Anyone have a .454 Raging Bull I could shoot?

[Lindenwood]

Howdy.

I have been looking to buy a .454 Raging Bull for a while, but have not nailed down the barrel length I want. I had an 8-3/8" .44 model a few years ago that I loved, but am trying to determine how much of a difference in recoil and muzzle blast the 6.5 and 5" models make. I know some difference will exist, but as you can imagine it is extremely subjective so I'd like to try at least one or the other before spending the money on it.

I am in Navarre and normally shoot at the Escambia River Gun Club. Does anyone have a .454 Bull I could try out in a few months when I get back from the desert? Naturally, I would pay for the ammo.

Thanks!

 

[SAWMAN]

Not now,but ---> If it is any help to you .... I owned one for quite some time and probably put 800rds or so thru it.

It was a Taurus 6.5(really 6)inch. My observations are this: * The 454Casull is a handloaders chambering. * Full power(60,000PSI)loads are somewhat brutal. NOT for bustin' clods at the pit. Hunting and normal practice for hunting ... OK. * The 45LC,especially the cowboy stuff or the loaded down stuff is very pleasant to shoot. * Handloaded with full power 330 or 360gr WFNGC (hardcast) bullets it will kill ABSOLUTELY anything in North America that needs killin'.

The "expansion chamber" at the end of the bbl makes quite a bit of difference to mitigate the recoil. So does the red grips and the weight of the gun. I found the gun very well thought out and produced. The double lockup was reassuring. My gun was as accurate as needed for hunting. I killed several larger hogs with my gun and one black bear that weighed approx. 280lbs.

Please remember that the recoil produced is equivalent to the power produced by the bullet. You want 44mag power,buy a 44 mag. You want 454Casull power,buy a 454Casull. It's a "for every action,blah,blah,blah" .......... kinda thing.

Also I considered the recoil AND muzzle rise shooting full power loads out of my Taurus 454Casull about the same as shooting full power 44 mag loads out of my Ruger Super Blackhawk (SA).

I consider the Taurus Raging Bull 454Casull a well made handgun and well worth the money I paid for it. --- SAWMAN

 

[Lindenwood]

Thanks! Yeah, I am quite comfortable working up handloads, and have no intention of buying any factory ammo at all, actually. As far as recoil, on a few occasions I have shot over a hundred rounds of 250gr bullets at ~1415fps from a custom .45 before recoil started getting unpleasant. So, I don't Imagine I'd have any issues with warm loads out of a cushy-gripped gun that weighs 25-50% more! Realistically, except for perhaps occasional experimentation, Id say my hottest loads would be ~250grs around 1500-1600fps with medium-rate powders like Longshot and 800x, with most a little lower for plinking. I am also very interested in the 270gr Thunderheads rfrom Penn Bullets! The extra 200-300fps from the magnum powders, to me, is not worth the muzzle blast since the game animals Id ever be looking at (Deer and hogs are my primary interests) are well within the realm of the abovr loads using half-decent bullets.

I will likely shoot it quite a bit, though. I put 3500 rounds (and 10k+ dry fires) through my .44 Bull in the first 4 months of ownership, heh. I ended up wearing out the cylinder stop and sold it to a friend after Taurus fixed it. But indeed, it was an absolute shooter. Running the Bull against almost exclusively autos, I once finished halfway up the pack in an 18rd IPSC stage I shot for fun . These were only 200gr bullets at 1500fps, though. Granted, my recoil tolerance has certainly risen since then.

 

[steve]

You are welcome to borrow mine anytime. I'll even invite you to a private range I run in Cantonment if you're interested (no charge). Otherwise you can pick it up anytime.

 

[Lindenwood]

Oh, and I suppose I should throw in one of the ol' girl that I have been missing all these years, haha.