Puma 454 Casull?

[45B@cav]

Has anyone had any experience with this rifle. I'm not a big fan of pistol caliber carbines but .44 mag and 454 Casull seems to make sense to me. I may actually consider buying one of these if the revues I get here are good. Also has anyone heard of a possible 500 S&W or .460 carbine in the works from any companies out there?

 

[JImbothefiveth]

The Handi-rifle is in .500. I hear it actually recoils more than the revolver.

 

[frogomatic]

Has anyone had any experience with this rifle. I'm not a big fan of pistol caliber carbines but .44 mag and 454 Casull seems to make sense to me. I may actually consider buying one of these if the revues I get here are good. Also has anyone heard of a possible 500 S&W or .460 carbine in the works from any companies out there?

I own a puma92 in 454, and I like it alot. The fiber optic sights are nice. It has a loading gate on both the reciever and the tube. it'll take 45 colts for some less recoil intensive shooting. It's none to heavy. the action is much smoother than I had expected. It's plenty accurate to 100 yards (I haven't had a chance to shoot it further than 100 yards yet) I only have 2 complaints about it. The mag tube is a screw in type with pretty fine threads so it takes a couple of minutes to unscrew it for loading/unloading, though this is mitigated for loading by the inclusion of a reciever loading gate. The other complaint is the factory recoil pad is hard as a brick. After 1 tube of full power 454s you really won't want to shoot any more. I fixed that last problem easily by replacing the stock recoil pad with a limbsaver. The limbsaver made all the difference, it's still a gun with some pretty brutal recoil, but the limbsaver makes it much more tolerable.

It's worth noting that I also have a redhawk alaskan in 454 (it's the gun that turned me on to the 454) and I can say for certain that the felt recoil in the puma is more than in the pistol.

 

[45B@cav]

Thank for the info. I shot a 454 Alaskan a couple of years ago and WOW! That thing actually hurt me. I'm not a very recoil sensitive person but if it didn't take 45Colt there would have been no fun at all in a day at the range with it. What shotgun gauge would you compare the recoil of the rifle to. I'm very interested in this rifle. Thanks again.

 

[mgkdrgn]

I just bought one, mainly to shoot 45 Colt, but to move up to 454 if I really needed some punch. I intend to reload 45 Colt to get it beyond the usual "cowboy loads" and wanted the extra strength of the 454 Causal frame.

I've only put about 20 rounds through it, but it works just fine and dandy, hits what I point it at.

 

[frogomatic]

Thank for the info. I shot a 454 Alaskan a couple of years ago and WOW! That thing actually hurt me. I'm not a very recoil sensitive person but if it didn't take 45Colt there would have been no fun at all in a day at the range with it. What shotgun gauge would you compare the recoil of the rifle to. I'm very interested in this rifle. Thanks again.

the recoil is at least as intense as a 12ga shooting 3" turkey mags

 

[hinton03]

Just curious, what kind of ballistics do you get with the 454 in a rifle? Also, has anyone hand loaded the 454 with the Hornady soft polymer tipped rifle bullets?

 

[MCgunner]

I have a .357 caliber I bought 20 years ago. I like it a lot, smooth action, accurate enough. .357 shoots plenty hard out of a rifle unless you're worried about big bears or something. .357 also takes light .38 handloads which turn it into a .22, well, a .22 you that you have to chase down the brass with.

Son-in-law has a .45 Colt model and it takes the heavy loads I loaded for my Blackhawk, very strong gun. I can't really imagine needing a .454, but might be a decent Alaska carbine, especially in stainless.

 

[t165]

I bought a Puma 454 Casull about a year or so back to deer hunt with in Indiana. It is the stainless version with the fiber optic sights. The thought of a light handy carbine in the very powerful 454 Casull intrigued me. While it is not uncomfortable to shoot it does push a little more than my 45-70 when using 300 grain factory ammunition for each.

I bought the Puma to hunt Whitetails and I'll stick with stout 45 LCs for that. It's just nice to know I can step up and use it for larger game animals if I want to. For someone not comfortable using fixed sights then I would recommend the Marlin 1894. The fit and finish on my Puma is just as good as my Marlins. The Marlin is easier to scope but the Puma does have a stronger action which allows it to handle the big Casull. And I will admit I do shoot much better past 50 yards with a scope. Both excellent lever guns.

 

[alaskanativeson]

...I can't really imagine needing a .454, but might be a decent Alaska carbine, especially in stainless.

Funny you should say that, I got a Puma 92 Stainless Carbine in .454 just to have for up here. I went out last night shooting it in some VERY cold temperatures. I didn't really notice the recoil, but I was also wearing what you'd expect someone at the Arctic Circle in Winter to wear (regardless of the calendar, it's definitely still winter here.) This rifle will ABSOLUTELY be going out with me next Fall to get a moose for my freezer.* The only complaint I had was that it didn't really like .45 Colt rounds. I had several that really balked at being chambered. The 454 rounds fed, fired, and ejected beautifully. I imagine if I do much shooting with this back down in The World I'll want a different recoil pad on it, but for now I'm quite happy with this light, handy, quick-handling, GREAT-sighted gun. I'll echo the words about the fiber optic sights. I've seen several different types on pistols, these are the first ones I've seen on a rifle. They're fantastic. I love this rifle.

*I won't actually get any of this moose for myself. This will be my first moose in this village, a Yup'ik Eskimo village. It's tradition that your first animal is given away to others in the village, generally Elders who need the meat and are unable to go out and hunt for themselves. I'll gladly honor this tradition and give away my first moose this fall.

 

[45B@cav]

Thank for all the input, I think I'm sold.

 

[alaskanativeson]

Here's the pair I carried the other night, my Puma and a Busse 3B2. Quite a pair.

 

[Mike U.]

Now there's a fine come hell or high water pairing!

I like your taste in guns and knives, alaskanativeson. Sure wish I could afford one of those Busse's.

 

[alaskanativeson]

They're a really bad habit to get into. I got one and discovered how much I liked them. Less than 3 months later I have over a dozen of them, and a wife who's wondering where all these knives are coming from. My explanatin of the knife fairy isn't working.