Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .454 Casull

Picked up a Freedom Arms .454 Casull early this year. Fired the 9 rounds that came with the gun and went to .45 Colt equivalent reloads. What a beast! I used to shoot a .44, but this was a different cat for sure.
Now, 600 practice loads later, this beast is no more difficult to shoot than the .44 was. I was out today shooting at about 125 yards off the bench at a small propane bottle (empty and full of holes) that someone left lying. I hit it a few, but even with the misses I was shooting minute of deer with every shot. This FA is the most accurate big handgun I have owned, and the .454 is going elk hunting this year.

Had a Premier 6" .454/.45 Colt for about 6 years. Was easily the most accurate revolver I have ever shot or owned. It was hard to miss.

Sold it only because I am not a .45 caliber fan and if I was going to own a .454 I wanted to shoot .454s...they unfortunately stated to take their toll on my wrist and elbow and decided to buy an identical gun in .41 Magnum...and have lived happily ever since...



Bob

The 454 definitely has the power to impress. My favorite is the 45 colt. I have had a good many freedoms over the years and will be getting another one here soon. I want a 45 colt again, but in the premier. I've owned multiple 454/45colt version and a 475 linebaugh that beat me half to death.Sadly I'm freedomless at the moment. wont be for long!

Congratulations on the score! You've done well!

They do make a nice revolver. I always thought I wanted a 454, but a 44 mag was about the most powerful I could handle. Now, at my age, I even download my 44s a bit. But I'm still shooting......

The FA's aren't cheap, but as soon as you pick one up and feel the precision, it's clear they are something special, like a 3 lb Swiss watch.

I'd personally like to have a .475L, though I doubt I'd load it full throttle. A 350 at 1300 fps will shoot through most anything on this continent.

Lengthways even.

I shot a record book black bear with my old Dan Wesson .44. A max load of H110 and 325 gr. hardcast should have been traveling around 1300. I never did chrono it. Anyway, the bullets (2) hit him point of right shoulder and penetrated some 4 feet of bear. I found both bullets under the hide at the back of the left hind quarter. My reloading manual shows the starting load for an identical bullet weight at just over 1300 fps in the 454. When I have shot up the last of the 260 gr. I have, I am going to load these and plan to hunt with them.

I have been shooting .44 mags for 40 years, but never a .454. How is the felt recoil, and how many rounds can you shoot before you've had enough? FA is a great company.

My FA .454 was built in their custom shop, and sports a 10" ported octagon barrel and sling swivel studs. At present it wears a red-dot sight- very fast target acquisition, and adds very little weight.

I have begun loading and shooting what I call hot .45 Colt loads (260 gr. JFPs at 1300 fps, in FA .454 brass), very accurate and totally manageable recoil-wise. Felt recoil is about half what it is with full-power .454 loads with 260 gr. bullets at around 1750 fps.

The load I am currently shooting is 34 gr. H110 with FA's 260 gr. bullet. Load manual says I should be getting around 1800 FPS. Max load in my manual is 36 gr. for about 1950 FPS. Recoil is stout, but not unmanageable. It just took a lot of practice to relax and let the gun roll a bit more than I had been. I'm not a real good handgunner, having a marked preference for rifles.

Enjoy you have a very nice revolver. They are very accurate

Precisely why the 454's can be had barely used for 1/3 - 1/2 of new retail. A fine revolver but zero need for > 1200 fps in a big bore IMO. They do make fine 45 Colt's.

Only had the pleasure to fire a FA in 454 once, but I found it a "handful" but a pleasure. Quite unlike the 460 X-frame a friend handed me. IIRC, I shot two rounds and handed it back to him. That FA grip has a lot to do with managing all that recoil. An FA in 44mag is definetely on the want list.

We had a gal at one of our Bowling Pin matches shooting hubbys new freedom arms Casull, she cleaned all the pins off with 1 shot, yep 5 pins with 1 shot. So afraid of it she jerked the trigger and blew one of the legs off the table!

Nice pistols.

I was actually looking for a .44. I really like that round. The gun I got was absolutely pristine, came with the box, literature, everything right down to a hang tag... and price was $1700. The closest I could come to on a .44 was another $500. I can reload the .454 to match .45 Colt, .44 mag, or shoot full-blast .454 loads.
As EDM said, used .454 are a dime a dozen. I am guessing that, like mine, the guys selling them with just a few rounds fired, are not reloaders and find the recoil too harsh to tolerate.
I have to say I this gun is going to make it hard to settle for just any handgun now. I want another one in .22, or maybe .17 HMR, or better yet, both!

You can also shoot 45 Colts in the 454. Works perfectly I know I do so all the time

That's a beauty JWP!

Shot full power loads at the range today. 100 yards off the bench I was getting 6" groups. Open sights. I have to give this gun a lot of credit, I don't usually shoot a handgun as well as I do with this.