The .454 Casull () is a
firearm cartridge, developed as a
wildcat cartridge
A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendab ...
in 1958 by
Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer.
It was announced in November 1959 by ''
Guns & Ammo
''Guns & Ammo'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States.
The magazine offers reviews on firearms, ammunition, optics and shooting gear. Also includ ...
'' magazine. The design is a lengthened and structurally improved
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a ...
case.
The wildcat cartridge went mainstream when Freedom Arms brought a single action five-shot revolver chambered in .454 Casull to the retail firearms market in 1983.
Ruger followed in 1997, chambering its
Super Redhawk in this caliber.
Taurus followed with the
Raging Bull model in 1998 and the
Taurus Raging Judge Magnum in 2010.
The
.45 Schofield and .45 Colt cartridges can fit into the .454's chambers, but not the other way around because of the lengthened case (very similar to the relationship between
.38 Special and
.357 Magnum cartridges, as well as the
.44 Special and
.44 Magnum cartridges).
Specifications
The .454 Casull was finally commercialized in 1997, when SAAMI published its first standards for the cartridge.
The new Casull round uses a small rifle
primer rather than a pistol primer, because it develops extremely high chamber pressures of over 60,000 CUP (
copper units of pressure) (410
MPa), and the rifle primer has a significantly stronger CUP than a pistol primer.
The round is one of the most powerful handgun cartridges in production.
The .454 Casull generates almost 5 times the recoil of the .45 Colt, and about 75% more recoil energy than the .44 Magnum.
It can deliver a 250 grain (16 g) bullet with a muzzle velocity of over 1,900 feet per second (580 m/s), developing up to 2,000
ft-lb (2.7
kJ) of energy from a handgun. One Buffalo Bore loading drives a heavier, 300 grain, JFN bullet at 1,650 ft/s for 1,813 ft-lb of muzzle energy. The .454 Casull round is primarily intended for hunting medium or large game,
metallic silhouette shooting, and bear protection.
The Casull cartridges were originally loaded with a triplex load of propellants, which gave progressive burning, aided by the rifle primer ignition, resulting in a progressive acceleration of the bullet as it passed through the barrel.
Similar cartridges
The first commercially available revolver chambered in .454 Casull was made by
Freedom Arms in 1983 as a five-shot single action Model 83 revolver that is capable of firing
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse)
A colt is a ...
,
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a ...
and .454 Casull with interchangeable cylinders.
The
.460 Smith & Wesson Magnum cartridge introduced in 2005 is a lengthened .454 Casull cartridge and has the same diameter as a .45 Colt or .454 Casull. Therefore, revolvers chambered for .460 S&W will also chamber .454 Casull,
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a ...
, and
.45 Schofield (.45 Smith & Wesson).
See also
*
11 mm caliber
*
List of cartridges by caliber
*
List of handgun cartridges
List of handgun
A handgun is a short-barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue f ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson sub ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:454 Casull
.454 Casull firearms
Magnum pistol cartridges
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Rimmed cartridges