I am thinking of buying a .454 Ruger Casull that has a 2" barrel. I am doing this because I have the need for a more portable gun. My question. How much velocity to I loose going from 7.5" barrel to 2". Am I making this a .44 Magnum in terms of velocity lost?

Personally, I think a 454 in such a short tube is a waste, I'd want at least a 5" barrel. My shooting buddy Dennis had Wild West cut down a SRH to 4", I think he just got it yesterday, so he should have some data for it once the wind dies down and he can go out and shoot it. If you can make it out to Rabbit Creek at lunchtime, he should be out there shooting.

The other issue is shootability, and muzzleblast, it'll be a hellacious beast! I'm sure it'll still beat a 44, 300 gr @ 1400-1500 fps should be reasonably obtained. I just don't think a 2" gun gains that much in portability over a 4", and you loose alot in shootability.

Braindead-buy a Freedom Arms Alaska guide model.Yeah sure it is alot of money,but so is having a SRH cut down,IMHO the ruger is a poor choice for such a caliber! Consider a Fredom Arms you will not be sorry.

For your needs, if you stick with a 2" barrel, a .45 Colt will do as well. You don't get much velocity from a powder charge that burns in the air after the bullet is gone-just a horrendous muzzzle blast.

45 LC loaded to ruger would get the same energies...

I am thinking about rebarreling my 5.5 to 3.5, as I would like to have it a little lighter in the nose.

jeffe

BD, The guys are right, a 2" would do nothing to you but cause a fireball most of your powder would end up on the ground. You would gain nothing over a .45 colt. I've cut down about 8 of them now and I see almost no velocity loss between my 5" and the 4.25" ones (300gr over 1400). I'm going to do a little more testing tomorrow, so I will let you know. I shot Dennis's after I cut it off at 4.5" and it bucks quite a bit, I can imagine a 2" and it would be no fun at all and I'm not a sensitive recoil person. I think down to a four inch is very practical but any shorter you would loose the whole point of a .454, velocity, very fast.

Just my 2 pennies,

Aaron