Does one need a FA .45 AND a .454?!

[wyomingnimrod]

Apologies if this is redundant and covered widely prior. I have on order my “first” FA, a model 83 in .454 with 6” barrel. The wait time is 20mos. I’m too obsessive to wait that long, so I traded a few firearms and a kidney for a FA 97 .45 Colt. Which I now have and love. But then I read an old Ross Seyfried article wherein he says that the .454 is not necessary, a .45 Colt can do the same thing, etc etc. My world crumbled.
Of course I know the answer is yes I need the .454, and the reasons are largely nontechnical. But should I be considering any other chambering in the 83 or stick with the .454? I am not interested in a .44Mag, fwiw.
What say you, were you in my shoes?

[zeus]

I have quite a few revolvers and the last one that would ever leave here is a FA454. Absolutely the most versatile handgun ever made in my opinion. 250s at 1100 in one hole or 260s at 1900 or 300s at 1615. All shoot better than I can these days and it kills like a 300 win mag.

Personally, I do not care for the M97. Too small of a grip for me and too short of a cylinder. But some guys love them.

[wyomingnimrod]

Thanks Zeus! Followup question: I am torn between 4.75” and 6” bbl length for backup carry/hunting detail. 6” seems to make more sense to me. But the 4.75” length just looks mo bettuh

[potatojudge]

If the 97 fits you, then find the level of load you can tolerate. Everything above that gets covered by the 83.

Top end 44 special (which is to say near magnum) loads in the 97 is plenty for me. The 357 is perfect in the 97.

So you've got warm to hot 45 Colt covered. In the 83 you've got an opportunity to either crank up the horsepower in which case 454 is a good choice or you can put together an easy shooting rig. The 83 in something like a 41 or 44 is sedate and plenty powerful without punishing your brass or hands. A gun to really push your marksmanship. I'd take an 83 in 475 or 500WE gladly, but I know I'd shoot the 41/44 more and would become a better shooter with the 41/44.

You didn't ask, but in your situation I think I'd take a 45 ACP cylinder for the 97 before a 45 Colt cylinder for the 454.

[bigbore5]

Depends on what you hunt and where you roam. Lower 48. Probably not. Alaska or Africa. Definitely.

But I personally have no use for a 454. Once I feel a 45 isn't enough, I go straight to one of the Linebaugh stompers.

[45MAN]

May 21, 2023 23:35:09 GMT -5 zeus said:

I have quite a few revolvers and the last one that would ever leave here is a FA454. Absolutely the most versatile handgun ever made in my opinion. 250s at 1100 in one hole or 260s at 1900 or 300s at 1615. All shoot better than I can these days and it kills like a 300 win mag.

Personally, I do not care for the M97. Too small of a grip for me and too short of a cylinder. But some guys love them.

zeus: INTERESTING THAT YOU SAY THE 454 KILLS LIKE A 300 WIN MAG. ON MANY OF MY AFRICAN SAFARIS 1 OR MORE FRIENDS WERE ALONG AND THEY MOSTLY USED 300 WIN MAGS AND PREMIUM BULLETS FOR PLAINSGAME. ME I WAS USING 454 EQUIVALENT 45 COLT LOADS OR 454's USING 305gr CORBON FP PENETRATORS. I ALWAYS FELT THAT MY 45 COLTS/454's KILLED AS WELL AS THE 300 WIN MAGS. EVEN OUT PENETRATED A 375 H&H ON ELAND ONCE, AND OUT PENETRATED A 458 LOTT ON HIPPO ONCE.

[bigbrowndog]

I would say you are comparing apples and oranges in your 97 and 83. The 97 makes a great iron sighted hip gun, back up gun, trail gun, general purpose hiking gun, etc. it’s lighter for easier carry, plenty accurate, and can also function as a primary hunting gun. It will handle all the power you need for hunting and easily handle lighter loads for other stuff as well. The 83 can have a small optic on it and still be holsterable, but can serve the purpose of a dedicated hunting gun one that gets a load made for it and never changes. The weight of an 83 will help mitigate recoil with full power 454 loads, it should provide accuracy well beyond your comfort range. It will allow you to not beat your 97 and yourself with heavy loads from the lighter gun. Perhaps carrying both on a hunt, one in a chest rig and one on the hip, one for back up and tent sleeping the other for actual hunting. For defensive shooting of an animal you typically will be shooting at much closer range than hunting, so there is little need for 250-340 gr loads at 1200-1500fps, when a good solid at 900-1000fps will do the job adequately, especially when considering the possibility of needing to shoot your gun with one hand.

The fact that the two calibers are so close in performance at upper levels, to me is irrelevant, I wouldn’t use them both at upper levels at the same time. I agree with Zeus, the 454 is a great all around hunting caliber and one worth owning for any serious hunting handgunner. If you want separation in power/caliber between your 97 and 83, then I would say go with 475L, avoid the 500we due to brass being Unobtainium and expensive, or go 50ae and acquire a spare 45 cylinder and have Jack Huntington make it into a 500jrh.

Trapr

[jfs]

May 22, 2023 7:01:31 GMT -5 45MAN said:

May 21, 2023 23:35:09 GMT -5 zeus said:

 I WAS USING 454 EQUIVALENT 45 COLT LOADS OR 454's USING 305gr CORBON FP PENETRATORS. I ALWAYS FELT THAT MY 45 COLTS/454's KILLED AS WELL AS THE 300 WIN MAGS. EVEN OUT PENETRATED A 375 H&H ON ELAND ONCE, AND OUT PENETRATED A 458 LOTT ON HIPPO ONCE.

45 MAN has been to Africa more times then I can count using his heavy 45 Colt loads (read old Sixgunner for his hunts). The strength of the handguns he used could also handle 454 if so chambered. From what I understand, the FA`s 97 is good with "Ruger only" ammo...

[jfo4]

4 3/4" .45 97 and a 6" .475 83 covers a lot of bases

[wyomingnimrod]

Gentlemen, the depth of your shared knowledge base is tremendous and given generously. I feel a bit like an intern who lied on their resume in order to get into the room here.
You’ve all given me sound advice and solidified my resolve to stick to my plan of getting the FA .454 to compliment my FA 97. I am sure they’ll both get lonely a need a new friend before long at which point I’ll ask more outlandish questions to all of you sagacious enablers.
A question: what is 45Man’s nom de plume? I am a new member of HHI and have access to the old Sixgunner archive and would love to read his articles on the .45 and or .454.
It is an honor to correspond with with the lot of you. Thank you so very much.
-Phil

[45MAN]

45MAN aka REY GARZA

[500fksjr]

Both have there place!!! Even on a scale of Mild to wild in 45 cal offerings you can cover a lot of bases!!

[silcott]

I've actually been searching for a good used FA 83 454 for the past couple weeks. I'll eventually find what I want.

Do I need one? No
I already have a converted Ruger 454.

Do I want one? YES

Justin

[wyomingnimrod]

Thanks, gang. I’m confident that I’m on the right road with the .45/.454. Now, I’ll need to learn how to handload and cast bullets/boolits. Heaven help me…
In the meantime, anyone know if the Garret Cartridge line of .45 Colt offerings fit FA 97’s shorter cylinder?

[bigbrowndog]

They should say on the website if they’ll fit. Garrett is good about making that info available. Fellow Texan BigBore on here or Randy Miller on HHI uses his 97 45 colt as his primary hunting gun he can probably tell you which bullets are too long.

Trapr