.454 Casull

.454 Casull

A .454 Casull full metal jacket round.
Type Handgun
Place of origin United States
Production history
Designer Dick Casull, Jack Fullmer
Designed 1958
Specifications
Parent case .45 Colt
Case type Rimmed straight
Bullet diameter .452 in (11.5 mm)
Neck diameter .480 in (12.2 mm)
Base diameter .480 in (12.2 mm)
Rim diameter .512 in (13.0 mm)
Rim thickness .057 in (1.4 mm)
Case length 1.383 in (35.1 mm)
Overall length 1.77 in (45 mm)
Primer type Boxer Small rifle
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy
240 gr (16 g) XTP Hornady 1,900 ft/s (580 m/s) 1,923 ft·lbf (2,607 J)
300 gr (19 g) JSP Cor-Bon 1,650 ft/s (500 m/s) 1,814 ft·lbf (2,459 J)
325 gr (21 g) LBT LFN Buffalo Bore 1,525 ft/s (465 m/s) 1,678 ft·lbf (2,275 J)
335 gr (22 g) HC Cor-Bon 1,550 ft/s (470 m/s) 1,788 ft·lbf (2,424 J)
360 gr (23 g) L.B.T. - L.W.N Buffalo Bore 1,425 ft/s (434 m/s) 1,623 ft·lbf (2,200 J)
Test barrel length: 7.5 in
Source(s): Hornady [1] DoubleTap[2]

The .454 Casull (/kə sul'/) is a firearm cartridge, developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fullmer.[3] It was first announced in November 1959 by Guns & Ammo magazine. The basic design was a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt case. .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).[3]

Specifications

The new Casull round uses a small rifle primer rather than a pistol primer, because it develops extremely high chamber pressures of over 60,000 CUP (copper units of pressure) (410 MPa), and has a significantly stronger cup than a pistol primer. The .454 Casull is one of the most powerful handgun cartridges in production.[3] 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 ft-lb (2.7 kJ) of energy. The round is primarily intended for hunting medium-large game, metallic silhouette shooting, and bear protection.

The 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.[3] The first commercially available revolver chambered in .454 Casull was made by Freedom Arms in 1983 as a five-shot single action revolver.[3]

Similar cartridges

The recently introduced .460 Smith & Wesson Magnum cartridge has the same diameter as a .45 Colt or .454 Casull, and therefore revolvers chambered for it will also chamber the .454 Casull, .45 Colt, and .45 Schofield.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hornady". Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  2. ↑ "DoubleTap Ammo". Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Barnes, Frank C.; Skinner, Stan (October 20, 2009). Cartridges of the World 12th Edition: A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridges. Krause Publications. p. 568. ISBN 978-0-89689-936-0.
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