Shot a 454 Casull for the first time today~

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I'm with the others with aging wrists, they get achy after shooting many magnum loads these days. Most of the 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum loads I shoot these days are just above the top equivalent Special loads.

But, my 460 XVR (8-3/8" barrel) is heavy for a revolver and tames the full power 460 Mag recoil. But I still only shoot a cylinder or two at one time. Even reloads many make rifle rounds cheap ammunition.

I'd hate to try a 4" 460 S&W Mag revolver.

A 454 Casull Redhawk might be nice to add to the collection. Single action revolvers and I do not get along well.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I don’t go full house very often with my SRH either, it does back up into the hands pretty fiercely. Sticking to the upper end of the .45 Colt +P range is much easier on the nerves ;).

The XVR .460 S&W is an awesome piece of machinery. My buddy has one and it is, to be kind, a beast with near maximum loads. :what:

That sounds like a good day shooting, with the plus of meeting a good guy in the other bay. Thanks for sharing the day with us :thumbup:.

Stay safe.
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I have a RSR in .454 Casull. I still have a box and a half of the 2 boxes of Hornady 300 gr. cartridges I got from the dealer when I bought it. I have since switched to hot .45 Colt loads exclusively. I have taken antelope, deer and cow elk with it. Way easier on the wrist with the .45 Colts.
 
I have a pair of Pro Aim gloves that makes a world of difference for me. They have a removable plastic stay as well as a wraparound velcro wristband. I’ve got pretty serious degenerative arthritis in my 73 year old wrists. Fingers on my shooting hand don’t want to open up so good anymore either. These gloves work for me!
 
Never fired a 454 or a 500 S&W , but did fire a 45/70 in a contender that my brother bought. Salesperson recommended to shoot only 300 grainers. Recoil was stout but not bad because he had those grips that were wood on the side with rubber in the middle. I could feel that rubber compress what felt like an inch in my hand.
 
Quote from cfullgraf: Single action revolvers and I do not get along well.

Nor do I! I have a couple, one a fairly “tricked-out” Ruger Super Blackhawk....I can shoot a Smith that I’ve never handled prior, much better than my single action! I shoot them so badly.....I initially thought that somehow I bought guns for left-handed shooters! :rofl: I’m certain that it’s simply my “poor” shooting form which is magnified by the slightly slower hammer fall! That’s my story and I’m stick’n to it! :) memtb
 
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I have a Big Horn Armory carbine in 460 I sometimes shoot 454 and 45 with it. I also have a BFR 5 inch barrel in 454 scoped for hunting . I shoot both a lot and the big revolver doesn’t seem to kick as bad as 44mag revolvers.more of a push.I’ve handled the BFR to people who owned 44mag and their amazement at how easy shooting it is campaired to their own never gets old.
 
A few years ago I bought a Ruger 454 Casull to carry when we hiked in Grizzly country. I shot 4 rounds of Underwood's ammo through it and didn't want to shoot a fifth round. It was a great gun, but I couldn't shoot it well due to the recoil and sold it.
 
I remember initially reading about the .454 Casull in the late '70s.

Beefy, long-barrel revolvers using Duplex and even Triplex loads to maximize velocity/power. WHEW! Heady & fascinating stuff.

As intriguing as I considered the concept and as much as I enjoyed my firearms, quite frankly, I never felt the urge to own or shoot a .454 Casull. :)
 
Pivot Dr said:
I have a pair of Pro Aim gloves that makes a world of difference for me. They have a removable plastic stay as well as a wraparound velcro wristband. I’ve got pretty serious degenerative arthritis in my 73 year old wrists. Fingers on my shooting hand don’t want to open up so good anymore either. These gloves work for me!
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73 huh? You're my age. I have some PAST shooting gloves, they work OK but I don't like the sharp, vicious recoil that the .454 Casull generates. It' been .45 Colts for me for the last 15 years.
 
History of the 454 is pretty interesting. Back in the late fifties/early sixties dad and I were members of the ARA, American Reloading Assn, a group organized by Dan Cotterman who published and mailed a mimeographed newsletter every now and then. I remember reading about Dick Casull and his experiments and blowing p Colt SAAs with his super loads. I remember that he tried a "triplex" load of Bullseye on the bottom, 2400 in the middle, and Unique on the top. Bullseye to ignite, 2400 to get it really moving and Unique for a finisher. I thought he was nuts. After some heat treat experiments on frames, making a five shot cylinder, he got going. Then came the absolutely wonderfully machined and heat treated Freedom Arms revolvers with exquisite tolerances, line bored cylinders, and you know the rest.
I wish I'd kept those newsletters. I was reading P.O.Ackley's books on reloading and saw the duplex loads still in there. Wish he'd print a retraction or warning, but its an old book so maybe no one will try it.
 
PapaG said:
History of the 454 is pretty interesting. Back in the late fifties/early sixties dad and I were members of the ARA, American Reloading Assn, a group organized by Dan Cotterman who published and mailed a mimeographed newsletter every now and then. I remember reading about Dick Casull and his experiments and blowing p Colt SAAs with his super loads. I remember that he tried a "triplex" load of Bullseye on the bottom, 2400 in the middle, and Unique on the top. Bullseye to ignite, 2400 to get it really moving and Unique for a finisher. I thought he was nuts. After some heat treat experiments on frames, making a five shot cylinder, he got going. Then came the absolutely wonderfully machined and heat treated Freedom Arms revolvers with exquisite tolerances, line bored cylinders, and you know the rest.
I wish I'd kept those newsletters. I was reading P.O.Ackley's books on reloading and saw the duplex loads still in there. Wish he'd print a retraction or warning, but its an old book so maybe no one will try it.
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Elmer Keith, when working at Lake City (I think) worked on experimental small arms ammo for the military during WWII. I think that duplex and triplex loads were worked with, as well as some form of tube that extended from the primer flash hole out near the base of the bullet.....igniting the powder from the front of the case rather than at rear! It’s been many years since I read about this.....and may be incorrect on the details!

Back in the early to mid 70’s, I remember a pretty lengthy article in Guns and Ammo about Dick Casull and his experimentation with the 45 LC and eventual conception of the 454 Casull! It certainly got my attention.....but, I’ve never owner a handgun in the cartridge! memtb
 
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Keith, O'Neil and Hopkins worked on that tube to ignite powder from the front and actually had a wildcat or two. OKH after the caliber designation.
On the other hand, I'm getting tired of magazines calling him the father of the 357. That honor should go to Phil Sharpe. Keith gets the 44 mag credit.
 
ms6852 said:
Never fired a 454 or a 500 S&W , but did fire a 45/70 in a contender that my brother bought. Salesperson recommended to shoot only 300 grainers. Recoil was stout but not bad because he had those grips that were wood on the side with rubber in the middle. I could feel that rubber compress what felt like an inch in my hand.
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The recoil of my 35 Remington Contender is noticeable too. If you’re in a Creedmoor position, short sleeves, and no elbow pad. About 5 shots draws blood!
 
Casull is pretty much the breaking point between sensible and ridiculous. The argument for the casull can easily be made when around predators and fowl tempered beasts. Then it’s up to 480 Ruger, 460, and 500 S&W which are overkill for all things in North America with possible exception of bison.

460 barks. Loud. Really stinking loud.
500 shoves. Shooter arounx
 
I've had a Freedom Arms 454 for 20+ years. What little I've shot it, was mostly with loads about 150 FPS or so slower than factory. Back when I was younger and stronger, I think the most .454 I ever shot in one range session was 15 rounds. Can't remember the last time I actually shot any .454 ammo in it, and sure glad I ordered it with a .45 ACP cylinder....;)
.454-.45ACP .jpg
 
My brothers 454 Casull taught me somethings. One if you fill a milk jug full of water and put on top of a concrete block then shoot the milk jug with a 454 the block will bust, I’ve done it and seen it a dozen or more times. So it taught me somethings about physics.

Second, I saw an idiot shoot it once and bust a blood vessel in his hand, he was in his mid 20’s and a good sized guy, 6’+ and probably 220ish lbs.
A little while later a 14 year old girl that might have weighted 100lbs soaking wet shot it once, then asked my brother to top it off as he had only given her one bullet. She proceeded to shoot it six times, one handed, looked at us and said “I don’t really see the big deal” with a big grin, she was joking to some extent. We knew she was country girl who shot a lot with her dad, but no one saw that coming.
So I also learned theirs more to managing recoil than I realized, and size doesn’t have much to do with it.
 
WestKentucky said:
Casull is pretty much the breaking point between sensible and ridiculous. The argument for the casull can easily be made when around predators and fowl tempered beasts. Then it’s up to 480 Ruger, 460, and 500 S&W which are overkill for all things in North America with possible exception of bison.

460 barks. Loud. Really stinking loud.
500 shoves. Shooter arounx
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This is why I wonder why some people are always asking for "The Best Gun" for bear country. My experience have shown me a few people that I know that have bought the 454 or 500 Smith and Wesson or the in between calibers shoot the gun a couple of times, and than end up selling for two main reasons. First is the recoil and secondly not able to shoot it accurately because of the recoil. Those that keep the gun never shoot it enough to acquire a smidgeon of proficiency because of the recoil. Funny how recoil differs from on caliber to the next but my little puny .357 with the 3" barrel when I shoot it I can only tolerate a box of 50 rounds without a glove after that the glove come on. With the 44 magnum it is more of a push where the .357 to me feels like a few hundred pin needles in my hand.
 
A Bullseye Pistol bud, who feeds his gun habit by working at a local gun store, collects all the big booming handguns. And I mean all. He claims that of all of his collection the 454 Casull has the worst recoil impulse.

I have a number of 44 Magnums, and am not looking for more recoil. When I shoot my 44 Magnum, it is the last pistol of the day, and my hands are beat, and my flinch is uncontrollable after a box of 50 rounds, Probably have the uncontrollable flinch about 18 rounds in, hard to say when it starts, but it is sure noticeable the more rounds go downrange.

I cannot imagine shooting 50 rounds of full bore 454 Casull. Will it cause nerve damage to the wrists?
 
Way back when Dirty Harry was the thing we sold more than a few Model 29s. Most came back on trade toward 27s or 28s along with most of the box of cartridges they'd bought with the gun. Times change. Most of the buyers were familiar only with 22s and 38s. Same with Super Blackhawks but fewer of them came back.
 
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