The .454
Casull
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Max. press. |
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What a monster! This is, for the time being, the most
powerfull handgun cartridge in the world.It is a deveolpment of the venerable
.45 L.C. of cowboy fame. Dick Casull had begun to play with the .45 L.C.
back in the fifties. For decades, the .454 was a wildcat cartridge, fired
from specialy made revolvers. Today, revolvers are being produced for this
powerfull round, by Freedom Arms, Taurus, and Ruger. There are also barrels
for the Thompson Contender, and a number of custom guns still being made.
Standard Loads
This is still, pretty much, a specialty cartridge, so there is presently
much development going on. Below are some factory loads, though there is
not yet really a load for this cartridge which could be called "standard."
As can be seen from the table, VV H110 is the prefered powder for this
round. This is the powder with which the factory loads were developed.
I also use Bullseye, because I have a large amount of it on hand, and it
is cheap, easy to use, and makes a good practice round. It can be seen,
from the table, that the Bullseye loads have about half the power of those
using the more suitable, and slower burning VV powders. This is not a failing
of bullseye, but merely a reflection of the general unsuitability of fast
burning powders in magnum cartridges.
| Bullet |
Powder |
Measure |
Velocity |
Energy |
Comment |
| 240gr JHP |
H110 |
36.0 |
1889fps |
1902fp |
|
| 260grJFP |
H110 |
35.0 |
1825fps |
1923fp |
|
| 300gr |
H110 |
31.0 |
1625fps |
1760fp |
|
Reloads
| Bullet |
Powder |
Measure |
Velocity |
Energy |
Comment |
| 240gr JHP |
Bullseye |
11.0 |
1334fps |
949fp |
economical practice |
| 240gr JHP |
H110 |
39.0 |
2090fps |
2328fp |
Top velocity/energy |
| 260gr JFP |
H110 |
37.0 |
2005fps |
2321fp |
|
| 260gr JFP |
Bullseye |
11.0 |
1302fps |
979fp |
Practice load |
| 300gr JFP |
H110 |
31.5 |
1780fps |
2111fp |
Heaviest bullet |