.454 casull/ruger super redhawk alaskan question

[Grumulkin]

I don't quite understand why guys buy a big gun and then want to download it or shoot shorter cartridges in it. Shooting 45 Colt loads in a 454 Casull chamber can, as they say, "ring the chamber" and cause erosion of the chamber. Later, when shooting the longer 454 Casull cartridges, extraction or ejection problems can occur.

As it was originally designed for use in Freedom Arms revolvers, the 454 Casull cartridges was loaded up to 65,000 psi. If you use the lower pressure loads found nowadays in manuals, you might not have problems with extraction of 454 Casull cases in chambers previously used to shoot 45 Colt cartridges but if you shoot full house loads, you probably will have problems.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Since auto rim question was answered, I want to elaborate on what Grumulkin said, in case there are any novice .454 shooters out there:

I don't quite understand why guys buy a big gun and then want to download it or shoot shorter cartridges in it. Shooting 45 Colt loads in a 454 Casull chamber can, as they say, "ring the chamber" and cause erosion of the chamber. Later, when shooting the longer 454 Casull cartridges, extraction or ejection problems can occur.

Yeah, not only that, but something far worse than extraction or ejection problems can occur: maiming & death, from a Kb. Those rings that build up can narrow the chamber right where the .454 brass holds the bullet in, and upon firing, can prevent soon-enough release of the bullet from the crimp. This delay causes pressures to increase exponentially - something you definitely do not want in an already-extraordinarily-high-pressure round. Remember, the .454 is rated up to SIXTY thousand PSI.

So bottom line, shoot .45 colts in .45 colts, and .454s in .454s. Or if you don't, just be sure to clean the holy bejeebus out of those "rings" before going back to .454 - your safety depends on it.

(Or, do what I do, load up mild .45-colt-style loads in .454 brass)

 

[ldp4570]

AHBoy! First 45AR wont fit due to rim thickness, period. As to ringing the cylinder, well its just like shooting .38spl in a .357Mag revolver. Yep there will be a ring, clean it before shooting magnum's. 45LC vs 454C same applies as to .38SPL vs .357MAG.

 

[Grumulkin]

AHBoy! First 45AR wont fit due to rim thickness, period. As to ringing the cylinder, well its just like shooting .38spl in a .357Mag revolver. Yep there will be a ring, clean it before shooting magnum's. 45LC vs 454C same applies as to .38SPL vs .357MAG.

It's not really the same as shooting 38 Special in a 357 Magnum chamber because the 357 Magnum doesn't generate nearly as much pressure as a 454 Casull. Also the "ring" in the chamber is an actual circumferential groove that cannot be removed by any amount of cleaning; it will cause PERMANENT ejection difficulties.

 

[Hawgman]

I don't quite understand why guys buy a big gun and then want to download it or shoot shorter cartridges in it. QUOTE]

"It's my toy I'll play with it how I want to" is my first response. It's a hobby, a pastime, an area of interest. We all pursue these thing the way we want. Just like any other hobby. If you buy the gun for me and pay for all the ammo I want to shoot, then I'll shoot it the way you want me to. As long as it's safe. I realize folks may not agree with something I'm doing. I just threw the question out for curiosity. I don't even own a .454casull. I truly don't get putting those tall 22 inch rims on a pickup truck. Looks silly to me. But hey, I'm not paying for it and they're not breaking the law. I'm not going to question them as though they shouldn't be doing it.
Ringing a cylinder, in my experience with .38/.357, is simply lead deposits where the brass stops and the lead starts. Wad up some copper scrub pad materiel on the end of a cleaning rod and it scrubs right out. This works well on barrels too by the way. I prefer "chor-boy" brand at walmart. I can say subsequent factory .357 firing have not been sticky at all. To get an actual groove in the cylinder, the way I understand it, you have to induce flame cutting from the burning powder. If you've driven a .38 special or .45lc to those king of pressures you are indeed asking for very exciting range sessions. This of course would mean the .454 casull would be flame cutting the cylinder as well due to it's much higher pressure. Maybe it does a little, I don't know. Even if it did it wouldn't matter a whole lot because it's the longest cartridge to be used. Unless you're using it in a .460 S&W revolver. You know, I can see how some would think we gun nuts make things complicated. But I just get into stuff like this. It interests me.
I really do appreciate ALL the inputs. There's just a ton of knowledge on this site.