Uberti in 454 casull

[wheelguns]

Nice find! I have an uberti in .45c, and The fit and finish and blueing job are superior to any of my stock rugers.

[bradshaw]

aales1.... good presentation of information, photos, graphics. Ruger revolvers are test fired with ammunition loaded to pressure 40% above the pressure of factory ammo. Each Ruger chamber fires a “blue pill” or proof round. Pressure standards are established by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI, pronounced “sammy”). The .454 Casull was developed by Dick Casull, not a firearms manufacturer. Freedom Arms launched manufacture of Dick Casull’s five shot single action and for several years there was no pressure standard within SAAMI. When SAAMI adopted the cartridge, the door opened for SAAMI members like Winchester to make ammunition and Ruger to make revolvers.

A challenge arises to test proof ammo for cartridges in the 60,000 to 65,000 psi range. The challenge is to measure proof ammunition, since testing methods have trouble reading pressures around 90,000 psi and above. Another problem arises for the reloader----BRASS LIFE. The brass is a limiting factor, tasked to combine hardness to restrain pressure with the flexibility to accommodate chamber tolerances.

As to metallurgy, plenty of the stout Freedom Arms frames have been made by Ruger. And I lived through testing of the Ruger .357 Maximum, which came through with flying colors. I would not want a .454 Casull, nor a .357 Maximum, which had not been flogged before its release.
David Bradshaw

[Ken O'Neill]

A very interesting, rare, revolver and you have obviously researched it . In my view, it is worth more as a collectible and oddity, than simply a run of the mill shooter. As others have suggested, I would treat it kindly and use no more than brisk .45 Colt type loads in it, perhaps in .454 cases if they are available to you. Keep it as pristine as possible. Congratulations on your find. I suggest you keep all of your correspondence with Uberti as provenance.

[Lee Martin]

Uberti announced the Tornado .454 in 1997, yet none shipped until the early 2000's. It was based on the old Buckhorn frame, previously chambered in .44 Magnum. I've handled three and seen many others online. Production was low, very low in fact, but they built more than 3 - 6. Configurations included:

- Blued or satin nickel plated finish
- Fixed or adjustable sight. The latter eventually became the Callahan .44, pictured below
- Barrel lengths were 4 5/8", 6", 7 1/2", and a long version around 10". Some of these were factory ported.
- All came with laminate wood grips

My Uberti Callahan .44 Magnum. This model grew out of the Tornado.



I corresponded with Uberti in 2005 about the Tornado. They confirmed less than 100 were shipped. The model was discontinued because the forcing cones were cracking ahead of full-house Casull loads. I also suspect cylinder end-shake took root fast at 60,000 PSI. The few I handled weren't too sound on cylinder fit.

Hope this helps,

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[aales1]

Thank you all for your replay!  There are some quality informations!

I did not think this one is so rare. As I said I have no plan or use to shoot full-house Casull rounds, I guess with 45 colt or 45 colt +p I should be fine?

Do you recommend that I use 454 Casull brass for "45 COLT +P" (250 grain plated bullet for 1200-1300 fps). 454 Casull brass is available from Starline and Magtech but is a bit more expensive than 45 colt.

For normal loads (230gr plated bullet 900 fps) I use standard 45 colt brass.

Once again thank you very much for your help! You gave me a lot of very useful information!

Ales

[cable]

I very well remember these being in the uberti catalog. I toyed with ordering one but I never saw one first hand. this was discussed on some boards back at the time.....this is the first one I have ever seen.

[wildcatter]

I would head the warnings of Taffin and Bradshaw, the the 45 Colt loads are very capable on their own, I also "just me" but would head this same precaution if I had a Raging Bull as well. But sure is a neat single action thanks for the post!

As far as plated bullets, I have always had excellent results with cast lead bullets in my 45 Colt's, 1250 fps is about as fast as I push my hot loads with any weight bullet, finding I get better results by going to a heavier bullet rather than throwing more powder behind a more anemic slug, in my big bores anyways. I don't reach for Gas checks till I start hot rodding any caliber up around 1250 or more, but only shoot cast in any of my revolvers, including my 454's.