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Thread: .454 Casull Load For Large Animal Defense....

  1. #21
    Boolit Master

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    YES I think that bullet will work well on anything it hits, the trick is to put the bullet in the right spot everytime. I have two Freedom Arms 454 casull`s my load for them is A LBT 310. gr. WFNGC at 1575fps . it hits hard .

  2. #22
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Good morning
    In my simplistic thinking I try to compare todays desires to the old days reality. If a today's load can equal lets say a 38/55 BP load or a 45-60 BP load then probably it is going to work well.
    Your 365 grainer at just 1350 fps would equal a hot 45/60 load so any exces velocity is going to be that much more icing. That huge metplate is going to transfer energy fast and the softer type mix should hold together well and flatten out even a bit more. Should cut a good channel.
    I would have no hesitation to rely on it. Have a 454 BFR and the 300 gc load I prefer at 1550+ I feel is going to be sufficient to do what would need done. A longer barreled lever gun adding that extra 250 fps would again just be more icing. My question and hope is whether I could get that "golden slug" into the brain or upper spine to actually stop the beast. But then there is no choice so at least you will have enough brute power to give yourself an even fight.
    Mike in Peru
    "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
    Male Guanaco out in dry lakebed at 10,800 feet south of Arequipa.

  3. #23
    Boolit Master


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    Shot this bad boy last night with my R92 chambered in 454 Casull.
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    I'm using my 45 Colt bullet, the TLC454-290-RF, sized at. 452" and seated to an OAL of 1.800" which is .005" off the lands. It is pushed along with 34-grains of Lil' Gun for 2095 FPS at only 48.0 KPSI.

    Very intriguing cartridge as this load represents the best possible effort from my beloved 444T with a similar bullet weight yet the Casull has more potential available.

    I have a TLC452-330-RF in the works and am going to use it to learn more about alloys and treating them while I push the rifle and cartridge to the max.

    Here is my R92 454 Casull Scout with the Weaver K4 Scout. It is a beast as well.
    Michael

  4. #24
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Nice piggy, Michael! Can't wait to load that boolit in my RBH, maybe in my 45 Colt Trapper as well.
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  5. #25
    On Heaven's Range

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    Topics like this bemuse me.

    Based on PERSONAL EXPERIENCE( i.e: not 'war stories' or 'internet expertise')..... I don't see much need for the .454, .460, .480 etc for regular field service, meaning a belt gun that is NOT a main hunting firearm in place of a rifle.

    A .44 is .432" (my bullets), and the .454 is ...guess what?...,454" diameter. When both cartridges are loaded with heavy cast bullets, they aren't much different.

    Once upon a time, in my "salad days" as Colonel Askins used to call them, I was pretty impressed with the then-wildcat .454, and thought I might own one in the future.

    A few incidents of hands-on field experience changed my mind.

    Gents..... I have on a number occasions driven my own self-cast .44 SWC bullets COMPLETELY THROUGH (and out the far side of) adult bull moose and large Wood Bison. Some of these creatures weighed over a ton. This type of performance was routine, not the occasional exception. On seeing a few such results, my thinking changed to say, "The .44 is going right through and kicking up dirt....why do I need a .454? To kick up MORE dirt?"

    Yes, the bullet hole is fractionally larger.... but .020" is not going to make that much difference. The penetration of the .44 is manifestly sufficient. If I was buying a new, heavy revolver today, it might well be a .454.....but I sure wouldn't buy it in the expectation of a huge performance increase over that of my .44s.

    Choices are great, and I don't fault anyone who chooses a .454 or whatever. Just be aware that the .44 with heavy cast bullets is also one highly-effective killing instrument. Without any experience at all with jacketed revolver loads on animals, I must say that the heavy .45s may well do better than the .44 with XTPs or similar bullets...but that simply doesn't appear on my personal radar. I've been a cast-bullet shooter for decades, and that isn't going to change now.

    I do hope I haven't unduly upset anyone!
    Last edited by BruceB; 02-14-2013 at 06:27 AM.
    Regards from BruceB in Nevada

    "The .30'06 is never a mistake." - Colonel Townsend Whelen

  6. #26
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have no doubt that the .44 Magnum is capable of incredible power and great feats in the field. My children each carry one in the woods. However, this thread was based on a rifle as the platform. But, speaking of the .44 Magnum and .454 Casull issue....

    I had a wonderful Ruger Super Blackhawk 3-screw 1972 production. It was my "up close and personal woods protection gun". It was fun to shoot light to medium loads from. But, for me personally, once I moved up to heavier, faster loads the fun seemed to vanish. The recoil was too snappy for me. My two sons have Ruger Blackhawk Flat-tops in .44 Magnum and my daughter shoots a S&W 629 in .44 Magnum. Again, lighter loads, fun...beyond that, I don't enjoy.

    All I can tell you is that my Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull, short and stubby as it may be, has provided me with much more pleasure in shooting. I don't come home with my hand still stinging or my wrist aching. And, the range of loads that I can create with this gun are near endless. From 11 grains Unique or 17.5 grains of Blue Dot behind a 264 grain cast bullet up to 24 grains of H110 behind a 362 cast bullet and all in between. All of these, TO ME, are more enjoyable to shoot than even generic .44 Magnum factory ammo.

    It just feels like I can equal the performance of a .44 Magnum with my .454 Casull without as much abuse to myself.

    I have no explanation...just my personal experience.
    Last edited by Southern Shooter; 02-14-2013 at 10:01 AM.

  7. #27
    Boolit Master 357shooter's Avatar
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    That's a nice looking Rossi Ranch Dog. I just ordered a blue on just like that, chambered in 454. I think it'll compliment my SS 357 very nicely. Can't wait for it to arrive.
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  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy
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    I just picked up this 2nd hand Puma M92 .454 Casull for $350.
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    Last edited by Southern Shooter; 02-16-2013 at 12:45 AM.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master badbob454's Avatar
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    never saw it personally buy heard of pigs shot repeatedly with a 44 mag before they dropped , i imagine , (note no experience ) a 454 casull would have dropped em dead right there , a .429-430 , 44 mag is much smaller than a 454 casull .452-454 a surface area of approx 8% more and can have a heavier boolit making a better penetrator of heavy , and did i mention dangerous game .. not to mention powder capacity,.. also the taylor knockout formula gives the 454 casull a 30.2 tko compared to a 19.9 tko for the 44 mag some 33% more killing power ... see this link for the results
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_KO_Factor
    thanks for listening to my ramble ...bob
    Last edited by badbob454; 02-16-2013 at 03:14 AM. Reason: corrected spelling
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  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I just picked up this 2nd hand Puma M92 .454 Casull for $350.-Southern Shooter


    Nicely done! The load you're contemplating is very close to my 45-70 hunting load so should be up to any N American hunting task I can imagine with proper boolits and boolit placement.
    I like that rifle but can't help but wonder if it might be a bit uncomfortable to shoot. I think Ranch Dog was hinting about that. Looks like fun, tho.
    Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
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  11. #31
    Boolit Buddy
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    TXGunNut, I just so happen to have walked in from the range. I did not have any of my 360 grain cast bullets loaded up, but, I did have some 335 grain Cast Performance bullets loaded up with 26 grains of H-110 and a heavy crimp. Well, the ported barrel must really help. Because, I found that load down right pleasant. I did not have any of the painful experience that I expected.

  12. #32
    Boolit Master 357shooter's Avatar
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    What primers are you guys using with the 454 and H110? Looks like small rifle, is that right?
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  13. #33
    Boolit Buddy
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    Small rifle primers.

  14. #34
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I had to stay inside and do taxes today. Could you give us a more detailed range report to ease my pain a bit, SS? Rather anxious to hear how the little lady shoots.
    Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
    Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
    I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call, Lonesome Dove
    Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of depleted counterbalance devices.

  15. #35
    Boolit Master
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    What little experience I have with shooting game with my Raging Bull in 454 has shown me that it has more than ample power from the 8 3/8" barrel to take care of anything I want to come up against. In the rifle the same loads should really be awesome.

    I am shooting the Lee 300gr RF at a mild 1500'ish fps, and have run it up higher but it isn't fun as you mentioned. The grandson and I were killing time one weekend and decided to put up some 5gal buckets of water, then shoot and record the shot. I posted up the link to the vid here, and there is also a shot of the recovered bullet there as well,
    Water Test

    On the photo site there is also a still shot of the bucket at moment of impact. This was from the Bull at the 1500'ish velocity and the bucket was at 50yds. I feel this is pretty darned impressive. I doubt you wil have any issues with what your using.
    Later,
    Mike / TX

  16. #36
    Boolit Master
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    Ranch Dog
    Good God man a 290 at over 2000 fps! Did that porker do back flips! That had to be a handfull cookin them off! My load for the 240gr XTPs definately let you feel it in my Puma 454 at 5 lbs better be hanging on tight!

  17. #37
    Boolit Mold
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    Either way, I have both the 1895cb in 45-70 and the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in 454 casull with me I go out. Its nice to now I have more gun that I need.......

  18. #38
    Boolit Master dougader's Avatar
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    If by NW, you mean Washington and Oregon then your load is more than enough. Cougar aren't that hard to put down, and black bear is handled with 44 mag or - my favorite - handloaded 45 Colt in a large frame Ruger. My go-to load for the Ruger Bisley is a 335 grain WLNGC at 1200 fps. That load will blow right through elk like nothing and keep on going, and black bear will drop to it as well.

    My bear load when fishing in Alaska is/has been the same 335 WLNGC over 28 grains WW296 for an average 6-shot string of 1430 fps in a 7.5" SRH. Not a max load per Hodgdon data, but plenty to do the job and much more controllable for me.

    That Puma was nabbed at a great price. Way to go!

  19. #39
    Boolit Buddy Snyd's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Southern Shooter View Post
    If the bullet pictured below were at 362 grains, 18-21 bhn, and had a muzzle velocity of a little over 1,600 FPS from a 20" barrel rifle.....

    Would it be an acceptable defensive round in northwest mountain areas where large, startled, peeved animals could possibly be encountered?
    That will put a big long hole through anything you think you want to shoot, that's for sure. The biggest issue you will run in to is getting it to cylce reliably in the levergun. I have a Puma 92 454 that I've messed with quite a bit. I have a 355gr WFN LBT boolit with a big fat meplat. You will need to find the max OAL with that boolit profile. I had to trim brass and ended up half way between 45 Colt and 454. With the LBT boolit I have more case capacity than with the 360gr Cast Performance so by trimming the brass I end up with the same case capacity. I have worked up loads with H110 and Lil'Gun. I've settled on LilGun for my bear protection load since it's not sensitive to cold like H110.

    Here's the boolit next to a Cast Performance 360gr. The CP will cycle with brass not trimmed much. I'd have to check my notes to see what it is.




    I could (and have) load it hotter but here is where I'll stay. Good load for both guns which is what I was after.


  20. #40
    Boolit Master
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    What Snyd said. You will want to check for feeding with bullets much over 330 grs as you are going to use up valuable powder space if you have to seat them deep. I use the Lee 300gr that actually casts at 317gr with WWs and I load 31grs LilGun for 1950fps. I could probably stuff a couple more grs of powder in, but the recoil is already stiff in the light Rossi carbine. I haven't tried this on anything yet but I'm confident it will do the job.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check