Accuracy of 45LC from 454 Casull

[g_gunter]

Just a quick question. I am looking to purchase a something that can shoot 45LC Magnum (+Ps) rounds like those produced by Corbon and Buffalo Bore. I want to use it for hunting deer-sized game and hogs out to around 100 yds.

I was thinking of getting the Ruger SRH .454 so as to have the versatility of shooting .454 if I desired. To be honest, I don't antipate many opportunities to shoot something big enough to need a .454 but figured the tolerances of a .454 might be a little tighter all around compared to guns designed to shoot only 45LC (I could be wrong). Also I really like the SRH platform.

My question is this...is accracy affected by the fact that the 45LC +P round is being fired from the longer .454 cylinder? BTW, I have already considered the cylinder build up issue.

Thanks,

g_gunter

 

[g_gunter]

Come on! Anybody?

Certainly someone here has some useful info on this?

thanks,

g_gunter

 

[forquidder]

45 colt accuracy

I'm sure that with the right load the 454 Super Redhawk can be just as accurate as a dedicated 45 Colt but I don't think you'll find it, in general, any more accurate. I have a 454 SRH and have shot some 45 colt loads out of it but 95% of my shooting is done with 454 loads.

That being said, it sounds as if you aren't going to need the power of a 454 and that the gun will be used as a 45 colt.
You could save a little money by just getting a Blackhawk for single action hunting or a Redhawk for double action. Ruger also has a limited run of the Blackhawk Hunter in 45 Colt but they cost about as much as a Super Redhawk.

 

[gbran]

Bullit choice.......

.454's and .45LC's can be found in both .451 and .452 diameter. I used cheap cowboy action 45's to get a good feel for my SRH when I first bought it. These rounds aren't real acurate. You can load or buy mild to wild 454 offerings, most of which are very acurate. I haven't used any 45's for a long time, but I don't see why they can't be as acurate as the 454.

 

[RCL]

My brother's Super Red .454 is just as accurate with .45 Colt loads as it is with .454 Casull loads. With the right load, so is my Freedom Arms .454. The only problem he had with his Ruger, as with most .45 caliber Rugers, is slightly undersized chamber throats. He opened them up to .452 (this is an easy fix).
That said, if you reload, you can get the same level of performance from reduced power .454 Casull loads, for a lot less money. The data is readily available. (Nothing against the Buffalo Bore and Cor-Bon ammo, they are both excellent products).
FWIW.......

 

[James Bondrock]

Much as some .357 Magnum revolvers lose some accuracy when firing .38 Special loads, a .454 Casull chambered revolver firing .45 Colts may -- or may not -- lose some accuracy as well. Only accuracy testing in your gun will confirm this. If the power of the .454 is not really needed or wanted and you just want to shoot heavy .45 Colt loads, I would buy a dedicated .45 Colt revolver and handload or purchase commercial heavy loads to get the power level you want. When chambering a round that is an eighth of an inch shorter, leaving a gap between the case mouth and the chamber shoulder, you lose much of the advantage of the .454 revolver's closer tolerances, do you not?

 

[Mike-SoCal]

g_gunter,

FWIW: I had the same question regarding accuracy issues when using .45Colt Magnum (+Ps) in the SRH .454 and contacted Tim Sundles of Buffalo Bore. His comment was, "If there's an accuracy loss, we can't find it."

Mike

 

[g_gunter]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Mike-SoCal,

I was just about to do that very thing (call Buffalo Bore) but you saved me the effort. Tim has been helpful to me in a past phone conversation and know that he's really tried a lot of gun/ammo combinations. I'm leaning even more now towards the SRH .454 combo but still have to evaluate that decision vs. possibly going with a dedicated .45 Colt platform (like a redhawk). I like the ability to go up to a .454 load if necessary or desired but have to think of the long-term consequences to my 41 year old wrists(I'm not a big-boned sort of guy). I just love that SRH platform, though. Its uber-easy to scope that thing and feels good in my hands.

Thanks for the help.

Greg

 

[Mike-SoCal]

g-gunter,

I'm trying to decide which SRH to buy and am curious as to why you have ruled out the .44Mag version. The heavy commercial loaded .44Mags & .45Colts are close in ft. lbs. of energy and Buffalo Bore is coming out wth a 350gr @ 1400+ fps (1525+ ft. lbs.) which is nearing their low end .454 offerings.

Again, just curious and thanks for your comments.

Mike

 

[g_gunter]

Hi Mike-SoCal:

I've owned a SRH 44 Mag and have considered going back. I wished I hadn't traded it in when I did. On the other side of the argument, I guess I like the idea that the 45LC can do a good bit more than the 44 Mag and has more downrange energy at long range while still not suffering much more in recoil.

But then again, it would be really cool to shoot those Garrett or Buffalo Bore +P type 44 Mag cartridges.

Who knows, I may do as you suggest and stick with the 44 Mag?

Thanks for putting that back in my head.

Greg

 

[Stainz]

I bought a 7.5" .454 SRH several years back because I wanted to shoot .45 Colts DA - and I liked what I had read about that SRH and it's engineering. The fact that a RH in .45 Colt was not locally available also weighed heavily in my decision. The difference in price between the two then was less than the cost of the SRH's included scope rings, which I quickly employed with a Weaver H2 2x28mm scope - an aid to my 'mature' vision.

As to accuracy... shooting Hornady 240gr XTP's in .454 yielded 1.5" 5-shot groups (I allowed the sixth as a 'flier'!) of 1.5" at 44yd in an indoor range (Mistake!) - since duplicated at a 50yd outdoor range. I later would try .45 Colt 'Cowboy loads'... 250gr LRNFP @ 850 fps. These yielded rather disappointing 5" groups with a bit higher POI. All shooting was with the 2x scope and from what are now some burnt leather sandbags.

I started reloading the .454 cases with the 250gr LRNFP 'Cowboy' lead and 7.0+ gr TiteGroup to get 900-950fps. My groups dropped to 3" at 50yd at nearly the .454 POI. I had added a HiViz front sight - and with it sighted for those Hornady 240gr .454's, I could still ping the 12" plate at 110yd with the .454 cased 'cowboy-ish' rounds. Those super-mild .454's leave the chambers much cleaner, too, than the .45 Colts.

I believe that a small improvement - particularly with softer lead 'Cowboy' rounds - occurs when you fill the chamber, but the greatest improvement will come with velocity. The Ruger SRH has a slow rifling pitch - it was designed for high speed .454's. I also now have a new 5.5" SS Redhawk .45 Colt - it is just not as accurate as the SRH so far. It, too, may have a slower pitch, as both my similar length .45 Bisley BH and shorter 4" S&W 625 Mountain Gun in .45 Colt produce better groups, thus far (The RH is relatively new...).

The 7.5" .454 SRH is a great revolver - once you get by it's techno-ugo looks!

Stainz

 

[rick_reno]

I shoot a FA .454 indoors during the winter with reduced loads. They won't let me shoot .454 loads so I load them down near 45 Colt level - they're very accurate.

 

[halvey]

I guess I'd just go for the .45 Colt in RH and skip the .454 SRH.

That said, I see used .454's pretty cheap and have never seen a .45 LC Redhawk locally.

 

[Bacchus]

I've been considering the same thing--buying a 454 while anticipating that most loads will be in 45 LC. I have a friend who has a 454 and he mentioned to me that he loves shooting LCs in them--no mention of poor accuracy and a nice break from the recoil.

I'd go with the 454 in your preferred platform--as other posters have mentioned, it won't cost too much more and you'll always have the 454 as an option.