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Which is why I settled on the 480, big push but not the sting of the 454.

It would be interesting to see how fast a cylinder full of 400 gr @ 1200 fps 480's could be unloaded from the SRH in the same test.

Buddy of mine has a Ruger Super Blackhawk that Hamilton Bowen converted to a 5- shot .475. Limbaugh. With max loads, it can be quite a handful. With light .480 Ruger loads, it is pretty easy to handle, and quite fun to shoot.

I've been shooting my .454. Casull Freedom Arms 5" Revolver for a lot of years, so I don't think it's all that bad, even with full loads. Mine is not ported.

And you get six of them, not five

I've done speed drills with my .480 Alaskan, and I can still rattle off five .454s from the FA83 faster.

I will have to try a heavy load speed drill with my 329PD sometime. While I still have some extra Oxycodone's and Fentanyl patches laying around!

Seriously, the speed drills with real bear loads IS a good idea.

Is it against the rules to use a recoil glove in the drills? Can't see where that would change how a gun was handled in a trail emergency all that much.

You know, I just realized that there is a very big flaw in that drill. It's supposed to be 4 for the bear and one for you.

Never one for me. Suicide is not my style, ill take my chances fighting to survive.

Great shooting Whit! Awesome video. Thanks for posting JWP!

Alot of people bag on the recoil of the 454, but I one of the rare few who dont find it that abusive. I would rather shoot it than the 475 linebaughs I've owned. I know I'm in the minority here though.

No, I think the .475 loaded to spec is more abusive than the .454, so you're definitely not in the minority. However, 300 grain bullets zipping out the barrel at 1,600 fps are no walk in the park either, particularly if you shoot them in volume.

At one time one of the large local shops had about a dozen used Freedom Arms .454's for sale. The consensus was - owned by people who had wanted big bad revolvers, but didn't handload and didn't care for the recoil any longer.

I shot one of the SRH's in .454 about 10 years ago - I had my chrono handy and the factory loads were 300gr at 1620 fps. One cylinder was plenty!

If we're talking about the popular, hard cast WFN's and similar bullets that don't expand, I think I'd just as soon have a bigger bullet going slower.

Nope, I've shot enough 454's, 475's and 500's to know that I can handle the 454, but can't handle the 475 and 500. It's surprising how with 400 gr and heavier bullets adding a few grains more powder and increasing the velocity 100-200 fps turns big recoil into brutal recoil.

Great video. One of those guys looked like the barrel was going full vertical during recoil.

That made my wrists hurt just watching.

I'm a concert pianist by trade. I shudder to think what a cylinder full of those block busters would do to my ability to tickle the ivories....