Shooting the 454 Alaskan

[Schlitz 45]

Went out shooting with my buddy this morning & tried out my initial reloads for the 454 Casull-28.5gr of H-110 with 300gr Hornady XTP Mags. I don't think I'll go much more than this minimum load, its very accurate & easy to handle. The fireball is pretty impressive & something that I'm not used to seeing shooting in the daytime.
Here's some slo-mo screen shots from this morning:

 

[the Black Spot]

Sweet!

 

[Dan-O]

Almost need shades.

 

[105kw]

Awesome, fire rings, really cool!

 

[disseminator]

It looks as though the recoil warped the space-time continuum.

Gotta love a big magnum revolver!

 

[McShooty]

That's H110 for you. And along with the fire comes muzzle blast that will wake the dead.

 

[tranders]

Impressive!

 

[Radny97]

Love it

 

[Chainsaw.]

If you turn up the h110 a little bit the fireball will subside.

 

[Slimjim9]

Dayum! So what's your carry load?

 

[ATN082268]

Went out shooting with my buddy this morning & tried out my initial reloads for the 454 Casull-28.5gr of H-110 with 300gr Hornady XTP Mags. I don't think I'll go much more than this minimum load, its very accurate & easy to handle.

Tsk, tsk using 300 grain light loads You're going to have to beef it up a bit for your concealed carry loads...

 

[batmann]

I have an Alaskan in .44M and all I can say you are a better man than me!

 

[propforce]

Afterward. This gun stays in the safe

 

[RC20]

Yea the only people that carry Alaskan are in the lower 48 (grin)

 

[agtman]

Yea the only people that carry Alaskan are in the lower 48.

Well, if the younger generation of Alaskans are truthful about what they're carrying in the bush and boonies, they seem to be moving away from 5- or 6-shot boat anchor wheelguns, and instead packing one of the 10mm Glocks.

See, for example: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sQrYwt7K6LY

 

[Schlitz 45]

Glock 20 loaded with 15 10mm = 40 ounces, not much less weight than the wheelgun at 44 oz (unloaded) that has 3x the muzzle energy-It's nice to have options.

 

[agtman]

Glock 20 loaded with 15 10mm = 40 ounces, not much less weight than the wheelgun at 44 oz (unloaded) that has 3x the muzzle energy-It's nice to have options.

Options are fine, and I wasn't suggesting the .454 Alaskan isn't a handful of awesomeness at the range. But loaded up, the .454 Alaskan weighs more than 44oz, and has limited 6-shot capacity versus the 15+1 G20.

But "3x the muzzle energy" is a meaningless statement unless you're testing loads head-to-head over a chronograph. The Alaskan's short 2.5" tube gives up a lot of the cartridge's velocity & energy in exchange for the benefits of portability and gross weight reduction (over what it would weigh, say, with a 5" or 6" barrel).

The actual fps/fpe numbers of the ammo will differ markedly from the stats that ammo-makers, using longer factory 'test' barrels, routinely print on the ammo box in order to impress the retail buyer and, of course, the gun-rag reviewer.

 

[Schlitz 45]

I weighed the Alaskan last night, fully loaded with 300gr rounds it was 3 lbs even-heavy for carry but not for shootin'.
From what I've gathered velocities drop an average of 200 FPS from the box numbers out of the Alaskan's 2.5" barrel.

 

[WestTex]

In your first picture in the series of pix - is that a UFO in the upper right that was, perhaps attracted by the flash / noise?

 

[BluRidgDav]

Awesome photos that show exactly why I sold my Ruger .454 Alaskan, and I live in Alaska.

That .454 cartridge was just never meant for a 2.75" barrel. The internal pressures were designed to accelerate slugs out of a 7.5" or longer barrel, in order to generate those high velocities & energies that Dick Casull liked to brag about and advertise.

A couple of things that will help (but not completely eliminate) those therm-o-nuclear muzzle flashes: (1) change to gunpowder with a faster burn rate and flash retardant properties, (2) use heavier 325-360 gr bullets, preferable hard-cast lead & gas-checked. This will contain the combustion relatively longer and burn the powder-charge more completely. Plus, heavier slugs loose proportionately less velocity in shorter barrels, compared to lighter projectiles, so, you will get better energy efficiency. They also tend to produce deeper penetration, which is what that snubbie Ruger Alaskan was designed for; i.e. point-blank protection from very large predators, not long or even medium range hunting of herbivores.

But eventually, I got tired of the excessive blast associated with any .454 load that I tried, and switched to a .480 caliber Alaskan, due to the superior internal dynamics.

To confirm agtman's observation of trends up here, I've also recently acquired a Glock 40 MOS in 10mm and keep it loaded with Underwood 220 hard cast loads. The longer 6" barrel boosts muzzle energy into the mid-700 range. While that's not close to .480 Ruger ballistics, it's not too shabby, and allows for MUCH faster multiple follow-up shots.

But hey, if you enjoy making maximum "shock & awe" on the firing line, don't change anything. Looks like a great crowd pleaser for the range.

Again, awesome photos!