45 colt vs 454 casull

[Teaman1]

I want a 45 colt 4” Ruger Redhawk, but I’ve found a 454 Toklat for sale that I keep trying to talk myself out of, but I really want it. The purpose of either gun would be personal defense (along with bear spray) in grizzly country. What would you guys go with

 

[Teaman1]

Should add that I already have a single action 44 mag that I shoot just fine. I want a heavy duty double action, but something other than 44

 

[ramont]

.454

You can shoot .45 long colt from the .454 and hot .454 rounds are far hotter than even the hottest .45 long colt.

 

[Wrench]

A 4" 454 is a handful. I have a 8 3/8" 460 and a bunch of other 44-45's including a 329pd. A 4" 454 is not gonna be "fun" to shoot all day, but if you can shoot it well, will run a slug through anything you shoot. As mentioned the ability to shoot 45lc is a plus.

 

[1eyedfatman]

I shoot hot 45's in my Ruger Alaskan 2" bbl, more accurate and less painful than 454 rounds.

 

[kiddogy]

I want a 45 colt 4” Ruger Redhawk, but I’ve found a 454 Toklat for sale that I keep trying to talk myself out of, but I really want it. The purpose of either gun would be personal defense (along with bear spray) in grizzly country. What would you guys go with

buy both. why deny yourself?


seriously though , sounds like you really want the 454. get it , IF you think you can handle it.
if yer not happy with it trade it off for the 45

 

[Tx_300wsm]

Get the 454. I recently picked up a Ruger Alaskan. Shooting 45 colt it has minimal recoil and i feel the recoil of the 454 is somewhat overstated. Shooting 360gr Buffalo Bore it’s stout, but it’s not as unpleasant as my Ruger sp101 in 357 magnum shooting 180gr Buffalo Bore.

 

[Teaman1]

Something about the .45 caliber handguns just get me going. That Toklat just seems like the perfect gun to carry in the mountains

 

[Teaman1]

I’m thinking I’ll have to get the 454 with all your responses

 

[5 shot group]

454.

Next question please

 

[kiddogy]

Nate Romanoski swears by the 454

 

[elkguide]

With the option of shooting both cartridges in one handgun...… .454 all day long.

 

[oldgrowth]

I would get the .454! Like others have already said, you can shoot 45 Colt and 454 Casull both. I have a Ruger alaskan and it is a real fun gun to shoot. The recoil from the 454 is stout but is not that bad if you have a proper grip on it. This is a pic of my friend's son touching off a full house Casull .

 

[Teaman1]

How’d he like that short barreled 454?

 

[oldgrowth]

He thought it was a kick in the pants, but a few was enough to satisfy his curiosity.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Those Toklats are sweet, I need to get one. Hard to justify currently as I have several “bear pistols”. I lime My Ruger super Blackhawk Bisley 454.

 

[hayesplow]

The .45 Colt is a fairly low pressure round compared to most, as is the .410 shotgun.

One of the reasons that the Casull is such a scorcher is because it it loaded to much higher pressures than most handgun rounds.

The .460 is even hotter than the Casull and approaches pressure that some rifle cartridges see. But the .460 guns are built very heavy duty to accommodate that.

I do not think it would be a wise move to try another other cartridge in the gun other than what it was designed for.

 

[HawkCreek]

The .45 Colt is a fairly low pressure round compared to most, as is the .410 shotgun.

One of the reasons that the Casull is such a scorcher is because it it loaded to much higher pressures than most handgun rounds.

The .460 is even hotter than the Casull and approaches pressure that some rifle cartridges see. But the .460 guns are built very heavy duty to accommodate that.

I do not think it would be a wise move to try another other cartridge in the gun other than what it was designed for.

SAAMI max pressures are 65000psi for the .454, the same as the .460 both of which are slightly higher than the .330 Winchester Magnum. The .460 is only longer resulting in more room for powder, giving it higher velocity.

S&W lists the .454 and the .45 Colt as safe to fire in their .460 and Ruger lists the .45 Colt as safe to fire in their .454 so I think doing so would be perfectly fine. Though I agree that generally firing a different caliber round in a larger chamber isn't considered safe. It's the same as firing .38's in a .357 Mag.

 

[Teaman1]

I don’t know, so asking, but isn’t the main issue just having to clean out the cylinder after firing the shorter rounds. Heard accuracy might not be quite as good with the smaller cartridges in the bigger guns

 

[oldgrowth]

Shooting 45 Colt in the ruger 454 is safe and i never saw any real accuracy difference between the two in my gun. I started out shooting 45 colt in my 454 to save some money but having to clean out the ring that forms in the chamber is a real pain. I have never had a problem with the 454 chambering, but there was definately a ring forming after a few boxes of colt. I have heard the ring can cause a pressure spike if it builds up too much, and being the pressures of the 454 are already around 60-65K , i wouldn't want to push the boundries. Now i am just shooting 454 only. One could load up some reduced power loads in 454 brass and still have plenty of poop to take down a bear while having an easier to shoot load. Plus no need to worry about the ring forming in the cylinder that can cause problems.