[eldon519]

I'd like some opinions on using the Ruger .454 Alaskan for home defense? I think it would fit my wants and needs very well, but I just can't help but feel goofy getting a .454 for home defense. It reminds me of all the mall ninjas who claim they carry concealed .50 AE Desert Eagles.

Anyway, my thinking is this:
I don't really trust semi-automatic pistols to be reliable when I need them based on my own experiences with a number of gun makes and models. I also don't like having to collect my brass off the ground at the local shooting range which makes a revolver very convenient. Given that thinking, you'd think a .357 magnum would be the logical choice, right? Welllll....again, based on my own experiences, I fired a .357 magnum one time without hearing protection in the outdoors and suffered some permanent hearing damage in my left ear from the event. The whole event has made me a little afraid to use a caliber which operates at such high pressures, especially in an indoor defensive situation. That made me think of the good ole .45 Colt. It's big, powerful, and relatively gentle to shoot, and operates at very low pressures. I also currently handload .45 Colt, so I also like a gun that can handle the high-powered Ruger loads (not for home defense). This has lead me to look at the Ruger Alaskan. I know the more natural choice would be the plain-old Redhawk, but I had one of those that I did not like very much. Also, to be clear, I would not be using actual .454 rounds for home defense, just .45 Colt loads, maybe warmed up a hair (230/240-grain around 1000fps?).

So with that laid out there, am I relying too much on individual anecdotes to make my selection? Is the Alaskan too short of a gun to allow for fast point-shooting? Is any of my thinking very logical?

[plexreticle]

45 colt would make a excellent home defense round.

[MCgunner]

If I were going to use my .45 Colt for self defense, I'd load a fast Speer 200 grain gold dot bullet in it. Should be pretty awesome. I'd push it only a couple hundred FPS faster than the standard pressure .45 ACP, maybe about 1200. That'd insure REAL good expansion and lesson any over-penetration of walls and such, I would think, as opposed to my 950 fps 255 flat nose cast load which would surely work, but might be a little too much in a crowded neighborhood or apartment. Look to Winchester for excellent factory silvertip defense loads.

[Taurus 617 CCW]

"I'd like some opinions on using the Ruger .454 Alaskan for home defense?"

I guess it would work. That caliber would not be my first preference for a home defense gun but it would get the job done. I personally have a Mossberg 500 (8 shot), and a Springfield 1911 .45 ACP. I live in an apartment though and am more concerned about over penetration so I use #8 shot in my Mossberg. The 1911 is my backup.

[ldv444]

why not? Pick a good hollow point load in 45 colt and shoot it a close range so you know how it shoots. Don't over think the situation.....it's a reliable gun with a proven round. Save the 454 stuff for the field, or forget about it and load hot 45 colt loads with hard cast heavy bullets for the field. It's a winner!! Good luck...

[davepool]

Sure it would be good for home defence; even if you miss the muzzle blast will catch the bad guys clothes on fire and the pressure wave will knock him on his butt :)

[Big Boomer]

why not? I've got a 500 mag next to me hanging off the bed post :D

And if you want to get snooty about it I've got my 460 with a bipod prone on the nightstand as well! Next to that is the Mossberg 590A1 (with bayonet attached for scare factor), then my sks, XD 45 is in the drawer of the stand with my sp101, and a NAA 22 mag just in case. Oh and I forgot my Springer TRP holstered just to the side.

My wife gets tired of all the ammo piles as well but I consider it usable art!

Oh did I mention that is just MY side of the bed?!

The wife also has a 22 mag single six and a 45 long colt loaded with some hotties.

(gas masks are in the closet) haven't got the bullet proof vests yet.

My house is my castle, and the bedroom is the armory :evil:

and if you haven't guessed yet, I don't have kids...

[Jim March]

Speer has a 45LC load involving a *250* grain Gold Dot with a huge hollowpoint cavity. It's designed to operate between 900 and 1,000fps. I *think* the projectile is available as a component; if so, handloading it so it'll run that hot in an Alaskan should be easy.

A weirder possibility:

Penn Bullets has a 45cal hardcast slug called the "Thunderhead" - 270gr with the most amazing profile:

http://www.pennbullets.com/45/45-caliber.html

Load THAT at around 900-1,000fps and you've got some I sure as hell wouldn't want to be hit with :(.

[ECVMatt]

I would loader her up with some good .45 Colt loads and not look back. It seems like you have done some thinking on this and your reasoning seems sound to me.

I did see a 4" .45 Redhawk the other that was pretty nice though...

Take care,

Matt

[Snapping Twig]

Sounds good to me. I prefer the .45acp for home defense and the .45LC is round about the same thing.

FWIW, the heavier the bullet, the more it penetrates, so for HD use, I'd load up some 200g LC rounds for that Alaskan. A 200g .45 caliber round @ 850fps would be more than enough to stop a predator and far less likely to zip into the neighbors house.

[Virginian]

I say if that's the gun you want, get it. You can pretty much tailor the loads to suit whatever situation. And if a bear breaks in, smoke 'em !

[SCMtns]

After years of lurking, I just joined to recommend the Alaskan for what you're talking about. I've had mine for about a year, and like it a lot. The single action pull doesn't compare to those on my Smiths, of course, but the double action (more important for SD/HD anyway) is actually better, I find. For some reason, the DA pull just seems perfect. I got it for packing in bear country, but like it so much I keep it loaded in the nightstand for HD. I have a 1911, a Glock 21SF, a Glock 22, and others to choose from, and it's still become my handgun of choice. Like you, I handload .45 Colt because I've found it can do just about anything I need-- low-pressure plinking, mid-range defensive stuff, .44 mag-level bear medicine, etc.

One caveat-- the extremely short barrel that gives it its excellent handling unfortunately gives it a big bright orange cone of a muzzle blast. Even in broad daylight it's evident that half of the explosion is still taking place outside the barrel immediately behind the exiting bullet. I haven't fired it at night but imagine it might be kinda blinding. Load up some Gold Dot jhp's with some really fast-burning powder and you might be able to engineer the worst of that away.

Also, with a good flashlight and good technique, it might not be a problem in the first place. I've been meaning to try some nighttime shooting and find out.

Still haven't even tried this thing in .454. I'm not averse to recoil, but I've done enough damage to my wrists from years of boxing and grappling that I'm reluctant to put them through that. With max loads behind 300-grain .45 Colts, the kick is actually not bad at all, as it's more in the form of muzzle rise than a push straight back into the webbing of your hand (like most longer-barrelled revolvers), so maybe it wouldn't be that bad... but I doubt it. Basically I consider the Alaskan a .45 Colt that has that extra .454 capability if I ever choose. Get one and I doubt you'll regret it.

[kmrcstintn]

I feel that the .45 acp, .44 spl, and .45 colt are in that big, wide, and slow department of defensive handgun calibers; they do their job if you do your job; part of your job is to select defensive hollowpoint loads that will effectively expand & penetrate based on velocity ranges that will be achieved in your handgun; in your case, you would have to look into higher velocity loads & somewhat lighter bullets in the classification (Corbon, Buffalo Bore, Speer Gold Dot); an example of this for my application: I have a S&W 629 w/ 6.5" barrel; I wanted a .44 spl subsonic, but not impotent defensive load for this handgun; I chose Hornady XTP 180gr load which is factory relative listed @ 1000 fps from 7" test barrel; with a 6.5" barrel, I should be within 100 fps of their relative listing (results of independent testing that I have read place Hornady loads very close to listed results...or slightly over in some instances); even though the Winchester Silvertip & Federal lswchp, both 200 gr in weight, are effective loads I feel better with a bit more speed that the lighter load allows; I think your choice of .45 colt is a good compromise, but your shorter barrel might warrant a light & fast load to properly promote espansion

[shooter429]

Iagree with your choice of wheelgun over auto and I too, would go with GDs. Love em

Shooter429

[Cosmoline]

The .45 Colt is fine, but the Alaskan is a serious brick. I wouldn't want to have to lug it around the house much. Plus the extremely short barrel has no real use for home defense. I'd suggest using a longer barreled revolver for a better sight radius or even better a .45 Colt levergun. I ditched my Alaskan because there was no way I would be fast or accurate enough with it for trail use. A levergun is just as quick and a lot more accurate. Not to mention the significant power increase and blast decrease you get from the long bore.

[eldon519]

Thanks for the loading recommendations. I think we've found a purpose for my economic stimulus check.

I checked on Midway, and the component 250gr. Gold Dots look like they got great reviews. A couple reviewers mentioned expansion on the order of 1 inch at around 900 to 1000 fps and fragmentation at velocities closer to 1300-1400fps which could have an uber-.357 magnum effect from a levergun.

[BlackJackal]

.454 sure would stop anyone or anything dead in there tracks who needs 17 rounds in a glock when u only need one in a .454 :P

[Jeff F]

Yep, .45 colt loads and its a winner.

[longhorngunman]

+1, For the life of me I've never figured out why S&W, or Ruger never made a light frame .45colt snubby. It would have better performance than a .38 special, .44 special yet no magnum recoil. In a platform similar to the Charter Bulldog.

[eldon519]

If you don't mind Taurus, they make an alloy framed 5-shot .45 Colt bulldog. I don't know what kind of power levels it is capable of handling though.

[DougDubya]

Six rounds of .45 Colt definitely couldn't hurt you.

Anyone trying to break in, on the other hand...

[Sergeant Sabre]

I vote no, for reasons other than the .45 Colt round.

I have a SRH and the double-action trigger is terribly heavy. Way too heavy to make accurate shots with it. I believe it is because the hammer spring has to be so heavy to ignite hard, magnum rifle primers in the .454.

If I wanted to use a .45 Colt for defensive purposes I'd find something else. A Redhawk, maybe? A used S&W?

[19-3Ben]

odd question, but why not the .44mag Alaskan loaded up with .44spl?

At least that way if you do decide to load big ole magnum loads, the .44 mag is at least cheaper than .454.

[lvcat2004]

I see nothing wrong with 45 Colt for home defense. I would certainly NOT use a 454, but 45 Colt would be great.

[mewachee]

Currently, my defense load is a 230 gr gold dot in .45 LC out of a 454 Alaskan. I have them loaded at a 1,000 fps. I don't do +p, not necessary with 454. I have put some time in mine to figure out what it is capable off in the 454 loads.

The Alaskan solved a weight problem for me, because I needed a bear defense gun, that I would carry. However, it limits the potential of the 454, yet exceeds the potential of the 44 mag.

Accuracy is limited to short range, for me anyway.

I can get 1500 fps on a 240 xtp-mag. That load should get 1900 fps out of a 7 1/2 barrel.

My penetration load is a 335 WLNGC at 1300 fps (I can not get much more), but because of the lack of weight of the gun, I am encountering pretty good bullet pull that I haven't been able to overcome. Generally, if I load 6 rounds, I can not shoot the sixth.

I love this gun, it puts the Dirty Harry to shame.

[mewachee]

As far as the blast goes, I use faster powders. Unique and Trail Boss have worked great for the LC. I have found some faster powders work much better for the 454 loads to.

[kludge]

.45 Colt for home defense, two things come to mind...

Cor-Bon 200gr HP+P and my personal choice for my 4" Redhawk - Remington 225gr LSWCHP.

The 240gr XTP/Mag goes 1725 fps out of my 9-1/2" SRH with the starting load for 2400. The XTP-Mag IMO is not suited to HD... the 200 and 230gr Gold Dots makes a lot of sense.