Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 45 colt in a SRH 454

I just started shooting a SRH Casull,<BR>and am both enjoying it and getting good<BR>groups with the 454 ammo. One selling <BR>point for me was the ability to shoot<BR>45 Long Colt in it. When I shoot the<BR>45, I am getting similar groups as the 454,<BR>but at about 6 inches higher (at 50 yards)<BR>than the 454 groups. Anyone else have this <BR>experience? Any ideas why it is happening?

Yes I've had it happen. One thought on this<BR>is with a slower bullet the pistol is actually starting to recoil before the bullet leaves the barrel. Heavier bullets will also shoot higher sometimes, because of more recoil.

DO NOT FIRE .45 COLT IN REGULAR 454 CYLINDER. Just a reminder in case you did not know. The .45 will cause erosion of your cylinder. Simply buy a .45 cylinder, most manufacturers make them.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Cazador:<BR><B>DO NOT FIRE .45 COLT IN REGULAR 454 CYLINDER. Just a reminder in case you did not know. The .45 will cause erosion of your cylinder. Simply buy a .45 cylinder, most manufacturers make them.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Cazador, the Ruger SRH in .454 is designed to handle both cartridges in the same cylinder. It's also advertised as such.<BR> Redneck<BR>

All I know is that Freedom Arms reccomends against it, they say that it can erode the cylinder throat

Heed The Warning! Freedom Arms is on the money with the advice. And, no ruger ever made is as close or as strong as a FA gun.<P>The problem surfaces when one is adament about shooting those filthy hardcast lead bullets. Lead builds up at the junction of the cylinder bore and the start of the cylinder throat, NOT THE FORCING CONE! The whammie comes when you now go back to shooting the 454 ammo in the same cylinder, EXTREME pressure rise!<P>Lead can form so perfectly in a cylinder or bore that it takes a real experienced eye to even know any is there. Sure, it's half the price of jacketed, but IMO, that's just about what it's worth <P>Coug<P>------------------<BR> <BR><B><BR>Best Regards,<P> <A HREF="http://www.coug2wolfs.com" TARGET=_blank>www.coug2wolfs.com</A> <P>Life is a journey, not a destination. Take the time to enjoy the gifts of the Great Spirit along the way.</B><BR>

To paraphrase the legendary Stanley Ipkiss...."SOMEBODY STOP ME !!!".<BR>O.K., I'm better now. I think we can pretty much have our cake and eat it, regarding this matter. While I would also tend to refrain from firing full-house jacketed bullet .45 Colt loads in a .454, due to the likely eventual erosion problem, I think properly concocted cast bullet .45 Colt loads are far less abusive, erosion-wise. (Cooler burning powders & generally lower pressure loads, less friction) Of course, if these loads are more the rule than the exception, you should buy a .45, not a .454.<P>Most cast bullet shooters are well aware of the need to watch for lead accumulation, and it doesn't require an advanced degree to find it, or to remove it. And LEAD IS GOOD!

Loud Cloud<P>You would endear yourself to a lot of good people if you give us a hint of how to get that $%#@* lead out of a gun once it takes root <P>Coug

Tilt the revolver at a 45 degree angle and warm it up to about 800 degrees F. with a torch, run a tight fitting stainless steel brush gobbed with valve grinding compound through all orifices, 40 strokes each, hose down thoroughly. Be sure to remove grips beforehand. Or, you could skip all the above and just use a bronze brush and some "Shooter's Choice Lead Remover", like I do. If you are really in a hurry, rub a little "Remington Bore Cleaner" or "JB Compound" around in there, too. You'll find the directions on the labels. If it's a Ruger, it may not be worth the trouble, but there's no sense in neglecting a fine shootin' iron from Freedom Arms. Hope this helps. <p>[This message has been edited by Loud Cloud (edited March 21, 2001).]

Loud Cloud<P>Hey, lighten up on the Rugers! They make nice swamp guns when you don't want to get the FA gun all yuked up <P>What do you have for FA guns? I have a 475 Linebaugh and a Model 97 45 Colt.<P>------------------<BR> <BR><B><BR>Best Regards,<P> <A HREF="http://www.coug2wolfs.com" TARGET=_blank>www.coug2wolfs.com</A> <P>Life is a journey, not a destination. Take the time to enjoy the gifts of the Great Spirit along the way.</B><BR>

Coug .... never owned one. I live in the swamp. LC

What about using 454 brass and loading with 45 colt data? That way, you have the length, and don't have to worry about erosion. Plus, shooting full house loads all the time can't be good for any revolver in the long haul.

Coug, Get the lead out. Take a 30cal brush and fix it to the rod. At the grocery or hardware store find Chore Boy pot cleaners. You want the brass or copper units. NO stainless steel. They look like they are made from Flat spring wire and spiral wound all wadded up in a ball. <BR> Disassemble one and cut a length to wrap up in that bore brush on the rod. Get a good snug fit in the chamber. Dip it in your favorite bore solvent and spin it with a drill or by hand. Voila, clean. You'll have to run it by hand in the barrel.<BR> <P>------------------<BR>"Use a big enough gun!"

I tend to shoot a lot of 45 Colt cowboy loads in my Ruger 454 SRH. They do shoot higher than the 454's for some reason that was explained to me by someone on another board and I don't remember all the scientific logic but it made sense at the time. You need to remove the lead build-up before switching back to the 454 loads to keep the pressure from getting too high. I good lead remover such as Pro-Shot or others mentioned and a 45 caliber chamber brush (available from Brownells) does the trick nicely. Brownells also has a nice 45 caliber forcing cone brush to keep that area clean also. I agree that if you want to shoot a lot of 45 colt loads, buy a 45 colt revolver. But for me, I like my 454 SRH for bear and meth lab operator medicine, and also like to go out to the range and shoot bowling pins in the league with 45 colts (they banned me from 454 loads after seeing what happens when a 300 gr. jhp at 1650 fps meets a wood bowling pin at 35 yds!). I also shoot CCI 45 colt shotshell loads in my 454 SRH for rattlesnake medicine when PD hunting in SD. Nothing against the Freedom Arms revolvers, they are great and I would love to be able to spend that much money on one. The Ruger is a great gun for the money.

I wouldn't, but if you are going to shoot .45 Colt in the .454, you could use a Lewis Lead Remover. I used one for many years on my S&W Auto Rim and K-38 to remove the lead from those soft swaged wadcutters and semi-wadcutters. Just as further information, FA does not recommend shooting .38 Specials in the M97 .357 either. But, the chambers are quite tight.

I have been known to load my Starline .454 cases with 25 gr of H110 or 29 gr of 4227 using a 240 gr Sierra slug and this makes a good mid-range round.<P>Problem is, I have no use whatsoever for a midrange round! Just so you know, it can indeed be done.<P>But I definately believe that no .454 chamber should ever see a .45 LC case!<P>Good shooting,<P>Jonesey<BR>

As I understand it, the reason that .45 LC is NOT to be fired from a .454, whether it will fit or not, is that the crud from firing the .45 (lube residue, carbon, leading) is going to etch a shallow ring around the inside of your chambers.<P>Then when a .454 case is fired, the brass seats itself into the groove those .45 LC's etched into your chambers, and now the ejector rod seems welded in place! <P>Seriously, if the Casulls were full house loads, you'll need a punch to drive them out if the scoring gets bad!<P>Ruger apparently felt that they would sell more guns if they were so stamped.<P>Remember, Freedom Arms sells .45 LC cylinders as well as .45 ACP and .45 Magnum to swap for the .454. Must be a reason, eh?<P>Have fun and use .454 cases for everything,<P>Jonesey<P>PS. Don't take those H110 loads listed earlier to heart...they work because I seat the bullets deeper. DON'T TRY THEM!<P>OK, now the lawyers are happy...!