454 Casull or 480 Ruger.If you only had factory ammo to choose from,which of these 2 calibers would you choose for a dangerous game back-up revolver and why?

From my experience shooting both guns, I'd take the 480 hands down, but, I don't know what the factory offerings are, as all I've shot has been handloads. If there is a 400 gr hard cast @ 1200 fps factory load for the 480, then that is my choice, if all that is offered is ligher jacketed bullets, then I'd go with the 454.

Paul,Could you tell me what your 400 hard cast load is @ 1200 fps?Thanks for your help

factory Ammo--Buffalo Bore makes a 400gr at 1200 fps load.
Sean

I would go with the 454 Casull. More choices of factory ammo than the 480, and you can shoot 45LC for a mild round. The 454 Casull is an awesome round. Don't get me wrong the 480 is a great round also, but performance goes to the 454 Casull IMHO.

475/480-Thanks for the info.I'm ordering my new 480 Raging Bull today.

Capstick,

This is a hard question to answer, I would have to respond similiar to Paul and go with the 480 but my choice would be a 425 gr cast bullet at 1175 fps. Basically is no better or worse the Pauls 400 gr load, just what I happened to deveople and it shots extremely well and penetrates way deeper then one would ever think, just like Pauls 400 gr load.

Problem here is you limit the question to factory ammo and that throws a wrench in the gears. To be honest, the only factory ammo that I would say is legit for dangerous game protection would be from Buffalo Bore with their heavy cast bullet loads.

I looked into stocking this companies ammo but almost pasted out when I saw the sticker price, to rich for my blood.

My opinion to you, if you are going to shoot either the 480 or 454 at all, you will be much better off getting a basic loading set up and roll your own ammo. With these two rounds you will save a ton of cash, and if you shoot much at all, it will pay for itself within a year several times over.

Problem with these two rounds is the availability of revolvers to choose from. For the 454, one could go to the FA and get a 5" or 5.5" barrel which would be very handy for a pack revolver. Still you'll be dropping $1400 to get such a revolver. Worth every penny if you have that many pennies, most do not.

The 454 is also offered in the Ruger SRH, Raging Bull and BFR. Of the three only the BFR is a real good pack revolver and unfortunately the barrel length is a bit to long for my liking.

The 480 comes in the Ruger SRH, the Taurus Raging Bull and the BFR. The SRH is very strong and accurate but also quite large for a pack gun. The BFR is a good option but still a barrel of 4 5/8" is better in my mind for a pack revolver.

I just received a flier from one of my distributors and they have the 5" Raging Bulls in 480 on sale. I have never handled the Raging Bull in the 480 but I can say that the grips on other Raging bulls are far to narrow for my long skinny hands, still, this could be a very effective pack revolver if the Taurus could handle the strain of a +400 gr bullet at 1200 fps, I can not say for sure.

My opinion is to get started handloading and load exactly what you want without compromising or morgaging the house to shoot your revolver.

Good Shooting!!!

50

Here is a pretty good article comparing four of the Big Bore pistols including the .454 and .480.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/Shootingtimes/Articles/DisplayArticles.asp?ID=696

Jayco.

No contest...the 480 uses charge weights equivalent to a 44 Mag, needs a shorter bbl and develops the same knockdown power as the Casull. The 454 uses 30% more powder and the shooter pays the price in recoil and muzzle blast. One of the best 400 gr loads uses only 18 grs of Lil'gun to make 1200 fps.

Redhawk1,

I have always thought about shortening the barrel on a couple of my SRH's but not to the 2.5" length you post.

Actually, I really do not see how it is practical to shorten a SRH barrel to 2.5". THe frame extends for just a tick over 2.5" itself.

If you did shorted the barrel to that very short length, Where did you mount the front sight, on the frame?

Not flaming you at all, just as a gunsmith, I am very curious as to how you did this to a SRH.

You stated that, "The barrelis cut back to 2 1/2"..."

Do you mean that you had 2.5" taken off your barrel for an overall length of 5"?

Just curious if I mis understood you.

Good Shooting!!

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