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Ruger Alaskan owners

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magmeister

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May 23, 2007
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I am currently trying to decide which Alaskan to get 44 magnum or 454.
Please give your opinions as I will be using your advice to decide which one to get. The biggest caliber handgun I now shoot is 45ACP.
 
I have the Alaskan in .44 magnum. It’s a handful with full power loads and you won’t be doing much plinking. The full power loads also cause the trigger to nip my finger just a bit, but I’ll wear gloves to negate that. The aluminum Blazers are light enough to be pleasant to shoot.

I chose the .44 because the ammunition and the ammunition components are easy to get and plentiful. When I’m in Sportsman’s Warehouse, I can choose between almost a dozen different rounds in .44 with plenty of boxes on the shelf, but there’s only one or two in .454, and then only a couple boxes of each of those. YMMV. Take a look around for ammo first. It’s just a big heavy paperweight if you can’t get ammo.
 
I'm the owner of a few .44's and in my experience (though others will tell you differently) the jump in recoil from a "standard" 44 factory round to a "standard" .454 is fairly radical. I know I know, lots of people love their .454's like I love my 44's. But as far as practicing to proficiency, I would not want to have to go through boxes of ammo with a 454 to become confident with it.
 
I have the 454 version and am a reloader. I shoot mostly higher pressure 45 that is approximately equal to a hot, loaded 44. I'm used to the recoil, and find the build of this revolver to help control where needed. I find it extremely comfortable to shoot. I do plink with it, and can hit up to 50 yards pretty consistantly shooting at my swingers. If you do not reload, I would get the 44. There is ultimately probably more to choose from as far as ammo is concerned. The key with the 454 version is that it also shoots 45 ammo. Don't get stuck on having to think in terms of 454.

I do have a buddy that had the 454 version as well. He quickly sold it. Mine has about 3,000 rounds through it. It has to compete with my regular SRH and BFR for 454 rounds. They are ultimately more comfortable to shoot on the higher pressure loads.

Any snubby takes a while to master. This is probably the biggest factor you will deal with. I would guess the new 4 inch Redhawk would be easier to learn to shoot, although the grip is not as forgiving with recoil as is the Alaskan.
 
I have the 454 Alaskan.
It's recoils is like nothing else I shoot.
It's in a class by itself.
Heavy and hard is how I discribe it.
I can shoot my Glock 33 all day long without a problem.
I shot 12 rounds of the 454 and it bruised my hand for a week.:eek:
You have to love recoil to buy this in 454.
 
I am dealing with the same delema. I had decided on the 454 mostly because of the option for colt loads that seem to be available hotter and hotter all the time. But then I actually held the two one right after the other, then back....and forth....and back(lol you know how it is) and although ruger claims the same weight on both guns the .44 felt noticably lighter.

All I can think would cause this is the difference in cylinder ( the .44 is fluted) because the .454 seemed more front heavy. Seriously though,, I suggest considering the .45 colt+p abilities of the cassull model since they cost the same and there are colt loads now that outperform .44 mag ballistics with a bigger bullet.

And remember, A larger caliber means you can achieve the same velocity,energy and a greater inertia with less pressure which directly affects recoil.

Not to make your decision any harder,, but ruger is supposed to be reintroducing the .480 in a five shot configuration to their model line to accomodate hot loads in the 48000 range:evil: thats a bad boy waitin to be uncaged. have fun deciding,,and when you do, let us know.
 
magmeister, we can only give you good advice if we know what you want to do with the gun.

Like Rexster said, the search is a good place to start.
 
I have the Alaskan in 454/45LC and chose that combo because I do reload. Given the flexibility of the 45LC I can produce very light loads up to those that will equal and exceed the 44 magnum. Tack on to that the range of 454 loads that can be produced this combo, IMHO, produces the most flexible set of choices around.

Recoil? Of course. That is a given with large bore handguns but shooting lighter 45LC loads also produce much more manageable recoil.

If you don't load then I guess the 44 magnum would be my choice.:)
 
Magmeister,

I'd have to ask why you are buying it-

I just bought an Alaskan for a very specific purpose. I will be bow hunting near Glacier Natl Park this year, and Glacier Natl has more fatal Grizzly attacks on humans than any other natl park (still rare). I chose the 454 for the very specific purpose of shooting a Grizzly in self-defense, if needed (not for hunting them). I own a Ruger SBH 44 mag, and a Win. 1894 in 44 mag, and I know the arguments for the 44 being widely available (true). However, if i am being mauled by a grizzly, then availability, price, etc., will not be major considerations. Of course, you could go with a 44, and load it with Garrett's 310 grain +p ammo, but then you are back to "common availability" problems. You can mail order 454 just as easy as you can mail order Garrett's 44s. BTW, I just shot mine yesterday, with 335 grn Corbons at 1600 fps. Ouch. I can shoot 44 mags all day, but this was on another planet. I will have to practice (and probably tone down the ammo choice).

Does anyone know of a synthetic holster for the Alaskan? Leather is a little smelly for bow-hunting.
Thanks,
Okie
 
ruger itself sell some nylon holsters for cheap..
I got Galco for my Alaskan .44, about $55 from productwizard.com
 
Easy, either

You are choosing the best bear defense gun on the market, IMHO. Both calibers can be loaded to very high power levels. Grizzly Ctg., Cor Bon, Buffalo Bore and Garrett, are among companies that make the .44 a viable bear defense gun. The .454 is even a bit more powerful, with even more recoil, but I am not sure that out of snub barrels there will be any real advantage, especially if the recoil keeps you from practicing. Both can use lighter loads in their parent cartridgesfor casual plinking too. Since I started with the .44 decades ago, that is the most economical choice for me. So that is what I buy. And if I go bigger in an Alaskan, it will not be a .454, but rather the .480 Ruger that I choose.

No matter which one you get, choose your loads from the mentioned manufacturers, practice a lot, and your Ruger will never let you down.

Shooter429
 
Holsters and Ammo-

Holsters-
Thanks for the tips. Uncle mikes apparently made a holster for the Alaskan, but the retailers are not carrying it right now (Cabellas, BassPro, Cheaperthandirt, etc.) Several companies list it, but nobody has it in stock. I've checked out the leather holsters from Hunter and Ruger, but so far, no synthetic model is available and ready ship (that I can find). I did call blade tech, but if they still do custom work, the phone-help didn't know it. I found a synthetic holster on ebay, but it didn't list the manufacturer or much detail.

Ammo-
I've shot the Alaskan 3 times in the past week. I also shot a Ruger SRH 9.5 " for comparison. I shot the Corbon 335 grain, Hornady 300 grain, and Hornday 240 grain (all factory loads). I also shot over a 100 standard 45 Colt loads, (250 Grains, subsonic). The 45 Colts are fun, the 454 loads are not. Despite being made fun of by my shooting buddy, I am wearing a glove when I shoot the 454s. It keeps me on the range longer. The 45 Colts punch holes that usually touch each other at 21 feet (offhand, 2 hand grip, weaver stance), with the occasional flyer. The 454s open the groups up, no doubt due to shooter flinch, but I didn't buy it be a target gun. I've ordered some Buffalo Bore 360 grainers, which are allegedly a little softer recoiling than the max-factory-loads, due to slightly reduced pressure and speed. We'll see.

Okie
 
I'm thinking of an Alaskan as a big bore home defense revolver.

I would only shoot .44 special or .44 special +P loads (if such loads exist).

I don't like the standard Redhawk, so the 4" model Redhawk is out.

I wish the Alaskan had a 4" barrel.

Does anyone use the Alaskan loaded with .44 specials as a home defense revolver?
 
I would go with the 44 mag version myself unless you are thinking grizzly protection. In which case, I would prefer the 480 version which are next to impossible to find these days.
 
Oh for the love of pete I'll add my .02

If you are going to get that big of a gun why not get it fully loaded?!

If you want a .44 get a lighter weight gun, snub with a better trigger. I LOVE my Rugers, but that is because they are TANKS!

If you need the tank, buy the tank, but for heaven's sake get the caliber for which it was built!

That being said I'd go for the 454 myself.
 
I had one in .44 for a bit but sold it off to get a 5 1/2" Bis-Vaq. It's a very solid revolver, but oddly barrel heavy in spite of its extremely short barrel. It would be a nicer wheelgun if Ruger had shaved a few ounces of steel off the shroud or redesigned it, but as it is the revolver is neither fish nor fowl. It has the heavy barrel and slow target aquisition of the full size SRH hunting revolver, but the short sight radius of a snub. It's also so heavy it has to be carried in a chest holster or with a full size duty belt just like a hunting revolver with a long barrel. The B-V has a longer barrel but weighs the same and is much faster in hand even as a single action.

On the plus side, even .44 mag powerhouse loads made very little impression on my wrist out of the Alaskan. They did do a good job at taming the recoil, no doubt about it. And it is fun to shoot, but not as fun as the B-V.
 
I have a Ruger SRH in 454 and I shoot the 45LC as it's much easier to control and you can get upto a 325gr bullet for it I believe from Buffalo bore or others. I usually shoot the 220gr XTP's and they're like shooting 22's to me in the SRH.
 
My brother fired 6 rounds of .454 and then switched to a lighter caliber for the rest of the day. Oh, also switched to the other hand for the rest of the day :eek:

I fired 3 shots, grouped them rather close together, and laid it down. Will not fire that one again with full power rounds. That is negative fun.

But brother likes to shoot .45 Colt, .45 Schofield, and .45 ACP in his Alaskan. Yes, that is right. He modifies the full-moon clips (makes them even thinner) that are used for the S&W Model 25 or 625, and then can fire the .45 ACP in his Alaskan.

Bart Noir
 
"Does anyone know of a synthetic holster for the Alaskan? Leather is a little smelly for bow-hunting".
I second the Westwoods landing holster, but only in the chest/backpack configuration. By itself it flops arond too much due to only 1 beltloop.

The .480 really turns my crank, otherwise .454.
 
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