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Post by savit260 on Dec 16, 2019 18:49:38 GMT -5
My username is based upon my love and former ownership of a 454 Alaskan model. They are great guns but the throats and barrels tend to run large. If that works for your loading habits they will serve you quite well. I only sold mine to replace it with a custom version of something very similar. Hoping to start that project soon actually. One of the first things I did when I got this home was check the throat size with some 452 and 454 size bullets. The 452 pass through with moderate pressure in the 454 are no go, so at least as far as this one goes I think I'm in pretty good shape. Accuracy seems to be quite good. 🙂
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Post by bradshaw on Dec 16, 2019 19:51:58 GMT -5
"What does give me grief is the stickiness of the rubber grabbing my cover garment when carrying it." ----savit260
*****
Glad you have results with deep seating, should improve burn in snubnose. Rub synthetic grips with talcum powder. David Bradshaw
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Post by savit260 on Dec 16, 2019 20:58:31 GMT -5
"What does give me grief is the stickiness of the rubber grabbing my cover garment when carrying it." ----savit260 ***** Glad you have results with deep seating, should improve burn in snubnose. Rub synthetic grips with talcum powder. David Bradshaw I'll give that a try. Thanks for the tip!
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Post by Alaskan454 on Dec 16, 2019 21:32:25 GMT -5
My username is based upon my love and former ownership of a 454 Alaskan model. They are great guns but the throats and barrels tend to run large. If that works for your loading habits they will serve you quite well. I only sold mine to replace it with a custom version of something very similar. Hoping to start that project soon actually. One of the first things I did when I got this home was check the throat size with some 452 and 454 size bullets. The 452 pass through with moderate pressure in the 454 are no go, so at least as far as this one goes I think I'm in pretty good shape. Accuracy seems to be quite good. 🙂 That should do very well then! Mine had .454/.455 throats and a .453 groove. Still shot very well out to 100 yards, but needed .454 sized slugs for best results. Really enjoyed that hand cannon.
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wtf
.30 Stingray
Posts: 179
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Post by wtf on Dec 24, 2019 8:55:53 GMT -5
I sure appreciate the good information shared in this thread!
I handled one of these Alaskans, recently and was amazed at the “bank vault” lock-up... truly great design and build!
As I checked each chamber for lateral movement, (none exhibited!) the young man working the counter was intrigued. I explained the process and professed my admiration for the Ruger lineup. Solid guns, solid value!
-Bill
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Post by savit260 on May 4, 2020 15:37:44 GMT -5
Got my new leather for the Alaskan today. Rob hit this one out of the park!! The pic doesn't do it justice. I also switched out the grips to a less attractive, but far less garment grabbing Pachmayer compacts. Hard to come by, but found a used pair on ebay for reasonable money.
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Post by bula on May 5, 2020 6:34:38 GMT -5
Nice ! I went to Simply Rugged for leather for my 480 Alaskan too. Got the harness to wear on chest if wanted.
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groo
.327 Meteor
I yet live!!!!
Posts: 855
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Post by groo on May 9, 2020 19:39:23 GMT -5
Groo here Did my time with the 454 [7 1/2 in and 4 5/8 in and a taurus] There are few that can match or beat it ,,, "On both ends" If I was to do it again I would go with a 480 or larger and use "mid-range" loads. Now that "Arther " has showed up,, not much need...
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Post by dougader on May 20, 2020 0:30:15 GMT -5
I had a 454 Alaskan. I liked the gun a lot. Fun to shoot, too, but honestly my thoughts are that the 454 is all about velocity. That's what makes the 454 a great cartridge, but you lose a whole LOT of that velocity in a snubby.
IIRC, my 335 grain WLNGC ran about 1435 fps from my 7-1/2" SRH. The same load gave only 1174 fps in the Alaskan, or was it 1147??? Anyway, my 45 Colt load with the 335 WLNGC gave close to 1200 fps in my 5.5 inch Bisley BH. So, what's the point then, for putting up with all that blast and recoil?
If I were to get another Alaskan, it would be the 480 Ruger. Heavy, wide, moderate velocity and recoil without the blast.
I have a real nice SRH 7.5" 480 and have thought about cutting it down to 4.75" (or 4.80"), which I think Ruger should offer in the Alaskan anayway, but the darn thing shoots so good as-is I feel like it would be a shame to cut it down. I hate to mess with a gun that shoots so well to begin with.
Anyway, my idea is to step up in caliber and stop the race for ultra high velocity. Look at the guys here who are killing bison with the 480 with relatively light loads... 1050 fps? Anything more is wasted wrist wrenching in my mind.
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Post by savit260 on May 20, 2020 18:19:20 GMT -5
I had a 454 Alaskan. I liked the gun a lot. Fun to shoot, too, but honestly my thoughts are that the 454 is all about velocity. That's what makes the 454 a great cartridge, but you lose a whole LOT of that velocity in a snubby. IIRC, my 335 grain WLNGC ran about 1435 fps from my 7-1/2" SRH. The same load gave only 1174 fps in the Alaskan, or was it 1147??? Anyway, my 45 Colt load with the 335 WLNGC gave close to 1200 fps in my 5.5 inch Bisley BH. So, what's the point then, for putting up with all that blast and recoil? If I were to get another Alaskan, it would be the 480 Ruger. Heavy, wide, moderate velocity and recoil without the blast. I have a real nice SRH 7.5" 480 and have thought about cutting it down to 4.75" (or 4.80"), which I think Ruger should offer in the Alaskan anayway, but the darn thing shoots so good as-is I feel like it would be a shame to cut it down. I hate to mess with a gun that shoots so well to begin with. Anyway, my idea is to step up in caliber and stop the race for ultra high velocity. Look at the guys here who are killing bison with the 480 with relatively light loads... 1050 fps? Anything more is wasted wrist wrenching in my mind. I tend to think of the 454 Alaskan as a heavy 45 Colt in a compact package. I've been loading 255 gr SWC to just below supersonic levels, deep-seated in 454 brass so as to keep them out of my standard pressure 45 Colts. 11 grains of unique with a sr primer seems to be about where I'm hearing the crack of the bullet going supersonic from the short barrel. Another option might have been a short barreled model 25 Smith & Wesson but I believe that 11 grain load of unique would be WAY too aggressive for a Smith. For my purposes the 454 Alaskan, treated as a heavy 45 Colt is ideal. A 255gr bullet traveling between 900-1150fps in a fairly compact package suits my needs nicely with the added benefit of these loads not fitting in my SAA & Clone.(or worse yet my open top conversion).
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Post by dougader on May 20, 2020 22:40:01 GMT -5
I do 44 Special, 45 Colt and 480 Ruger. Instead of pushing the 45, I just step up in caliber and keep the recoil moderate. Not for everyone, to be sure, but it works for me and the arthritis in the wrists.
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Post by savit260 on May 21, 2020 9:53:32 GMT -5
I do 44 Special, 45 Colt and 480 Ruger. Instead of pushing the 45, I just step up in caliber and keep the recoil moderate. Not for everyone, to be sure, but it works for me and the arthritis in the wrists. I did give the 480 version some consideration, but came to the conclusion that for my purposes the 45 caliber was more than adequate and I wouldn't have to add another caliber and components. I'm able to use the same 255 swc that I load for my standard pressure 45 Colts. I do use 454 brass but don't find the need to load to red line. I mostly keep them in the Ruger only ballpark. Given that I don't have any other 45 Colts able to handle Ruger only loads I figured this gives me just an extra margin of safety. By using the deep seating principles, I can use "Ruger only" load data with relative ease. At the level I'm loading these, in the 900 - 1100 fps range, you don't have a ton of recoil or muzzle blast. Actually pretty pleasant to shoot. Of course if I want tons of recoil and muzzle blasts oh, I could load up some redline 454 loads if I was in the mood, but for practical purposes what I'm loading works nicely. That said if I had a large frame 45 Blackhawk in the stable or something similar I may have opted for something else.. I've read a lot on the internet where people suggest the only use for 454 Casull is full power loads. I guess I just don't subscribe to that way of thinking. Using the deep seating methods, I see no reason why one couldn't take advantage of a TON a versatility in this cartridge. Obviously the same could be said for the 480, but in my case I wouldn't be able to take advantage of components I already have on hand. I guess my frugalness won the day!! 🙂
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edk
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,108
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Post by edk on May 21, 2020 10:22:13 GMT -5
I've read a lot on the internet where people suggest the only use for 454 Casull is full power loads. I guess I just don't subscribe to that way of thinking. Using the deep seating methods, I see no reason why one couldn't take advantage of a TON a versatility in this cartridge. It's not just the internet in general - this is the prevailing view on this forum. Loaded to the same OAL as a 45 Colt round there is no reason the 454 cannot be used as an excellent mid-range round. Funny how the SAAMI 14Kpsi 45 Colt is commonly pushed to 30Kpsi in Rugers (without the factory's blessing) while so many are unwilling to use a firearm chambered for 454 safely performing at half throttle to do the same thing.
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Post by bradshaw on May 21, 2020 21:15:16 GMT -5
"It's not just the internet in general - this is the prevailing view on this forum. Loaded to the same OAL as a 45 Colt round there is no reason the 454 cannot be used as an excellent mid-range round. Funny how the SAAMI 14Kpsi 45 Colt is commonly pushed to 30Kpsi in Rugers (without the factory's blessing) while so many are unwilling to use a firearm chambered for 454 safely performing at half throttle to do the same thing.” ----edk
*****
Once Dick Casull ran his 4-minute mile, relatively few humans hung around long enough to get addicted to its stratospheric octane. Casull opened a door, kicked the door off the hinges, rattled the house. Hard corps sharpshooters know poison when they taste it. The .454 Casull is the Muhammad Ali of revolver cartridges----heavyweight punch at lightning speed. Just as Muhammad Ali broke the rules of heavyweight boxing, so too Dick Casull broke the rules speed & power in a 3-pound revolver.
In the game of one-upmanship, S&W went and upped the ante with the .500 S&W Mag to out-steam John Linebaugh’s .500, and the .460 S&W to snatch the crown off the .454 Casull. To corral the party S&W introduced a Butterbean 5-shooter. Reckon it ain’t cheating until you set it on wheels.
While not immune to recoil, I seem to keep my composure. But, I don’t drink recoil like water. Nor pretend. I’ve stood close to dynamite, yet don’t extend that pleasure to higher velocity C4. At a certain level, concussion doesn’t care how good your hearing muffs are, it just right through you. Jack the cycles-per-second high enough, air shock sees your whole body as an ear. Or, a crystal chandelier. People who don’t believe in HYDRAULIC SHOCK probably don’t believe in AIR SHOCK, either.
Having touched off full stack .454 Casull under a covered firing line, I swear the tin roof loosened 20 yards in each direction. All that to bang steel & punch holes in cardboard. My answer was to DEEP SEAT jacketed bullets in .454 Casull brass. Without a drag race to the target. If I had a .454 revolver without accessory .45 Colt cylinder, I’d deep seat some dummy rounds in the Casual case----make sure there’s no bind on chambering----then load & shoot. Having done exactly that in the Freedom Arms M-83, I would extend the practice----check individual gun----to any .454 Casull chamber.
My preference is to use .454 Casull brass in a .454 Casull chamber. Moderate loads deep seated should hold the pressure dome in the gun a hair longer. Any reduction in the cycles-per-second of the sound wave may be minuscule but any reduction is better than nothing. The industry would help by releasing sound-suppressant powders for canister sales. David Bradshaw
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Post by matt56 on May 24, 2020 15:39:54 GMT -5
Did they discontinue the SRH Alaskan 454? I don’t see many for sale on GB
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