Best platform for the 454 casull

Best platform for 454 casull


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adcoch1

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Been pondering a new big bore revolver for a while now, but several threads here and other reading has me wondering what the best platform is for a hunting 454 casull. Is it a good quality single action like a ruger bisley Super Blackhawk? Or a BFR? Or maybe a ruger Super redhawk? Scoped or unscoped?
I owned a 5.5" Taurus Raging Bull in 454 and it was actually a pretty decent revolver, but what would be best for hunting deer, elk, black bear and maybe bison?
 
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Other: I like the Smith & Wesson 460xvr

I know a technicality... But the compensated barrel and weight really tames recoil of 45, 454, and 460 rather well. And no one can really claim that S&W makes a bad trigger.

And I like DA/SA for the option of trigger pull.

If you want a straight 454, then I say Ruger Super Redhawk.
 
Other: I like the Smith & Wesson 460xvr

I know a technicality... But the compensated barrel and weight really tames recoil of 45, 454, and 460 rather well. And no one can really claim that S&W makes a bad trigger.

And I like DA/SA for the option of trigger pull.

If you want a straight 454, then I say Ruger Super Redhawk.
The 460 is tempting, and I did cut my big bore teeth on a S&W 29.... It is a bit big though, is the 460 as "Usable" as a 454 only revolver?
 
Ive had a couple raging bulls in .454, a 8” and a 4”. They were both fine, accurate pistols. The raging bulls just aren’t built to take the power of a full house .454. The brass started sticking in the cylinders of both of mine when I was only getting started pushing the envelope of pressures,(about 29 grains h-110 behind a 300 grain jacketed bullet)It says right in the manual what they’re rated for, but that doesn’t mean they’re a crappy gun. On the other hand, I dont think you could pack enough h-110 into a case to harm a ruger super redhawk. So, do you really need full house .454 loads? Probably not, unless your after buffalo or big bears or something.
 
Ive had a couple raging bulls in .454, a 8” and a 4”. They were both fine, accurate pistols. The raging bulls just aren’t built to take the power of a full house .454. The brass started sticking in the cylinders of both of mine when I was only getting started pushing the envelope of pressures,(about 29 grains h-110 behind a 300 grain jacketed bullet)It says right in the manual what they’re rated for, but that doesn’t mean they’re a crappy gun. On the other hand, I dont think you could pack enough h-110 into a case to harm a ruger super redhawk. So, do you really need full house .454 loads? Probably not, unless your after buffalo or big bears or something.
I didn't handload when I had my 454, it was one of the reasons I got started eventually, but a buddy had to have that Taurus. It was a good shooter and could run pretty hot ammo with easy extraction.

I plan to hunt elk at least with a revolver, and while I have a few different 44 mags that will get the job done, I like the idea of a bigger hole and more range in basically the same size/weight package. Not sure I want to step up to a long frame BFR or an X frame, but 454 casull or maybe 480 ruger sound pretty good.
 
460xvr would be my first choice. Second choice would be one of the rare Dan Wesson revolvers in .454. But I don't hunt with a revolver... how heavy is too heavy and how big is too big?
 
Theres no reason you couldn’t just get another Taurus. The .454, even with moderate to high pressure loads is plenty out of that 6 or 8” barrel. They have solid scope mounts and theyre plenty accurate to 100 yards, maybe more?
 
If we are talking dedicated 454 here and not 460s...

I have shot a Freedom Arms, BFR, Super Redhawk and Bisley Super Blackhawk in 454.

I would rate them in the order I just listed. I would save money on the Freedom Arms and get the BFR though because it represents a phenomenal value.

The Super Redhawk is a beefy, beastly DA/SA option with integral scope mounts which is a plus. The Bisley Super Blackhawk is a gun I just managed to get my hands on. It is a little small for the 454 round in my opinion. It would be awesome in .480 Ruger I think though so I would be more inclined to make it my first choice in that caliber. Have not shot the 480 yet though.
 
Since you mention scope or unscoped, let me just say I have a Ruger .454 SRH and have given up trying to mount a scope on it. I do realize many here have successfully mounted one on their SRH but I would be curious to know if they are shooting the .454 version (vs .44 Magnum) and if they are, is it with regular use of full power .454 loads.

The Ruger rings were a failure out of the gate and I have never succeeded in keeping the set screws tight, even with red high strength locktite. The Weigand mount is a little better, but full power .454 loads eventually started forcing the positioning pins to peen up metal on my top strap. These are spring pins that protrude from the platform base to engage the cutouts in the frame. I think if they were solid machined steel inserts they would ride the frame cutout with better surface contact and reduce or eliminate peening.

Below is a pic of the topstrap peening from the Weigand mount. I like the idea of scoping my SRH but I think if I do it in the future I'll have to limit my loads to something less than full torque, ~50,000 CUP wrist breakers :)

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I can add this though, the Bushnell Elite pistol scope is a tank, and is built to withstand the punishing G-forces imparted by the .454 Casull. It is still good as new despite my frustration at being able to find a way to satisfactorily mount it :)

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Been pondering a new big bore revolver for a while now, but several threads here and other reading has me wondering what the best platform is for a hunting 454 casull. Is it a good quality single action like a ruger bisley Super Blackhawk? Or a BFR? Or maybe a ruger Super redhawk? Scoped or unscoped?
I owned a 5.5" Taurus Raging Bull in 454 and it was actually a pretty decent revolver, but what would be best for hunting deer, elk, black bear and maybe bison?

The best? Freedom Arms Model 83.
 
The beauty of the .454 over the .460 is that it fits in a packable revolver, and I am a fan of the .460. That said, given the options above, I lean towards two: the BFR and the Ruger Super Redhawk. Here’s why. The BFR is of sufficient strength to handle the cartridge at maximum levels for breakfast, lunch, dinner and every conceivable snack in between - period. They are fitted with match-grade barrels, and they tend to shoot - really well. To top it off, they are priced right. I prefer them over FAs and before you say anything, I have owned them and currently own one. It’s a high quality piece that is accurate, however it is no more accurate than my .454 Ruger Bisley and unlike the Ruger and the BFR, it can’t be carried safely with a round under the hammer so it’s ostensibly a four-shooter. Also in favor of the BFR is the free-wheeling pawl making loading and unloading a snap and it also makes dealing with crimp pull a snap. Also forgot to mention the longer cylinder has its place in that it allows for long Bullets and some bullet creep before rendering the gun useless if it pulls crimp. The BFR is a smart design.

The SRH has been a personal favorite of mine for a very long time. They have love it or hate it looks but they are purely functional. Their strength is legendary being the only .454 offering with a six-shot cylinder. This is the one revolver on the list that tames recoil pretty significantly. A big selling point is the fact that you can equip an SRH with an optic and if it fails simply remove it with two screws and your irons are already in place and ready to rock. There is beauty in their functionality.

I was one of the first ones to test the Ruger Bisley .454 and concluded rather quickly that it makes for a better 5-shot .45 Colt than a .454 IMHO. It’s a great gun but it’s on the light side if a steady diet of real .454 ammo is imminent.
 
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An old friend of mine had the SRH in 480. I fell in love with that gun after shooting it and finding such a powerful round not hard to control. I recently picked up 44 mag 7.5 inch model and it really tames the 44 too.

I've never shot a 454 and I hear it has more recoil than the 480, but I'd bet it would do well handling the recoil.
 
The 460 is tempting, and I did cut my big bore teeth on a S&W 29.... It is a bit big though, is the 460 as "Usable" as a 454 only revolver?
I have a 460V, and that's the version that comes with a 5 inch barrel. I've put a lot of 460, 454, and 45 Colt through mine.

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Mine seems to favor light bullets and shoots them a bit more accurately, but that is based on off hand shooting at like 75 yards or less. So take it with a grain of salt. Maybe the gain twist rifling works better with fast, but lighter/shorter bullets, but without a rest and test range, I couldn't tell you anything definitive.

It shoots the 200 gr 460 Hornady load like a laser, but I'd never choose that to hunt with. In fact for game big enough to warrant that cartridge, I'd only use that weight if shooting a monolithic bullet.

It seems to shoot 240 and 300 gr 454 Casull alright as well, but the 460 rounds definitely seem more accurate.

45 Colt is really not too accurate in mine. I've read many theories but it seems logical that the massive cylinder jump may be an issue. I also wonder if the slow velocity combined with the gain twist rifling causes an issue with "over stabilization". Basically the twist becomes too fast for the velocity and weight of the bullet, and it throws the trajectory off.

What I'd recommend is if you go the X frame route, and you reload, don't even mess with Colt or Casull, and just focus on buying 460 brass (it's expensive) and download it to 454 levels. You avoid the cylinder jump issue, you avoid the crud ring issue, which can get annoying with high pressure rounds like 454 and 460, and you can always ramp them up if desired.

If you are really only interested in 454 velocities, then as MaxP said, get a 454 revolver, maybe a Toklat or longer barrel SRH, and be happy. They are smaller and much more packable than an X frame, even a short 5" barrel version like mine.
 
My vote was SRH, I don't own a 454 model but I own the 480 model and as C-grunt said it is almost a joy to shoot, but that's only because of size of the SRH is why I say "almost".;)
 
Freedom Arms. It is, after all, the quintessential .454 Casull, being the first such "production" gun as far as I understand, and still the best. I don't think you can do better than a FA, except maybe a customized one.

But I get it, there is probably a lot more value for your dollar in a SBH. The FA is, after all, just a glorified Blackhawk. Ruger's current 454 has recessed chambers which I find very nice because the cylinder supports the loading gate even if there's no brass in the chamber under the loading gate. It's the easiest one for me to justify for myself. The luxury of a FA would be mostly wasted on me.

The BFR looks very fine, and I've read reports from owners of all these guns that they're most impressed with it. I have not handled one, but the reports are that the fit and finish are finer than Ruger's and closer to FA resulting in a very fine gun for the price. I can't help but think the BFR is a little wasted on .454 Casull though. I would have it in .475 or .500 JRH. There are also many long-cylinder chamberings that Ruger or FA do not offer.

The SRH is another thing. First of all, it's 6 shots instead of the 5 in any of the others. Then it's double-action. Do either of these things mean anything to me? Can I really use this like a double-action revolver would be used for personal protection? From just great bears or would this be my concealed carry piece around town? The Casull uses rifle primers, which in my experience do take a substantially stronger main spring to strike hard enough for consistent ignition. I would not expect a .454 SRH to have a trigger like a slicked-up S&W 357. If I was looking for an all-purpose double-action, I think I'd probably find it in .44 Magnum. I'm going beyond my first-hand knowledge here, but maybe .45 could be made to work at pressures lower than .454 so small pistol primers could be used and a lighter mainspring. They could certainly still be a lot hotter than .45 Colt. Maybe someone who knows better can correct me and tell me the trigger is awesome and they ring steel plates with .454 at 10 yards with .25 splits.
 
Freedom Arms. It is, after all, the quintessential .454 Casull, being the first such "production" gun as far as I understand, and still the best. I don't think you can do better than a FA, except maybe a customized one.

But I get it, there is probably a lot more value for your dollar in a SBH. The FA is, after all, just a glorified Blackhawk. Ruger's current 454 has recessed chambers which I find very nice because the cylinder supports the loading gate even if there's no brass in the chamber under the loading gate. It's the easiest one for me to justify for myself. The luxury of a FA would be mostly wasted on me.

The BFR looks very fine, and I've read reports from owners of all these guns that they're most impressed with it. I have not handled one, but the reports are that the fit and finish are finer than Ruger's and closer to FA resulting in a very fine gun for the price. I can't help but think the BFR is a little wasted on .454 Casull though. I would have it in .475 or .500 JRH. There are also many long-cylinder chamberings that Ruger or FA do not offer.

The SRH is another thing. First of all, it's 6 shots instead of the 5 in any of the others. Then it's double-action. Do either of these things mean anything to me? Can I really use this like a double-action revolver would be used for personal protection? From just great bears or would this be my concealed carry piece around town? The Casull uses rifle primers, which in my experience do take a substantially stronger main spring to strike hard enough for consistent ignition. I would not expect a .454 SRH to have a trigger like a slicked-up S&W 357. If I was looking for an all-purpose double-action, I think I'd probably find it in .44 Magnum. I'm going beyond my first-hand knowledge here, but maybe .45 could be made to work at pressures lower than .454 so small pistol primers could be used and a lighter mainspring. They could certainly still be a lot hotter than .45 Colt. Maybe someone who knows better can correct me and tell me the trigger is awesome and they ring steel plates with .454 at 10 yards with .25 splits.

Why would the BFR be wasted on .454? It’s a great platform for .454. Why do folks think they are so big? I will post a photo of my FA and a BFR together and they are very close as far as size is concerned.
 
I’m a recovering 454 shooter. Had a FA for years until I saw the light. The recoil is just too damn much for me anymore and I like my other big bore tools now. I respect the 454, I just think there are better mousetraps. That said, were I to fall off the wagon again I’d opt for SRH. There is just something about the way the 454 recoils that the big double action just tames it better than a single action.
 
I think the best blend of good quality and strongness is the BFR, especially the bisley grip version. The SBH is probably better as a 45 Colt and the SRH is just ugly. The FA would be great but with the 83 you don't get the transfer bar safety and oh yeah, they're very pricey. For ~$1,000, the BFR is a very, very good gun.
 
My vote is for the FA Casull. These guns are built like bank vaults and are well worth the money.
 
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