.454 Super Red Hawk

Ramcharger · July 22, 2005, 03:03 PM

SO I see my local shop has a Ruger SRH in .454.
Will this safly shoot .45 colt loads. Duh let me change that. Will it ACCURATELY shoot .45 Colt loads.

JBP · July 22, 2005, 05:21 PM

While I don't do it very often, my .454 SRH is very accurate with .45 Colt loads (and the recoil is a lot less than with .454 ammo

).

Big Yac · July 22, 2005, 09:17 PM

I have only shot 45 Colts through my SRH once but they were very accurate and yes the recoil was less. If I can find some jacketed bullets to load 45 Colts with I'll start shooting 45 Colts alittle more, I didnt like the lead because it was messy. I prefer the full power Casull loads though

Gixerman1000 · July 23, 2005, 01:59 PM

Mine shoots very well with 45LC

dogfood · July 25, 2005, 07:31 PM

Be careful. I ordered a .454 SRH about two months ago. When it arrived, I checked the chamber throats - using certified gage pins. The throats measured .454-.455. I expected .452. So I wrote Ruger a letter to explain the issue. Last week I received a brief letter back stating that these dimensions were within both Ruger's and SAAMI's specifications.

I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I suspect I will have leading trouble with low pressure .45 Colt loads using nominal .452 lead bullets. I doubt they will "slug up" enough to seal the chambers.

dogfood

robotek · July 27, 2005, 04:04 PM

I shoot a lot of 45 colt in my 454 SRH. I Cast my own and size to 452. A 255 grain bullet loaded to 800 fps is my normal load. Slow 300 grain bullets are not accurate at all but get them over about 900 fps and they do good too. Recovered bullets show they fit the bore nicely. Accuracy is as good as I can hold it. I've shot a few thousand rounds with no leading at all. I run two patches through the bore every couple hunderd rounds. The first one is dirty and the second is clean. It never needs a brush. The issue you will run into is keeping the cylinder clean enough to take the longer 454 cases again. That's not bad if you don't let the crud build up for too long.

The Winchester boxed cowboy ammo (and probably other brands) use a soft swaged bullet without any lube. I have found this ammo does leave some lead in the barrel.

July 22, 2005, 03:03 PM	#1
Ramcharger Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Posts: 371	.454 Super Red Hawk SO I see my local shop has a Ruger SRH in .454. Will this safly shoot .45 colt loads. Duh let me change that. Will it ACCURATELY shoot .45 Colt loads.

July 22, 2005, 05:21 PM	#2
JBP Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 1998 Location: Maryland Posts: 471	While I don't do it very often, my .454 SRH is very accurate with .45 Colt loads (and the recoil is a lot less than with .454 ammo ). __________________ You can't predict the future but you can prepare for it.

July 22, 2005, 09:17 PM	#3
Big Yac Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 419	I have only shot 45 Colts through my SRH once but they were very accurate and yes the recoil was less. If I can find some jacketed bullets to load 45 Colts with I'll start shooting 45 Colts alittle more, I didnt like the lead because it was messy. I prefer the full power Casull loads though __________________ "...and that's the bottom line, because Big Yac said so."

July 23, 2005, 01:59 PM	#4
Gixerman1000 Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2005 Location: Eastern USA Posts: 338	Mine shoots very well with 45LC

July 25, 2005, 07:31 PM	#5
dogfood Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2004 Location: Southwestern OH Posts: 218	Be careful. I ordered a .454 SRH about two months ago. When it arrived, I checked the chamber throats - using certified gage pins. The throats measured .454-.455. I expected .452. So I wrote Ruger a letter to explain the issue. Last week I received a brief letter back stating that these dimensions were within both Ruger's and SAAMI's specifications. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I suspect I will have leading trouble with low pressure .45 Colt loads using nominal .452 lead bullets. I doubt they will "slug up" enough to seal the chambers. dogfood

July 27, 2005, 04:04 PM	#6
robotek Junior Member Join Date: July 20, 2005 Posts: 4	I shoot a lot of 45 colt in my 454 SRH. I Cast my own and size to 452. A 255 grain bullet loaded to 800 fps is my normal load. Slow 300 grain bullets are not accurate at all but get them over about 900 fps and they do good too. Recovered bullets show they fit the bore nicely. Accuracy is as good as I can hold it. I've shot a few thousand rounds with no leading at all. I run two patches through the bore every couple hunderd rounds. The first one is dirty and the second is clean. It never needs a brush. The issue you will run into is keeping the cylinder clean enough to take the longer 454 cases again. That's not bad if you don't let the crud build up for too long. The Winchester boxed cowboy ammo (and probably other brands) use a soft swaged bullet without any lube. I have found this ammo does leave some lead in the barrel.