Casull .. 44 Magnum .. Long Colt

G

Gary H

New member
I'm trying to finish up my handgun purchasing before the new registration laws hit California in 2003. I'm also traveling in an effort to find a future home..in another state..so don't flame me please.. ok..if you want..

Question:

I prefer large frame revolvers. I have (picking up today) a collectors unfired S&W 25 61/2" in Long Colt. This, along with a shorter barrel 27/28 will be my shoot'n guns. I'm looking for a big boomer for the wild. The mod 25 won't take heavy Colt loads. I'm also a reloader, so can rely on my own motions for the comotions. I'm thinking of either a S&W 29 (.44 Mag), or a Super Redhawk in .44 mag, Long Colt, or .454 Casull. I've got to assume that the Redhawk will handle heavier .44 mag than the S&W??? Is the Casull shootable? If Mr. Bear finds my person to be on the "let's dine out" list, am I at a disadvantage with the .44, or is the Casull so powerful, that lack of control makes the .44 a better choice?
 
I have a SRH in both .44 Magnum and .454 Casull. You can create hand loads for the .44 Magnum to almost .454 specs which can't be done for the S&W. The .454 will handle both .45 Colt and .454 Casull. Obviously the hotter the load the more recoil making a good second shot (if needed) more difficult. The .454 250 gr Winchester Super-X is a medium load that is quite managble and the person I buy most of my ammo from made me up some 265 gr loads that also made a quick second shot doable. Either SRH will do the job on Mr. Bear. Since you reload you also can consider the SRH in .480. Hotter than the .44 Magnum with less recoil than the .454 Casull.
 
Look at it this way, assuming that you can handle the 44 and 454 equally well, you are better off with the 454. But even with an agitated grizzly coming at you, you may still be undergunned with that 454. There's an awful lot of variables involved here.
 
to muddy the waters,you can upload 45 long colt for the stronger ruger designs.
for simplicity,i would go with the 44 magnum for overall versatility. available guns,available ammo,cost of ammo,and reloading.
any is a good choice,but i think cougars are a bigger concern than bears. if it's a determined bear,just prepare to meet your maker. i wouldn't fret over it much since bears just want an easy meal.
i have a ruger super redhawk 454, and a bisley vaquero in 45 long colt.
i've shot a freedom arms 454 with a 10 1/2" barrel and it kicks like the proverbial mule. i've also shot alot of heavy 44 loads through a Desert Eagle, S&W Classic 5"barrel, and a Ruger Redhawk, and older Super Redhawk.
 
WHAT KIND OF BEAR?

If grizzly, think 454 SuperRedhawk.
If not, think 45 Colt Redhawk.
If confused, think of us.....:eek:
 
The Taurus Tracker .45LC can handle power levels about the same as the S&W 25 in .45LC: about 20,000PSI. That gives you an OK load for defense against human assailants, such as a 200grain JHP at 1,100fps such as Cor-Bon sells. You can also fire at least limited numbers of these in most Italian SAAs, although they're too hot for an Italian Schofield.

The "Ruger Only" .45LC+Ps run up around 33,000psi. The hottest factory ammo of this sort I'm aware of is Buffalo Bore's 325grain hardcast at 1,300fps. These will open a big can of whoop-ass on a Black bear, and in a pinch can drop a Griz if you have nothing better available (not recommended, but pack it if it's all you got).

Garrett ammo (linked off of www.sixgunner.com ) sells very hot "Ruger Redhawk/Super Redhawk ONLY" .44Mag loads similar to those hot .45LC+Ps - 330grain at 1,300+. But these operate at higher pressure than the aforementioned Buffallo Bore .45LC+Ps so the recoil may be more. Still, they're good loads and the .44Mag is otherwise usually the cheapest to shoot of these calibers. (BUT, mild .45LC "cowboy loads" are sometimes available cheap in bulk, with cost rivalling the bargains that (rarely) turn up for the .44.

For Griz, you want a .454. Forget the .480, ammo flexibility isn't as good and peak power is lower. Several makers "soften" the .454 some for both recoil control and to make sure the lead loads don't jump crimp and tie the gun - Buffallo Bore's website very pointedly says they're not driving the 454 to it's full potential and as others have noted, they're not the only ones with such a policy.

Somebody on one of the gun auction sites has a real interesting critter he's been trying to unload for a LONG time. It's a Super Redhawk that started life as a 44Mag, but was converted to .45LC via cylinder boring and a 10" custom barrel by a reputable gunsmith. I think you'll find it on Gunbroker.com or try gunsamerica.com - he only wants $500 for it. If you can cope with that 10" tube, I'll betcha that thing will really rock and hot .45LC+Ps will get up near .454 speeds :D.
 
that 44 magnum super that was converted should be able to handle the regular .454 loads
the only reason that ruger changed the metal between the 44 and 454 models is because the 44 metal couldn't withstand 100 shots of 140% 454 pressures; however, the revolver withstood the normal 454 pressures just fine with the six shot cylinder
 
Jim:

John K has posted previously that:

The 480 can be pushed well above the factory loads. Hodgdon has posted some load data with impressive ballistics on their site for the 480 Ruger, 405gr @ 1,300+ fps, 370gr @ 1,500+ fps and more. Very stout stuff.
Click to expand...

Now, for these large bullets, I would need to learn how to cast my own.

.454: Speer: 300gr @ 1542fps max; Hornady: 1650fps & Hogdon: 1746fps

So, the 480 might push a larger bullet with more energy should you be brave enough to trust Hogdon.

Hogdon lists starting loads for the 480 as 325gr @ 1016fps & 400gr @ 816fps

In the .454 Rugers, you can run Long Colt, with careful cleaning and get light loads with a lighter bullet
Speer: 260gr @ 841fps & Hornady: 255gr @ 700fps

So, you could load lighter with the .454 for more pleasurable shooting. Maybe a good bit of unburnt powder.

So, if you can practice with some of the light .480 loads, I'm not so sure that the .480 is such a disadvantage. I don't know about cost of components.
 
Hmmm. Ya, but with .480 you HAVE to reload (both for cost reasons and to get the full range of power levels).

With .454, there's factory ammo for every possible purpose and bulk "cowboy loads" aren't insanely expensive.
 
Jim:

Hot one today in San Rafael. You probably get some cooling off of the water.

Most of what I shoot are reloads, but just as you can find a large variety of loaded ammunition for the Casull; you can also find a much larger array of dies, bullets and other supplies for the Casull. There just aren't many 480's out there yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top