not at all expected, somehow, it's less energy than without the washers. WTF
240 grain NSA slugs:
746 fps
825
851
840
960
821
Average fps: 840.5
Average energy: 376.57 FPE
This was a bit more than without the washers but not by a whole lot, numbers don't makes sense either, goes up then down then up? WTF. Only had 6 slugs left or might have done another to see if it gave a different result.
Finally,
265 grain NSA slug:
789 fps
840
821
932
916
879
Average fps: 879.5 fps
Average energy 455.27 FPE
I didn't record what it was doing without the washers on these before but I remeber it was even less energy than the 240s, quite the difference now.
Why would it do better with the lighter stuff and heavier stuff but worse with the 220s?
Well, no matter. I think I am going to remove them. My great white air tank at 4500 psi only fills the gun to 4100 psi 3 times before 4100 isn't possible anymore. A 3600 psi fill lets me shoot it more before I run out. The energy with the heavies is nice but I already bought a bunch more of the lighter stuff anyway. The difference in energy with the lighter stuff isn't enough to make me want to sacrifice the shot count on my tank, but I guess it's nice to have the option if I change my mind in the future.
Edit: dang these washers don't want to come out. How aggravating. Brainstorming time...
2nd edit: put some hot glue on the spring and it then extracted the washers one at a time, although the last one was very difficult. PITA
196 grain NSA slug:
923 fps
993
1017
1023
998
960
Average fps: 985.66666
Average energy: 422.93 FPE
This is more than it was without the washers, as expected
220 grain NSA slug:
888 fps
869
863
873
821
799
Average fps: 852.16
Average energy: 354.83 FPE
This was not at all expected, somehow, it's less energy than without the washers. WTF
240 grain NSA slugs:
746 fps
825
851
840
960
821
Average fps: 840.5
Average energy: 376.57 FPE
This was a bit more than without the washers but not by a whole lot, numbers don't makes sense either, goes up then down then up? WTF. Only had 6 slugs left or might have done another to see if it gave a different result.
Finally,
265 grain NSA slug:
789 fps
840
821
932
916
879
Average fps: 879.5 fps
Average energy 455.27 FPE
I didn't record what it was doing without the washers on these before but I remeber it was even less energy than the 240s, quite the difference now.
Why would it do better with the lighter stuff and heavier stuff but worse with the 220s?
Well, no matter. I think I am going to remove them. My great white air tank at 4500 psi only fills the gun to 4100 psi 3 times before 4100 isn't possible anymore. A 3600 psi fill lets me shoot it more before I run out. The energy with the heavies is nice but I already bought a bunch more of the lighter stuff anyway. The difference in energy with the lighter stuff isn't enough to make me want to sacrifice the shot count on my tank, but I guess it's nice to have the option if I change my mind in the future.
Edit: dang these washers don't want to come out. How aggravating. Brainstorming time...
2nd edit: put some hot glue on the spring and it then extracted the washers one at a time, although the last one was very difficult. PITA
Last edited:
Upvote 0
@ Asher, I just bought a used one that has the washers, they wont come out. I did not want to take the gun apart already, just to remove the hammer, glad to see your post about hot glue to the spring. Will give that a try. 
Upvote 0
This is what I ended up with for my deer load. Not my best groups. But it’s the only pix I have with 25, 50, 75 and 100 yards on the same paper.I like my .290 die that drops at 300gn. But its a solid slug. I like the expansion that the 290 NSA hollow points give me. My slugs are double powder coated and sized at .459. The smooth hp NSA slugs are at .458.
Upvote 0
I've been waiting on Dave Corbin to make me a swage die for this gun, it will be either .458 or .459, and have a dish base to hopefully act like a pellet skirt. I'll be able to change their length and therefore weight somewhat and really dial in what is optimal. My swage press can only go up to .458 or .459 or I might try .461 or .462 as that's what these stupid barrels actually slug at.
Good luck nutcracker. I imagine it'll be harder for you since they've been in yours so much longer. I had to try like 8 times to get the last one out
Good luck nutcracker. I imagine it'll be harder for you since they've been in yours so much longer. I had to try like 8 times to get the last one out
Last edited:
Upvote 0
100 yard, 6 shot group today with the 220 grain NSA slugs. Filled to 3300 for every shot though. Fairly pleased
Upvote 0
Nice enough group for sure. I haven’t filled between each shot to see what group I could get. I use a 3 shot fill only because here in Mi the weather temps might be below freezing for a morning hunt and dang near 60 or 70 for a evening hunt. That 40 +/- change really messes with my rifle. Not to mention my clothing layers! So I have a wider range in fill pressure throughout the day. Fill it cold to about 200 bar and it stays within my 3shot range.
Upvote 0
I rarely clean it
As for a barrel band, I don't think the bullpup needs it although it would probably be good for the long stock version
Upvote 0
Wow your AEA barrel is good one then. My lother weather barrel on my Texan was horrible rough. I had to hand lap it aggressively from 100 grit compound to 420 before she looked good and cleaned up well. Chinese barrels must be as good 
Upvote 0
Just an update for anyone else who has this rifle and may be interested. I now have a swage die that makes cup base hollowpoints in .460 diameter. I did pick up some velocity in mine, and they seem as accurate as the NSA slugs. I could only make a few by feeding my press with existing nsa slugs. I'm still waiting on my wire spool from crown metals, who are dragging their feet. I might cancel and just order lead from NSA. When I do get the lead I intend to make a variety of weights to really hone in on what makes the best energy and what is most accurate. Keep in mind my challenger is not upgraded with the washers. I tried them and didn't care for the increase in air consumption so i removed them which was a PITA. Anyway, if any would like to try some, when I have them ready, hit me up. Here is an example. Mine on the left, NSA 220 grain on right. I will be able to make a variety of weights ranging from maybe just under 200 all the way up to 400 or so
Last edited:
Upvote 0