.454 Casull or .44 Magnum Raging Bull

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viper_IRIGHTI

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I am planning on buying a Taurus 8" Raging Bull revolver but can not decide whether to get the .454 Casull or the .44 Magnum. My dad has a S&W 629 classic .44 and I love shooting that, but I was wondering if I could spawn some discussion on whether the .454 or the .44 would be a better gun to have. I mostly do target shooting, but would like to try hunting sometime. Let me know your thoughts about power, accuracy, price, and versatility of these rounds. Thanks.
 
What a dilemma!

If you have some 44 Mags already, you might want to stay with the same. If you have 45 Colts, you might want to keep to that caliber. But then, if you have one of these, maybe you should get the other so check out that caliber.

Unless you reload, the 44 mag will be cheaper to shoot with a more plentiful ammo supply. The 454 is more powerful in factory loadings with a larger diameter, thus being arguably more "deadly" on game. Either will kill anything on this continent if we do our part, but I read once that Ross Seyfried said that using the 44 Mag on some African game felt like sending a boy to do a man's job, but the hot-loaded 45 Colt in a custom 5 shot was (joking) like a short barrelled 458.

You can shoot 44 Specials in the 44 Mag, and 45 Colt in the 454 if you do not mind scrubbing the "ring" out after shooting the shorter ammo. But then, neither of those sub-rounds are terrible common at WallyWorld, either.

If you handload, you can go from cream-puff loads to ???? but the 454 will still have more potential at the top end.

Winchester, Marlin, and Ruger make 44 Mag Rifles, if you have a yen to carry both wheelgun and rifle in the same caliber. I would think someday one of them will catch on and come out with a 454 in a levergun.

Maybe the best thing to do is help the economy recover and buy one of each. But then the question is still, which one first. But like so many of our choices, it would be hard to go wrong on this one.
 
If the Taurus revolver will shoot 45 Auto Rim or moon clipped 45acp I would think that that would solve the cheap practice ammo question.That is only if the accuracy is acceptable with the shorter round?(a long jump eh?)
With factory loads ranging from "cowboy" 45 colt loads to hot rodded 454 Casull loads I'd have to vote for the 454.I just think that there are a lot of options for that diameter.
That said,I agree,the best option is buying both! :D


Oh,& hello by the way! :)
 
Let me know your thoughts about power, accuracy, price, and versatility of these rounds.
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Power: 454 is a good 2-3x as powerfull as the 44 Mag, depending on the load of course
Accuracy: It's a push, they're both capable of the same accuracy
Price: 454 ammo is quite a bit more expensive than 44 Mag ammo, unless you buy specality 44 Mag stuff, then they're about the same
Versatility: If you handload the 454 is more versatile because it has more "top end" so to speak. If you're using factory loads they're about the same, you can use 44 Specials in the mag for light loads, and 45 Colts in the 454 for light practice shooting.
Hunting: With heavy hard cast loads the 44 Mag is able to take pretty much anything in North America, most feel it's a bit light for the big bears, but it has been used successfully on them. Otherwise you can use either gun for pretty much anything you'd hunt with a handgun.

Do you handload or are you planning on starting to? If so I'd go with the 454. Loading your own they'll cost roughly the same, and you can load either down as light as you want to go and the 454 pretty much as high as you can tolerate the recoil. :)

Rossi makes a 454 lever action, I think there are others that do as well, but that's the only one I can think of off the top of my head.
 
I can add nothing substantive!

The advice that you got from the previous posters is IMHO right on :p The real key is if you handload. That opens up a myriad of really good possibilities for both rounds. Good shooting;)
 
Tangent question: .454 or .480 ruger: any thoughts?
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They'll both kill pretty much anything on the planet. Do you want bigger/heavier/slower or smaller/lighter/faster? Power wise they're pretty close with the edge going to the 454 depending on the load and how you want to measure "power".

It seems a bit easier and cheaper to find bullets for the 454 than the 480, of course if you cast your own that's not a problem.

I've been considering the same thing and I think I'm going to go with a 480 Ruger for no other reason than I like the bigger heavier bullets, not because it's any better.

Why the 480? 420gr bullets. :D
 
There is a lever action in .454. I've seen it, but I can't remember the maker. Seems like it was one of the Italian companies that makes Old West copies.
 
If you are getting the Raging Bull, go ahead and get it in .454. I dont know why anybody would want a five shot .44 that big, when the Taurus M44 is also available and is a sixgun.
If you are gonna be a bear friend, be a grizzly!
 
Power: 454 is a good 2-3x as powerfull as the 44 Mag, depending on the load of course
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How do you figure?

Hot .44 Magnum is about 1,100 ft-lbs, and Garrett Hammereads are up to 1,400. .454 is about 1,800-1,900 ft-lbs. That's a real performance advantage over .44, but it ain't 2-3x.
 
Only the 454 and 480 Raging Bulls are 5 shots, the 41 Mag, 44 Mag and short lived 45 Colt were 6 shots, the Raging 30 is an 8 shooter.

Other than that I agree, I don't know why someone would want a large frame 5 shot 44 Mag either.
 
My personal experience? I bought the .44 Raging Bull and fell in love with it. Until I realized that if I were to use it hunting, I would have to wear hearing protection at all times. 198db WILL damage your hearing with even one shot. So I bought a set of electronic ear muffs. Work great, until you try to pull a "ski mask" head warmer over your head. Maybe the electronic type earplug?
And for target shooting? Well, that got expensive, real quick. Didn't reload though. Nothing wrong with my Raging Bull, just a large caliber hunting hand gun didn't work out for me.
Oh, and BTW, Taurus has a terrible resale value. Go with a high end Smith & Wesson or Ruger.
I paid $450 for the gun, $40 for the shoulder harness, got the scope mount free from Taurus ( a long story) and could only get $250 for all of it at a gun show. I was desperate to order my CMP 1903A3 and I took the low ball offer the guy kept making me all morning. No one else even thought about it.
 
Ruger

If you go with 454 you will be able to load heavy 45 colt and 454 to power level over the 44 mag. The 45 colt loads can be handloaded clear up to 400 gr weight. Not sure that the overall length of 454 will allow much over 320 grain but thats a lot of bullet too.
 
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