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.454 Casull

High power firearm cartridge


High power firearm cartridge

FieldValue
image454 Casull - FMJ - 1.jpgimage_size = 300px
caption.454 Casull FMJ (full metal jacket bullet) round
name.454 Casull
typeHandgun
originUnited States
designerDick Casull, Duane Marsh, Jack Fullmer
design_date1958
production_date1997–present
parent[.45 Colt](45-colt)
case_typeRimmed straight
bullet.452
land.442
neck.480
base.480
rim_dia.512
rim_thick.057
case_length1.383
case_capacity45.5
length1.77
primerBoxer Small rifle
max_pressure65000
pressure_methodSAAMI
max_cup50,000
bw1240
btype1XTP JHP Hornady
vel11900
en11923
bw2300
btype2XTP JHP Hornady
vel21650
en21813
bw3335
btype3WFNGC DoubleTap
vel31600
en31904
bw4360
btype4WFNGC DoubleTap
vel41500
en41800
bw5400
btype5WFNGC DoubleTap
vel51400
en51741
test_barrel_length7.5 in
balsrcHornady DoubleTap

The .454 Casull () is a firearm cartridge, developed as a wildcat cartridge in 1958 by Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer. It was announced in November 1959 by Guns & Ammo magazine. The design is a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt 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 50,000 CUP (copper units of pressure) (410 MPa), which are rifle levels of pressure. It requires the use of a rifle primer to withstand those significantly greater pressures, blurring the distinction of it being a pistol or a rifle cartridge.

The round is one of the most powerful handgun cartridges in production. The .454 Casull generates almost five times the recoil of the .45 Colt, and about 75% more recoil energy than the .44 Magnum. 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, .45 Colt 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, and .45 Schofield (.45 Smith & Wesson).

References

References

  1. (2004). "SAAMI pressures from the 2004 SAAM specifications". Leverguns.
  2. "Hornady".
  3. "DoubleTap Ammo".
  4. "Casull pronunciation in German".
  5. Barnes, Frank C.. (October 20, 2009). "Cartridges of the World 12th Edition: A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridges". [[Krause Publications]].
  6. Chuck Hawks. ".454 Casull".
  7. ".454 Casull".
  8. (28 March 2018). "The Fascinating .454 Casull".
  9. Jeffrey Strickland. (2013). "Handbook of Handguns".
  10. 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 [[Foot-pound force. ft-lb]] (2.7 [[kilojoule
  11. Mark Hampton. (2002). "Handgun Hunting: How to Travel the World in Pursuit of Wild Game!". Krause Publications.
  12. Robert A. Sadowski. (2015). "50 Guns That Changed the World: Iconic Firearms That Altered the Course of History". Skyhorse.
  13. Jay Cassell. (2019). "Shooter's Bible, 111th Edition". Skyhorse Publishing.
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