raised handgunning up a notch, in 1957 the Freedom Arms single action revolver and 454 Casull cartridge took it up two notches. At a SHOT Show years ago when I was speaking with Dick Casull, he told me that he got started when he had the idea to push .45 Colt loads above and beyond what was thought possible in what I believe were Modified Colt single actions. To safely chamber this new cartridge, Freedom Arms then built what was and still is a premium single action revolver. Bob Baker, who is now the president of Freedom Arms and with whom I have hunted deer over the years, has taken deer, pronghorn and many elk that I know of with the .454.
What is interesting about the .454 is that until 1998 it was a proprietary cartridge available only from Freedom Arms. The premium Freedom Arms revolver, when coupled with the then most powerful revolver cartridge available, set the handgun hunting world on fire. My friend Lynn Thompson of Cold Steel Knives fame has used this combination with open sights to harvest the biggest and baddest game Africa has to offer. This is quite a revolver cartridge but one that is easy to control as long as the handgun has a Mag-na-brake from Mag-Na-Port, and as long as you use hearing protection, even when hunting. 250-, 260- and 300-grain factory loaded ammunition is available.
.460 S&W MAGNUM
(0.452") Note: When loading this cartridge and you desire maximum loads, you must use a bullet with a thick jacket, so check your manual’s recommendations carefully.
This cartridge followed in the footsteps of a truly big bore of S&W revolvers, the .500 S&W Magnum (see below). The .460, introduced in 2005, was dubbed the .460XVR. From its name designation, you may think that it uses a bullet different in diameter from that of the .45 Colt or .454 Casull but in reality it does not; therefore, the .45 Colt and .454 Casull cartridges can be fired in any revolver chambered for the .460. Like the .454, this is an extremely high pressure cartridge that must be loaded with bullets appropriately designed. When it comes to recoil, due to the weight and design of the S&W revolver, its bark is worse than its bite. Again, if you can handle a .44 Magnum, you can handle this one. The factory loads I use include 200- (Cor-Bon), 260- and 275-grain bullets.
.45-70 GOVERNMENT
(0.458") As an official military cartridge back in the 1880s, the .45-70-500 was a 45-caliber boomer loaded with 70 grains of black powder, which pushed a 500-grain bullet. It was the 1980s when Ruger, Marlin, SSK Industries (who made T/C Contender barrels so chambered) and Thompson/Center Arms in 1990 that brought this fine big bore back from the road to extinction. For hunting and taking shots from short to moderate ranges, say, 150 yards, I prefer the 300-, 325- or 350-grain bullets. Recoil in T/C handguns – especially if they have muzzle brakes from SSK, T/C or Mag-Na-Port – is moderate and again in the .44 Magnum class. In fact, I prefer firing the .444 Marlin, .45-70 and .450 Marlin in handguns to firing them in carbines since, to me, they’re actually easier to control in a handgun. In carbines, the shoulder takes the hit; in handguns, the recoil raises the firearm and if you hold on and don’t let the blast cause flinching, the energy generated doesn’t knock you around.
.450 MARLIN
(0.458") This cartridge originated from another joint venture with Marlin and Hornady in 2000. The result was a .45 suitable for big game at moderate ranges in the Marlin carbine. Then Thompson/Center chambered it in their Encore carbine and handgun. Now, in the handgun, even with a T/C muzzle brake, this one is a handful. In fact, its recoil is the most of any of the cartridges I cover here. Yet it is surprisingly controllable, though certainly not for the faint of heart. Common bullets I used are the 325- and 350-grainers. Today this chambering in the Encore is available only from T/C’s custom shop.
.480 RUGER
(0.475") Back in 2001, big news at the SHOT show was that Hornady and Ruger had worked together on a project, the result of which was the introduction of the .480 Ruger. Like many of the cartridges that can be fired in the cylinders of others, this cartridge can be fired guns chambered for the .475 Linebaugh. This is possible because the Ruger cartridge is simply a shortened Linebaugh. Again, if you do this, thoroughly clean the cylinder’s chambers so as not to increase the pressures of the longer cartridge. Although a step up from the .44 Magnum, I do not see it (or the .44 Magnum, for that matter) as a 200-yard revolver cartridge. In a Ruger revolver, the .480 cartridges I have fired were loaded with 325- and a 400-grain bullets. The most pleasant to fire was with a 325- grain bullet and that only makes sense. Recoil in the well designed Ruger is moderate: in the 44 Magnum class, and that is not bad.
For Additional Information:
Black Hills Ammunition: www.black-hills.com Cor-Bon/Glaser: www.corbon.com Federal Ammunition, ATK: www.federalpremium.com Freedom Arms Inc.: www.freedomarms.com Hornady Manufacturing Co.: www.hornady.com Mag-Na-Port International: www.magnaport.com Remington Ammunition: www.remington.com Ruger Firearms: www.ruger.com Smith & Wesson: www.smith-wesson.com SSK Industries Inc.: www.sskindustries.com Thompson/Center Arms: www.tcarms.com Winchester Ammunition: www.winchester.com
.500 S&W MAGNUM
(0.500") Introduced in 2003, this was the first big bore cartridge for the new S&W Model 500 revolver, built on their massive X frame. Weighing in at 72.5 ounces with an 8-3/8-inch barrel, this 5-shot revolver had to be massive to handle the new cartridge (and, later, the 460 Magnum). With a muzzle energy of around 2600 foot pounds, this double action handgun’s new Hogue designed Sorbothane rubber grip and factory recoil compensator did a lot to tame this cartridge’s ferocious recoil. Adding Mag-Na-Ports afterward reduced that even more! Although I feel most could handle the recoil, shop owners tell me that when a customer wants a handgun for deer and bear, they recommend the .460 over the .500 since it generates less recoil. In factory loads, I have used the 300-, 350- and 400-grain bullets and prefer the 300 for general use.
In my experience over the years, the best way to get the handgun/ caliber best suited to you is to start with the firearm rather than with the cartridge. If possible, handle a single shot, a single action and a double action revolver while keeping an idea in your mind as to what its use will be. To effectively do this, know the average muzzle velocities of the various cartridges and then check out which bullet weight and designs are available, as well as factory loads. Now select the action type that feels the most comfortable and can handle the cartridge you prefer.
Factory Ammunition: Comparative Ballistics
* No longer in production 1 Mag-Na-Port 2 Mag-Na-Brake 3 SSK Arrestor 4 T/C Muzzle Tamer
Last tip: purchase a .22LR rimfire in the same type of handgun as your centerfire and if you are going to put a scope or dot sight on that big bore, then do the same with the rimfire. Now shoot the rimfire a lot and when you go over to the much more expensive big bore to practice, you will be surprised just how effective you already are.
How things change! The Freedom Arms single action in .454 Casull can also fire the shorter 45 Colt cartridge.
