Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 454 Casull ?

My friend that I mentioned going shooting with has a friend with a Ruger Stainless SBK 44mag , he mentioned selling it -hardly used . Will look at it this weekend .
I looked them over online and like the look and such -and brass bullets are easy to find.
Mike

Yep.

If going to scope and going 45 Colt, this is what I would do.

A Ruger is going to need some minor modifications that the BFR already has standard.

They are pretty utilitarian, but I like to say they sit between a Ruger and Freedom, which about where they are priced.

Hogs enjoy the 45 Colt as much as they enjoy a 454. Shooters like the 45 Colt....

If you go new, then the price difference will be about double for the FA. I have one of their model 97s and being from Wyoming, it's my favorite gun. But I also bought a BRF Casull with the 6.5" barrel and will highly recommend it. It's a lot closer to the FA than it is a Ruger. Shooting 325 grn hard cast bullets over 18.0 grns of 2400 using .45 colt brass I get about 1170 fps. Very pleasant shooting.

More good advice here

I guess I should have said a new BFR vs a used F/A. I've had a few 97's and always ended up getting rid of them. I like heavy loads but the 97 had a short cylider compared to the 83. I have an 83 44 mag that is pretty nice and I have a BFR in the same caliber. I like them both. I'd hate to be in a position to choose just one.

I owned a .454 FA for awhile. It had the rubber grips on it, which made it too difficult for me to hold onto as it recoiled because the grips were larger than my hands. So I traded it for a Model 97 FA .44 Special and have very been pleased with the smaller revolver. Maybe if my .454 had been one with the premium-grade wood grips I would have liked it better, as these look to be smaller than the rubber grips (but it would have been a hassle to change over). Anyway, I suggest that if buying a FA Model 83 you make sure the grips fit your hand. If they don't I think that you won't be happy with the revolver.

I see .454 Taurus revolvers for sale often at reasonable prices - almost always with nearly a full box of ammo to go with it! Tempted to buy one, if only to shoot souped up .45 LC loads in. Just read Hamilton Bowen's book on Custom Revolvers, and think he is on the money with his suggestion that a "hot" .45 will pretty much equal a .454. Excellent source book, by the way, for anyone interested in large bore revolvers - and not just custom ones.

The book "Big-Bore Revolvers" is an excellent source of information.

While I own 45 LC's, in situations where an instant draw may be required, I prefer to carry my 1911 in 45 Super. 45 Super is 45 LC ballistics in a 1911. And I pack it in my chest carry BlackHawk flight crew holster for crawling or on my hip for walking/stalking.

I've owned a few FA 454's over the years. The first one was back around 1990 - I remember shooting it the first time with FA factory 260's (unpleasant and painful). I'd never shot anything bigger than a 44 mag prior to this and I quickly put a scope on it which tamed it down somewhat. The accuracy was phenominal, but I was only able to get that accuracy running it wide open which wasn't a lot of fun to shoot. After fiddling with a couple other FA 454's over the years, I went to the 45 Colt and never considered a 44 mag or 454 again.

Fast forward to 2009 - I'm passing through Post Falls, ID and stop in Cabelas to cruise through the gun library. In the glass case was a FA premier grade 454 with a Leupold 2x scope in FA mounts (looks like Conetrol rings) with the box and all the papers. It was an oversize box to fit the scope so was ordered from the factory as a package. Used, looked new and had a $1200 tag on it. Around here, I typically see them used at $1700 with no scope. Yes - it came home with me and went in the safe to figure out if I was going to keep it or flip it. I'd just had Carpal Tunnel surgery on my wrist and had no desire to shoot any handguns for a while.

I'm just now starting to shoot it some and am getting reaquainted - recoil doesn't seem near as bad as I remember. I just got back from shooting it this afternoon with some 335 WLNGC and H4227. Much nicer than 30-some grains of H110 with 260's. I'm now thinking I might hunt some with it this fall...

That said, I've been jonesing for a 5 shot Bisley in 480 Ruger for a while now and just might have to scratch that itch one of these days - that in my mind is the perfect hunting revolver for anything I'd ever want to hunt.

I load my larger bores to 1100 fps at most. If a 45 Colt ain't enough one of the 475 or 500 Linebaugh's are availble and will get the nod. For the mots part they are a hobby. I see no use for a full tilt 454 Casull. Now a comparatively cheap FA Casull (and there are many) loaded to these same levels can be quite a bargain.

While I like the 45 Super very much, it is not a 45 Colt by any stretch of the imagination. No way a Super can push a 335 grain bullet 1300 plus FPS like the Colt can.

I see 480 Ruger and 45 Colt Ruger-only-loads as capable of 80% of the performance of a 475 Linebaugh or 454 Casull at 80% of the recoil and muzzle blast. Using a Swift A Frame 325 gr as an example, at 150 yards the 454 Casull has 3" less drop (7.8") with 100 yard zero, a 129 fps and 179 ft-lb advantage. Any critter that a 325 grain bullet at 990 fps (45 Colt at 150 yards) won't phase means I should have had a rifle! A .45 Colt Redhawk 5.5" bbl at 3 pounds is a tad less to carry than a .454 Casull 3.25 lb Super Redhawk 7.5" bbl on up to a 4.0 pound Freedom Arms 10" bbl. The same kind of analysis gives the 480 Ruger good marks compared to the 475 Linebaugh. I've never owned either the 454 Casull or the 475 Linebaugh but use the two understudy calibers with complete satisfaction. I don't need more but you can always download the longer case to duplicate the shorter case revolver with the same bore size.

I have to say I'm a 45 freak. I started with a ACP Llama. I got Baby a convertible Ruger, then the 1917 from Brazil, then a SA BPin with a carry barrel. Now a 460S&W and a governer. Uh there's a Puma in 454C.
I have to wipe down the 460S&W every time it's in my hands, I drool. The recoil from the heavy revolver is more push than smack. Almost compares to the 35Rem in a Contender. What a shooter, I got dinner plate groups first try with factory loads (50yds) That is great for me and iron sights.
The Puma is sudden death on bowling pins, wish they would last more than 3-4 rounds.