Ruger Alaskan .454 vs. Taurus .454

I may be hallucinating, but I think I saw them going for the same price on their respective sites. Does this change anyone's opinion?

That unfluted cylinder on the Ruger is damn sexy ;)
 
While I don't have an Alaskan in .454C I do have one in .44M and it is one solid pistol. While the Taurus offers some advantages, ported, which I don't care for, and price, you can't go wrong with an Alaskan. IF you can find one, get it and you wont be sorry.
 
Mr.RevolverGuy,
Great review! I am a bit hesitant about the recoil as the largest caliber I have shot was .50 out of a Desert Eagle. Wasn't bad, but not something I want to shoot all day lol.
 
IceDog88,

It really isn't that bad but it really depends on the ammo. I have shot Hornady 240 grain from it and it chronographed at 1788fps I was really worrying it was going to hurt because the box said 1900fps. With the proper grip and riding the recoil it was nothing, the muzzle really didn't even rise that much. I think the most brutal ammo was Corbon 300grain over the chrono it was 1465fps. The best ammo in reference to recoil I have found is Winchester Super X 250 grain ammo. It is for lighter recoil 1240fps over chrono and still penetrates 11inches of wet yellow pages phone books.

The one thing I believe is very critical with 454 is BULLET JUMP please be aware of it. 454 can produce enough recoil that when you most need it the next round could move forward and your revolver just may lock up. Even if you only use factory ammo make sure you look at it before leaving the store ensuring a firm crimp. On the left is Hornady on the right is Winchester and I have never had a problem with either of these, they always have a firm crimp.
DSCN5857.jpg
 
The one thing I believe is very critical with 454 is BULLET JUMP please be aware of it. 454 can produce enough recoil that when you most need it the next round could move forward and your revolver just may lock up. Even if you only use factory ammo make sure you look at it before leaving the store ensuring a firm crimp. On the left is Hornady on the right is Winchester and I have never had a problem with either of these, they always have a firm crimp.
Click to expand...

MrRevolverGuy,
Not really familiar with this issue. Can you explain a little more? Are you referring to bullet setback or is this something different? Realistically speaking, I own only a S&W 586 as a revolver, so fairly new to this whole wheelgun thing. :o
 
Bullet Jump is when a revolver fires, and the remaining cartridges in the cylinder (yet to be fired) are subjected to significant G-forces as the pistol recoils. Sometimes, it is enough to persuade an yet-unfired bullet to migrate forward far enough to protrude from the front of the cylinder, preventing the cylinder from rotating normally, and thus preventing the revolver from firing.
 
Get the Ruger Alaskan! I did!

The quality of the Ruger is better than the Taurus. The internals are modular and easy to work on. Fitting is better and you can dry fire it all day long, everyday, and it won't care.

Mine requires no trigger job out of the box. Even if it needed one, I'd only need some trigger shims and springs from triggershims.com.

The only problem is finding one. Ruger shows it on their website, but my local store hasn't seen one in two years.

Ruger-Alaskan.jpg
 
Please don't buy the Taurus.

I shot one 5 or so years ago that belonged to a friend.

The gun was NIB, and we had to beat the ejector rod to remove the empty cases after firing.

The gun was a complete POS. Buy the RUger.
 
A 454 out of a 2.5 barrel.....
Myself, I think a 4 or 6 inch barrel would be more apt to utilize the potential velocity of the 454 cartridge...just not enough barrel length...
 
Oh, you'll lose velocity, but it'll still be fast.

I prefer to think of the guns chambered in 454 Casull as excellent 45 Colt and 45 ACP (when cut for moonclips) launchers.
 
Having shot my 454 over a chrono the 1900 fps hornady even with a reduction in velocity of 15% due to the short barrel, it is still 35% more than a 44mag.
 
icedogg 88,

What did you end up getting? Ruger or Taurus Raging Bull? I got me the 454 5" Raging Bull!! Sorry to reincarnate this thread... I'm just curious...
 
Lol, couldn't find one and Ruger said it could be as long as 16 months! I decided on the Ruger before I called, but now I'm back to square one! The Taurus is looking better with every passing day. How do you like it?
 
First impression looks very promising. I did the revolver test and it's pretty tight... Locks up really good.. I have yet to fire it. Hopefully, tomorrow or Sunday. I'll let you know. I owe someone else a report. I just couldn't get out to the range too many honey do's!!! LOL..
 
Well, here's my report. Got to the property that belongs to a friend. I set up the target at twenty yards, fired 50 rounds of 240 grain XTP Hornady. Here's the result.
454range.jpg


The experienced was painful but fun. Everytime I pulled the trigger the recoil was massive, the gun jumps up like it wants to get away from my hand. My trigger finger also hurts from the sudden jump of the gun. I'm afraid 240grain is all I can take. It'll probably take me a lot of practice before I take on the 300 grainer. Surprisingly, from 20 yards I was consistently hitting the target. The gun shoots a lot better than I do. The gun functions very well. I heard of the shells sticking in the cylinder but not this one. The spent shells comes out as fast as you can push the release (rod) button.

All shots were done single action. The single action pull seems a little lighter for me. Because it always catch me by surprise as in I wasn't ready yet.

50 round is all I have with me. Thank god, because I don't think I can shoot anymore than 50. LOL... Anyway, looks like it'll take me a lot of practice before I get used to the recoil of the 454.... The 44 magnum was nothing compared to this... WOW...way too much power for anything in Texas... hahaha... Good luck to you...
 
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