454 casull conversion

T

tony wilson

Aluminum

Joined

Jan 21, 2007

Location

North Texas

• May 2, 2011

• #1

I have a Virginian Dragoon in .45 colt. It seems to be strong enough for a conversion to 45 Casull. The 45 casull almost fits now. The longer cartridge will be better for my snake shot loads. Has anyone done this conversion and how did it work out?

 

A

abarnsley

Titanium

Joined

Mar 24, 2005

Location

Palmer, Alaska

• May 2, 2011

• #2

Short answer DO NOT DO IT..

Quite a bit higher pressure... .45 Colt 13,000 psi max, Ruger and Contenders ONLY can run 25,000. The .45 brass is weaker, and should not be loaded above 25,000 psi.

Avg 44 Mag max pressure allowed is 36,000 psi .454 is up to 65,000 psi

What part of NO is not clear???

.454's are made with TOP NOTCH STEELS, HEAVY FRAMES... 1990's tech

Not a 1870's tech caliber..

A Virginian is a fine revolver, just not designed to run at double(.44) to quadruple (.45) pressures..

Look at a Freedom Arms .454 frame and see how massive it is...

Opening up a cylinder to accept .454 invites instant dissassembly. If it fits, someone will try to shoot a hot .454 out of it...

 

J

jabezkin

Stainless

Joined

Nov 17, 2006

Location

littlestown,pa

• May 2, 2011

• #3

+1 on everything but weak 45Colt brass.

 

A

abarnsley

Titanium

Joined

Mar 24, 2005

Location

Palmer, Alaska

• May 2, 2011

• #4

Trim a .454 case to .45 Colt length, compare weights, and report back.

.454 case, should have greater internal thickness at base.

Don't forget the old ballon head .45 cases either.....

 

J

jabezkin

Stainless

Joined

Nov 17, 2006

Location

littlestown,pa

• May 2, 2011

• #5

A given on the old balloon head cases. But you can shoot federal to 454 horsepower all day long and they fall pit of a Ruger 5 shot conversion. Winchester not as good.
As strong as no. But weak? No again.

 

A

abarnsley

Titanium

Joined

Mar 24, 2005

Location

Palmer, Alaska

• May 2, 2011

• #6

Why hotrod a cartridge that can fit into a weak action...

One hot loaded (Ruger/TC) .45 cartridge, can damage an expensive antique revolver...

.454's use Small RIFLE primers.

Want more power?? get a .454 or bigger, and do it right.

I live and work in grizzley country. I'd rather use enough gun...

Running at rifle pressures with rifle primers.

 

J

jabezkin

Stainless

Joined

Nov 17, 2006

Location

littlestown,pa

• May 2, 2011

• #7

I didn't say to hotrod the 45 in an older pistol. But brass that is too thick means less volume so higher pressure to get the same HP.

 

biometrics

Cast Iron

Joined

Apr 22, 2008

Location

Northern VA

• May 3, 2011

• #8

Get yourself one of the new revolvers that accept .45 Long Colt OR .410 shothells. The snakes will leave you alone after a few encounters... and No risk to the gun or bystanders unless you are a lousy shot.

 

F

FredC

Diamond

Joined

Oct 29, 2010

Location

Dewees Texas

• May 4, 2011

• #9

I started reloading 45 colt for a ruger and a Bond last year when the shotshells were in short supply. What I found in the case of these 2 guns is the shot pattern was better with a load that was less than the max load suggested by Speer. The shot capsule for the Colt and the 454 will be the same. If your gun shoots like mine the extra powder capacity of the 454 will not be of any use. So far the rattlesnakes killed have not moved. Each time I had to find a stick and prod them to tell if they were really dead. Yellow belllied fish snakes are a different story, they sometimes jump out of the water when hit, no doubts when that happens.

 

A

Alpacca Fortyfive

Stainless

Joined

Nov 16, 2007

Location

Leinster, Ireland

• May 4, 2011

• #10

There appears to be a serious lack of operating pressure information in the popular books about cartridges, like cartridges of the world and Ackley's books.

even very similar looking cartridges can differ widely, for example .38spcl +p and .380ACP +p operate at around 1/2 the pressure of 9mm P

Short of thumbing through an actual loading manual, or one of the SAAMI books (check Stevespages for scans of them) that kind of info isn't in the popular books, and too often, test barrel length isn't listed in them either!

 

GGaskill

Titanium

Joined

Feb 14, 2001

Location

Central AZ

• May 5, 2011

• #11

I don't think there were many pressure tests done back in the heyday of wildcatting that Ackley's books represent. The goal then was to go faster than the previous guy so if the gun stayed together, it was "safe."

And there weren't so many lawyers trying to find employment in those days either.