I bought the ruger SRH 454 the recoil of 300 gr factory loads hurts my wrist . Now I shoot a lone eagle in 308 WIN with factory loads It`s tame compared to the 454. Has anyone tried changing the grips. I don`t want to tune the round down thats defeating the reason I bought the 454. I am by no means recoil sensitive but the twist of this revolver hurts.
454 Recoil
- Thread starter buford1
- Start date
Mike Weber
New member
Buford1:
Try Pachmyr for grips, and a heavy pair of shooting gloves. Also try using one of the wrist cuffs that the cowboy shooters use. You might also try a differant grip of the revolver. Plus don't let Buford JR talk you out of your new Ruger.
Try Pachmyr for grips, and a heavy pair of shooting gloves. Also try using one of the wrist cuffs that the cowboy shooters use. You might also try a differant grip of the revolver. Plus don't let Buford JR talk you out of your new Ruger.
Eric Larsen
New member
The difference in the 454's Ive shot, is alot...the SRH is the hardest hitting Ive found. The Raging Bull is the softest...
The gloves will help with the hard grips and hard backstrap.
A different grip...like Mike says, will help alot also...I just like shooting the SRH with the stock wood grips....Just me.
Shoot well
The gloves will help with the hard grips and hard backstrap.
A different grip...like Mike says, will help alot also...I just like shooting the SRH with the stock wood grips....Just me.
Shoot well
Grip material, grip shape, gun shape, shooter's grip, wrist angles etc etc; all have an effect on perceived recoil.
And just to make it more difficult to dial em in sometimes, every person is a little different in construction.
If you are getting pain from it, suggest limiting the shooting untill you get it dialed in. If you tough it out and shoot through the pain, could well live to regret it. The older you get the more you pay for the fun of your youth.
Sam
And just to make it more difficult to dial em in sometimes, every person is a little different in construction.
If you are getting pain from it, suggest limiting the shooting untill you get it dialed in. If you tough it out and shoot through the pain, could well live to regret it. The older you get the more you pay for the fun of your youth.
Sam
Edward429451
Moderator
I don`t want to tune the round down thats defeating the reason I bought the 454. I am by no means recoil sensitive but the twist of this revolver hurts.
I disagree. Tune it down for awhile until you get used to it. Then crank em back up. You wouldn't buy a racecar and testdrive it at 220 mph to get used to it so why not with the .454?
Gotta walk before you can run. Just my .02
Those are nice revolvers, my friend has one and its awesome.
I disagree. Tune it down for awhile until you get used to it. Then crank em back up. You wouldn't buy a racecar and testdrive it at 220 mph to get used to it so why not with the .454?
Gotta walk before you can run. Just my .02
Those are nice revolvers, my friend has one and its awesome.
Maximus Firepowerus
Inactive
I have an idea
Try a lighter grain bullet weight.
Try shooting some of the .260 or .250 grain bullets in your 454 SRH. for me, the felt recoil is always suprisingly less when I switch to lower bullet weights.
For instance, try shooting a "hot" 180 grain .44 mag and then try a "hot" 300 grain. You'll be suprised by the difference. The 180 has some punch, but the 300 really kicks!
And I like my Taurus .454 with regards to how it handles recoil too.....
Try a lighter grain bullet weight.
Try shooting some of the .260 or .250 grain bullets in your 454 SRH. for me, the felt recoil is always suprisingly less when I switch to lower bullet weights.
For instance, try shooting a "hot" 180 grain .44 mag and then try a "hot" 300 grain. You'll be suprised by the difference. The 180 has some punch, but the 300 really kicks!
And I like my Taurus .454 with regards to how it handles recoil too.....
Pigshooter
New member
Porting makes the difference like night and day.
Ditto C.R. Sam. He speaks from years of experience. Also ditto what Pigshooter says too about getting it ported. I would as it would contribute greatly to taming that beast. I fired only three rounds and my wrists were like jello. I don't need to develop tendonitis (sic) and stay away from it. Ouch!
I found a HUGE difference in felt recoil between factory loads sporting a 300 gr. bullet and those using a 240 gr. bullet. The latter is much more controllable. As it is, I can only shoot 20-25 rounds of .454 at one time before tiring. Another note. If you have trouble flinching when shooting .357 mag or .44 mag just put some rounds through your .454 then switch to the lesser calibers right after. It'll feel as if you're shooting a .22!
Maximus Firepowerus
Inactive
Buford1! Let us know what you think??
Give us an update on what you think of the lighter weight ammo and the grips. I'm curious to see what you think.
Also Pkay! It's been a while since I bought .454 Casull ammo (I reload my own). Who's manufacturing the .240 grain bullet ammo? Or is it a home brew?
Thanks and good luck!
Give us an update on what you think of the lighter weight ammo and the grips. I'm curious to see what you think.
Also Pkay! It's been a while since I bought .454 Casull ammo (I reload my own). Who's manufacturing the .240 grain bullet ammo? Or is it a home brew?
Thanks and good luck!
westvirginia
Inactive
Ditto on the lighter bullets
My Dad loves big bore handguns, the bigger the better. He has at least 14 different handguns (off the top of my head) that are .44 Mag or meaner (including the T/C .45/70 gov't). When we were shooting the .454 SRH we could tell a HUGE difference going down from the 300 to (I think) 265's (maybe 260's). It's a sweet gun once you get accustomed to it, so don't get discouraged.
My Dad loves big bore handguns, the bigger the better. He has at least 14 different handguns (off the top of my head) that are .44 Mag or meaner (including the T/C .45/70 gov't). When we were shooting the .454 SRH we could tell a HUGE difference going down from the 300 to (I think) 265's (maybe 260's). It's a sweet gun once you get accustomed to it, so don't get discouraged.
I've got a hunch.
I shoot a SRH .454 and use my own hot handloads. I want the performance.
I've noticed an odd and unusual feature of the perceived recoil and I'm going to venture a guess as to what's happening. Think about this.
My Ruger has the factory rubber grips but the grip frame is only a partial "stub" frame and it extends only a very short distance into the grip. Much of the grip is totally unsupported by any structural material.
My suspicion is that the rubber grip below the stub frame is too soft and deflects under recoil so that the greatest force of the recoil is expressed only over the small area where the stub grip frame actually is.
In most cases (full grip frame) a rubber grip would "soften" the recoil. I perceive, in this case, that the rubber grip exaggerates the recoil.
I'm going to change over to a decent set of wood grips and I"m betting that will disperse the same recoil over a larger area of my hand and have the perceived effect of lessening the recoil.
Comments?
I shoot a SRH .454 and use my own hot handloads. I want the performance.
I've noticed an odd and unusual feature of the perceived recoil and I'm going to venture a guess as to what's happening. Think about this.
My Ruger has the factory rubber grips but the grip frame is only a partial "stub" frame and it extends only a very short distance into the grip. Much of the grip is totally unsupported by any structural material.
My suspicion is that the rubber grip below the stub frame is too soft and deflects under recoil so that the greatest force of the recoil is expressed only over the small area where the stub grip frame actually is.
In most cases (full grip frame) a rubber grip would "soften" the recoil. I perceive, in this case, that the rubber grip exaggerates the recoil.
I'm going to change over to a decent set of wood grips and I"m betting that will disperse the same recoil over a larger area of my hand and have the perceived effect of lessening the recoil.
Comments?
Maximus Firepowerus
Inactive
Sorry Nemisis, I have too......
I think you out thought yourself on this one, and I am guilty of it sometimes too. Ever play baseball on a cold day when you fight off an inside pitch with the handle of your bat? Remember how much it hurt- like a stinging sensation. I never once had the thought that, maybe if I just had a better wooden handle on the bat it would hurt less.
Nothing personal, but I'd be wearing two pairs of batting gloves and looking for some foam to wrap around the bat....
Wood does not "give" as much as foam or rubber. The transfer of mechanical energy is very significant. Rubber (depending on the hardness of course) gives significantly more than wood. There's a reason why your air bags in your car are not made of wood. Even really large pieces of wood.
Before you invest in a larger wood grip, I'd humbly suggest looking at a larger very soft rubber grip that fit your hands better.
but it's your money and your hands. Feel free to experiment.
I think you out thought yourself on this one, and I am guilty of it sometimes too. Ever play baseball on a cold day when you fight off an inside pitch with the handle of your bat? Remember how much it hurt- like a stinging sensation. I never once had the thought that, maybe if I just had a better wooden handle on the bat it would hurt less.
Nothing personal, but I'd be wearing two pairs of batting gloves and looking for some foam to wrap around the bat....
Wood does not "give" as much as foam or rubber. The transfer of mechanical energy is very significant. Rubber (depending on the hardness of course) gives significantly more than wood. There's a reason why your air bags in your car are not made of wood. Even really large pieces of wood.
Before you invest in a larger wood grip, I'd humbly suggest looking at a larger very soft rubber grip that fit your hands better.
but it's your money and your hands. Feel free to experiment.
Wait. Let's re-think this completely.
Elmer Keith knew a thing or two about big recoil. This is the guy that was hot-rodding the .44Spl back in the 1930s and eventually became known as the "father of the .44Magnum".
He was using modified Colt SAAs as his main platform until S&W reinforced the N-Frame years later.
One of his custom critters was the most widely copied custom SAA ever, the "number 5". And it's THAT grip that Ruger mostly copied for the "Bisley" model. If you go look at pictures of an original Colt Bisley or an authentic Italian replica, you'll realize the Ruger "Bisley" ain't original Colt at all.
The Ruger Bisley is what Linebaugh and Bowen and the other big-kaboom Ruger SA builders recommend for dealing with major recoil. It not only "rolls in the hand" slightly like a regular Blackhawk/Vaquero grip, it does so in a way that handles big recoil the best. And these guys are building 5-shot guns MORE potent than the .454Casull, with bone-stock factory Ruger "Bisley" grip frames.
Fine.
So what happens if we stick a Ruger Bisley grip on a Super Redhawk?
OK, it'll look funny. Granted. But...would it work?
Wouldn't be hard to do.
Take a Bisley grip frame and aftermarket *micarta* grips, grind the top area of the grip frame metal until the SRH's "stub" fits down inside where the mainspring would be on an SA, then put a light coat of lube on the SRH stub. Fill the entire grip frame innards with a strong epoxy like JB-Weld and let dry - the lube on the stub and bottom area of the SRH would prevent the glue from sticking to it, but the grip frame metal and side panels would now be a solid unit. Drill it for a second cross-pin screw that goes through the SRH stub, and presto - a Bisley SRH. You use Micarta so that it's strong enough that the whole thing will hold together under monster recoil - it's stronger than wood.
A Linebaugh Bisley SA conversion in .475Linebaugh is more potent than a .454 SRH, and weights about 10oz less than the SRH, yet recoil is in the same ballpark or even milder with the Linebaugh. (It's the Linebaugh LONGS based on the .357Maximum frame that have been breaking people's wrists.) Stick that grip on the heavier SRH, and I'll betcha you'll end up with...well, not a pussycat maybe, but manageable.
NOTE: if somebody tries this, watch for where the Bisley grip would be in relation to the trigger position on a factory Bisley gun, and keep that relationship the same over on the SRH. I suspect it matters, a lot.
Elmer Keith knew a thing or two about big recoil. This is the guy that was hot-rodding the .44Spl back in the 1930s and eventually became known as the "father of the .44Magnum".
He was using modified Colt SAAs as his main platform until S&W reinforced the N-Frame years later.
One of his custom critters was the most widely copied custom SAA ever, the "number 5". And it's THAT grip that Ruger mostly copied for the "Bisley" model. If you go look at pictures of an original Colt Bisley or an authentic Italian replica, you'll realize the Ruger "Bisley" ain't original Colt at all.
The Ruger Bisley is what Linebaugh and Bowen and the other big-kaboom Ruger SA builders recommend for dealing with major recoil. It not only "rolls in the hand" slightly like a regular Blackhawk/Vaquero grip, it does so in a way that handles big recoil the best. And these guys are building 5-shot guns MORE potent than the .454Casull, with bone-stock factory Ruger "Bisley" grip frames.
Fine.
So what happens if we stick a Ruger Bisley grip on a Super Redhawk?
OK, it'll look funny. Granted. But...would it work?
Wouldn't be hard to do.
Take a Bisley grip frame and aftermarket *micarta* grips, grind the top area of the grip frame metal until the SRH's "stub" fits down inside where the mainspring would be on an SA, then put a light coat of lube on the SRH stub. Fill the entire grip frame innards with a strong epoxy like JB-Weld and let dry - the lube on the stub and bottom area of the SRH would prevent the glue from sticking to it, but the grip frame metal and side panels would now be a solid unit. Drill it for a second cross-pin screw that goes through the SRH stub, and presto - a Bisley SRH. You use Micarta so that it's strong enough that the whole thing will hold together under monster recoil - it's stronger than wood.
A Linebaugh Bisley SA conversion in .475Linebaugh is more potent than a .454 SRH, and weights about 10oz less than the SRH, yet recoil is in the same ballpark or even milder with the Linebaugh. (It's the Linebaugh LONGS based on the .357Maximum frame that have been breaking people's wrists.) Stick that grip on the heavier SRH, and I'll betcha you'll end up with...well, not a pussycat maybe, but manageable.
NOTE: if somebody tries this, watch for where the Bisley grip would be in relation to the trigger position on a factory Bisley gun, and keep that relationship the same over on the SRH. I suspect it matters, a lot.