.44 mag or .454 Casull ?

Short answer:

While the 44 magnum is no slouch and a very powerful cartridge, the 454 is a lot more powerful. You lookin' to shoot BIG, DANGEROUS animals?
 
The .44 Magnum is a cartridge based on the old .44 Special. It throws a heavy bullet very fast, and was designed to kill big game reliably with a pistol round.

Some time in the '70s or '80s, deer apparently started taking 'roids and black bear took to wearing kevlar, so...

The .454 Casull is a cartridge based on the old .45 Colt. It throws a heavier bullet even faster, and was designed to kill big game reliably with a pistol round.



(Or maybe someone just wanted a pistol that was more powerful than his buddy's .44 Mag... ;) )
 
My experience with them is...

.44mag=Fun to shoot and more likely to travel accurately to the target and easy to get off a second accurate shot.

.454casull=Not fun to shoot and hard to keep on target or get a quick follow up shot.
 
Shooting .454 in my SW .460 is not fun. It has a lot more snappy recoil (not sure how to explain it clearly) while .460 is much easier to control.


Only the 44 mag. can blow one's head "clean off."
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That was because they didn't have the .454, the .460, or the .500 back in Dirty Harry's day.

I bet when they do a remake (and you know they will), he is carry something bigger than a .44 Mag
 
Bad controllability of the .454 is a myth. I am a pretty avarage framed guy (6.1'' 212lbs) and with 300 grainers @ 1500 fp/s its a breeze to shoot, not to mention how easy it is to shoot the standart 260 @ 1600. Thatsd out of a Ruger Super Redhawk wit 6.5'' barrel.
You can make very fast accurate shots with it, you just have to NOT use the ''let the muzzle rise technique'' its too loose for that recoil. If you lock up your elbows and your shoulders it recoils straight back and the muzzle only raises approx. 5 in and you ( I ) can shoot all six cartridges in six seconds accurately.

My .500 S&W 4'' with 450 grainers @ 1500 is WAY worse than any big bore handgun I ever shot before. Anything over 550 grains @ 1400 in that thing is very uncomfortably...
 
I have a Smith 629-5 with a lug barrel, and frankly I don't need anything more at this time.

Having said that, and if the .454 would have been around for metallic silhuettes, I would have gotten a Casull, and then loaded .45 Colt reloads for plinking.

All considered, I'm doing that idea now.
 
The 44 magnum has about 1000 ft-lbs of energy. Chamber pressure tops out around 38000 CUP. Hot loads can get you 1200 ft-lbs of energy.

The 454 has almost 2000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Chamber pressure tops out around 60000 CUP.

Almost twice the pressure gives you much more energy and faster bullets, regardless of weight.

I really enjoy my Super Redhawk in 454/45 Colt. I shoot 45 Colt loads through it most of the time, but when hunting season rolls around there isn't much you can't kill with the Casull.
 
That was because they didn't have the .454, the .460, or the .500 back in Dirty Harry's day.
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Actually Dick Casull developed the .454 back in the `60's. It's been throttled back from his humble beginnings, 260's@2000fps in .45Colt brass. :eek:
 
The 44 magnum has about 1000 ft-lbs of energy. Chamber pressure tops out around 38000 CUP. Hot loads can get you 1200 ft-lbs of energy.

The 454 has almost 2000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Chamber pressure tops out around 60000 CUP.
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That's pretty much the essence of it. Just like rifles, when pressures get that high the increase in velocity isn't worth the additional bullet velocity. Point of diminishing returns.


From buffalobore.com:
The .454 Casull is one cartridge that BBA does not load to it's full pressure limit. When loaded to it's full pressure potential the .454 Casull can become unreliable and unpleasant to shoot. At upper pressure levels, heavy bullets tend to jump crimp - tying up the cylinder. (wouldn't this be great in an emergency) Also, fired brass can stick in the chambers. BBA feels that a 360 gr. bullet (or 325 gr. bullet at 1525 fps) at 1425 fps is still very powerful, comfortable to shoot, and TOTALLY RELIABLE. At these levels, these bullets give up nothing in killing performance.
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It is possible to get too much of a good thing...

.44 magnum can't really use bullets in the 345-360 range, and, the .454 can, and shines with them.
 
Bad controllability of the .454 is a myth
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No, it is not a myth. I myself cannot fire a .454casull as quickly and as well as a .44mag and neither can anyone I know. Plus, scientifically speaking, the added pressure and speed would require more effort to control therefore making it less controllable. So it is not a myth. It is a fact for a great many people.

If you shoot your .454casull just as good as your .44mag maybe it is not because you shoot just as well with the .454 but instead because you shoot your .44mag just as poorly. :p
 
No, it is not a myth. I myself cannot fire a .454casull as quickly and as well as a .44mag and neither can anyone I know. Plus, scientifically speaking, the added pressure and speed would require more effort to control therefore making it less controllable. So it is not a myth. It is a fact for a great many people.

If you shoot your .454casull just as good as your .44mag maybe it is not because you shoot just as well with the .454 but instead because you shoot your .44mag just as poorly.
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It depends a LOT on the handgun you're shooting it from.

My Raging Bull has very mild recoil, even with .454 casull. It almost seems like some of my smaller .45 acp handguns have worse recoil. Of course, the Raging Bull has a longer barrel, is vented, and weighs quite a bit more...
 
Shooting .454 in my SW .460 is not fun. It has a lot more snappy recoil (not sure how to explain it clearly) while .460 is much easier to control.
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The .454 doesn't generate enough gas to properly work the compensator/muzzle brake.
the Raging Bull has a longer barrel, is vented, and weighs quite a bit more
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The latter two have the effect of reducing recoil.
 
44 can match the 454

If you want the same stopping power as the 454 from a 44 Mag., shoot the Garrett 330 gr. +P Hammerhead. These rounds deliver the same punch as the 454 but with less chamber pressure. They will penetrate the skull of a charging Grizzly and continue in as far as the bears hips, breaking bone along the way. These rounds are "Not Fun" to shoot but if you are in G-Bear territory, it's a nice feeling to know that you have a round that can handle that size animal. Noted to be "The most powerful 44 Mag. round, in the world". Note, only a few handguns can handle this ammo (Ruger Redhawk being one)....
 
If you want the same stopping power as the 454 from a 44 Mag., shoot the Garrett 330 gr. +P Hammerhead. These rounds deliver the same punch as the 454 but with less chamber pressure.
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Not true.
Garrett list the 44mag 330gr hammerhead at 1400fps and 43,500 CUP.
Hodgdon list a 335gr 454 at 1531fps at 41,600 CUP. And that's way under it's 55,000 CUP maximum.
The 454 will always exceed the 44 mag by virtue of having far greater case capacity combined with a higher pressure ceiling.
And I own both calibers and like them both a lot.

Jim
 
Sad When Folks Quote Marketing Ads As Gospel-

Anywho-


Quote:
Shooting .454 in my SW .460 is not fun. It has a lot more snappy recoil (not sure how to explain it clearly) while .460 is much easier to control.
The .454 doesn't generate enough gas to properly work the compensator/muzzle brake.
Quote:
the Raging Bull has a longer barrel, is vented, and weighs quite a bit more
The latter two have the effect of reducing recoil.

Hiya John!

I'd SWAG that most 454 Casull ammo has heavier bullets causing the added recoil since the 460 mostly uses a 200gner. BTW, my hand loaded 410 gn LBT LFNs clock a bit over 1600fps from the Smith 460 using FA Casull brass!

Also for everyone here, if I have one more noob come into the store demanding .454 bullets or .460 bullets for reloading and I gotta argue with them!
It does seem like a picky point asking for people to use the proper decimal placement or lack there of but do ya see my point?
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