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one of us |
Well, my bride finally broke down and, for the price of new living room furniture, is letting me buy a new revolver this fall. Right now, I have thoughts of either a Super Redhawk in .44 Mag or .454 Casul. A good friend back in Nebraska had a Casul that I loved to shoot. But, while I reload, you can buy .44 Mag shells anywhere. Last week I went down to the local gun store, and they had both a .44 Mag and a .454 with red dot scopes for sale! So now I have to choose. What would you AR guys advise? Full power or better ammo availability? | ||
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Casull! Double the power of the .44 and a great eye opener  I loved my decision and if I did it again I would get the Casull again! Justin "Let me start off with two words: Made in America" | |||
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Since your bride is relenting, you need to plan your purchase carefully. Absolutely free, I'm going to give you principles of gun purchases I've found to work well over the years. 1. Get a 460 S&W Magnum; then when you want to buy your next gun you can plead economy. Ammunition for you next gun will be cheaper. ALWAYS buy the gun with the most expensive ammunition first. 2. It's important to have at least 3 guns. Women don't count over 3. After 3 guns, your guns will be known as "those guns" and you can get as many as you want. 3. Use the "dump truck principle." If you want a pickup, say you want a dump truck and then your love will be happy to let you have a pickup. In applying this to handguns, you would say you wanted a $2,000 Freedom Arms revolver and then scale it back to a cheap $1,000 S&W. I hope I've been of help. | |||
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My opinion is that it depends on the use of the gun. While it is nice to have the "biggest and baddest", if the gun stays in the safe or if you wind up shooting mid range loads, then why have all that power...I know, just in case! My experience is that full house loads in my two 44 magnums and my 45 Colt are not a lot of fun. I can shoot a few cylinders and that's it. Peter. Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; | |||
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I bought a 44mag for my first centerfire revolver, but soon wished that I'd bought the 454 Casull. As long as you reload, then just make sure you load a bunch while your doing it. This might be a good time to explain the saveings of lots of reloaded ammo and get a Dillon progressive press. I have the RL550B, and one everything is set on it, I can turn out 100 rnds of ammo in about 10 minutes or less. | |||
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Hmm, that might mean I have to let her get a new dining room set though... | |||
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This could be the start of a very nice give and give relationship  With the time saved while loading on the Dillon, that means you can spend more time with the family instead of takeing 10 times as long on a single stage press. | |||
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Jack, there are a couple of things I "see" in your post... First, you have to understand that yours and your wife's home is her nest, and she is going to want to spend money on it. If you truly love her, and I am sure you do, then allow her what she wants, within reason. That is all she is asking of you: within reason. You don't understand why all the expensive furniture, she cannot fathom a grand for a handgun. But, as LAR says, "give and take". I think Peter has it right. About a box of full tilt stuff out of my .44 and I have a concussion headache. And even Linebaugh says a 1200 fps 310-grain load from a 45 Colt will go through an elk like cheese "at long range". What more do you need? I am not one of those particularly intrigued with the idea that "bigger is better". I think I can do all I need to do with either a .44 Mag or a strong 45 Colt. But the decision is yours. Get what YOU want, and what is reasonable, as far as both of you are concerned. Each of you is happy, and neither of you is bitter. Good women are scarce nowadays. I suspect yours is a good one... | |||
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I have shot a pile of deer with the .44, .45, .475 and 45-70 revolvers. I just can't tell the difference from one gun to another. All it takes is a large meplat on the boolit. Velocity won't matter at all. The only difference is the larger cases with more velocity will shoot farther, flatter and deliver more down range energy. But how far do we shoot at deer? I never feel under gunned with the .44. Your choice will be personal and whatever you choose will be just fine. Love what you buy and never look back. | |||
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She is a great women. The surprising thing is that this was her idea. We were talking about living room furniture the other day, when she said "Well, if I get a new set, you can get your Casull". My jaw hit the floor to say the least. A gentleman I know back home in Nebraska had a Ruger SuperRedhawk that I put quite a few rounds through at our Wedensday night shoots. When we were dating, my bride would sometimes come along and laugh at us (he was pushing 60) as we sat and blasted milk jugs and steel targets half the night. That is where I fell in love with the .454. But the loads were no where near full house, which is what got me thinking about a .44 mag. The best thing is that with both flavors on the used rack at Gander Mtn. for under $700 with a scope, I can't go wrong. | |||
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You can load the 454 down to 44 mag levels, but you can't load the 44 up. As much as I like the 44 mag, the 454 is so much more versitile. Just remember you don't have to shoot full patch loads through it, and you'll enjoy alot. __________________________________________________ The AR series of rounds, ridding the world of 7mm rem mags, one gun at a time. | |||
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Casull 454 ,nuff said. | |||
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Since it's the same gun I say Casull too. If you reload it is the same price for ammo and it can be the same power level. | |||
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Another vote for the Casull -- more versatile. As Paul said, you can load the .454 down to .44 levels but you can't load the .44 up to Casull levels........ I just killed a hog with my SRH in .454 two weekends ago, and it's a really good penetrator...... "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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If you're going to run a SRH topped with optics you might as well get a 454. If you were shopping for a belt gun a 43 will prove less unpleasant to shoot. As others have noted a 460 or 500 offers even more power, but unless you're trying to get a grizzly out of your sleeping bag you really don't need that much juice. | |||
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Smith and Wesson says you can shoot 45LC and 454's out of a 460S&W. So with 454 you can always download or shoot 45LC. | |||
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I'd take a properly loaded 45 Colt in a Ruger Bisley over any 454. When I need more thump I step up to the 475 Linebaugh. Loaded with the heavier for caliber bullets to 1200-1300 fps they are more than adequate. I do not need velocities any higher. | |||
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I have been watching this thread with interest, as I am in the market for a "big bore" I have owned a 357 and had no problems. I have shot the 41 and 44 mags no real issues. Hard to decide, 41, 44, 454, or 460. 460 ammo is expensive, 41 limited bullet options. I reload so I am not restricted to loaded options. I have owned several S&W revolvers and tend to like them. Better trigger and smoother than friends Rugers. I have heard you can shoot a Smith loose.. All can be expensive and its not often I get to purchase a new gun. The X frame is REALLY large I would guess carrying one around would be more than noticeable. Then there is barrel lenght.. Very hard to pick just one. | |||
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My wife and I have an agreement that works out very well. She makes the house payment and pays for her car. I pay the rest of the bills and pay for my truck. Anything left over she can buy whatever she wants and what I have left over I can buy whatever I want. She has lots of clothes and other jun*, I have lots of toys. I love my .454, load my own, heavy 45 colt loads for deer in 454 cases work just great; light 45 colt loads for plinking, and heavy loads for big game. I also hve a rugher BH in 45 colt and a Ruger SBH in 44 mag, I just keep going back to my SRH .454; LOve it. "An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a slave", Ceasar | |||
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I shoot my .475 BFR more then any other gun. I feel the same way about it. I have an Ultra Dot on it and to shoot pop cans at 100 yd's is great fun. My 45-70 BFR is as much fun and has shot a bunch of 1" groups at 100 yd's. I still love my .44 too. There is no way I can tell anyone what gun to buy! Anything from .41 up is great for hunting and all are accurate and easy to load for. The .454 is a super caliber, but I can't complain about the rest either. I think we can only suggest things but it is up to NEJack to make his choice. I know he will be happy with whatever he buys. | |||
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Actually, there are bullets out there from 160 grains to almost 300 grains. I cast my own, and there is nothing you can do with a .44 that I can't do with one of my .41s. It is all about what we like. NEJACK, choose and go forward. You will get to choose again!  | |||
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I am in total agreement with Grumulkin.  However, I do have a S&W 629 Classic 6 1/2" with Hi-Viz sight in .44 Mag and I absolutely LOVE it. It feels like an extension of my body when I shoot it. Unless you're going to be tackling REALLY BIG game, the .44 is more than enough. I like the extremely broad range of factory ammo available for it. Plus, it's a lot easier on the wallet. Hope this helps._______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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Talked with my bride last night, and she said "Just get the .454! You have liked it for some time now." So, in a month or so after the furniture gets delivered, I pick up that SRH! Thanks for the help! | |||
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| Moderator |
Great choice, Jack! You won't be disappointed. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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I had my choice of anything I wanted and I bought a .44 Mag. I've shot souped up 45 LC's and I've shot a .454 Casull. The Casull, even though it was in a SRH with a 9" barrel, is just too damned much handgun for me. I'll never hunt Kodiak bears with a handgun and neither will I ever hunt whitetail deer at long range with a handgun. A .43 caliber 240 grn hard cast boolit traveling at 1200fps is all I'll need for everything I'd want a revolver for. Jason "Chance favors the prepared mind." | |||
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Jason is a wise man... | |||
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You made a great choice, the 454 Casull is hard to beat. Plus you can shoot them 45 Colts as hot as any 44 mag. If you're going to make a hole, make it a big one. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ Member of the Delaware Destroyers Member Reeders Misfits NRA Life Member ENDOWMENT MEMBER NAHC Life Member DSA Life Member | |||
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I picked up a .454 SRH several months back and found three things remarkable about it: 1) The kick was noticeable (but not painful) with max loads, and it was still more manageable than my .44 Mag 4.75" Vaquero with max .44 Mag loads. 2) It was incredibly accurate. 3) The target gray finish on that revolver is beautiful. I think you'll be happy with your choice. Steve | |||
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