B & R Photography

So, I run out of handgun cartridges fairly quick. I don’t shoot many and they seem to be harder to add to my collection due to certain laws that mean less people in Canada have a specific cartridge. However, this is one that was given to me by a CGN (Canadian Gun Nutz) Forum user and fits nicely into my collection.

Introducing the .454 Casull, starting life as a wildcat cartridge as allot of cartridges do. The .454 Casull was designed in 1958 however it wasn’t adopted by SAAMI until 1997 when it started to get chambered by manufacturers like Ruger and Freedom Arms allowing it to become a commercial cartridge.

The .454 Casull was designed by the following group, Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer. It is a lengthened and improved .45 Colt case built to handle the extra power one would get by adding more powder.

A unique feature of the commercially loaded ammunition and SAAMI published information is that the cartridge uses a small rifle primer instead of a small pistol primer due to the amount of pressure that the chamber produces and a pistol primer isn’t up to the task. Speaking of which the pressure is over 60,000 CUP (Copper Units of Pressure) which makes it one of the most powerful handgun cartridges.

The chamber of the .454 Casull can fit both the .45 Schofield and .45 colt inside but not the other way around seeing as the .454 Casull is the longest of these three 45 cartridges. It has five times more recoil than the parent case a .45 Colt and generates roughly 75% more recoil than a .44 Magnum Cartridge.

To put that into a perspective the .454 Casull can shoot a 250gr projectile at a muzzle velocity over 1,900 fps make up to 2,000 Ft-lb of energy. A standard .45 Colt with a 250gr projectile delivers a muzzle velocity of 900 fps and makes 450 ft-lb of energy. This is quite the step up in power for a handgun.  

As far as trajectory goes if you take a .454 Casull loaded with a 260gr projectile travelling at 1800 fps you get the following data.

25 Yards: 1.2 inches high.

50 Yards: 2.5 inches high.

100 Yards: 2.5 inches high.

(Please note the above trajectory information was pulled https://chuckhawks.com/handgun_trajectory_table.htm )

This will give you a MPBR of 159 yards. Which for a handgun is quite impressive especially understanding that energy this particular cartridge carries. Now let’s go over the facts really quick.

Short Notes.

Official Name: .454 Casull.

Year Designed: 1958. (Adopted and commercialized in 1997.)

Designed by: Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer.

Parent Case: .45 Colt.

Rifling Twist Rate: 1 in 24.

Maximum Point-Blank Range: 159 Yards.

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview of the .454 Casull and will return next week for our Cartridge of the Week series.

Please remember to always practice safe muzzle control when dealing with firearms and happy shooting.

B