454 casull for deer?

[DCcatfisher]

I have been looking around at some pistols to carry deer hunting. After killing countless deer with a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, and archery I want something a little more challenging. I have liked the looks of the Ruger Super Redhawk chambered in the 454 casull cartridge. I know this may be a little overkill but I would rather have a little to much than not enough. I also like the fact that you can shoot the 45lc cartridge in this revolver instead of the punishing 454 casull for recreational shooting. Does anyone have any experience with this round for deer hunting or any other info that might be helpful?

[River_monster91]

my friend has a 454...dont think its a casul though. i dont think he uses it for deer, but he said it would drop one in its tracks. seems like alot a power for deer though.

[Ruger 454]

I own the very gun you want and it will put the smack down on any deer out there.I like mine alot because like you said I dont have to shoot full power loads that cost a dollar a pop $$$$$ that is the one thing that is a drawback.I dont know how well you handle recoil but these guns have a pretty stiff kick to them,you might want to have it ported to reduce the recoil and one other thing it is LOUD when ya touch one off.PM me if you want any more info. Mike

[pk_powell]

He has the Freedom Arms 454 Casull 10 inch barrel scoped. Will it kill a deer? You bet ya, if you can handle the recoil as it's twicw as powerful as the 44 magnum. However.as you said,there are lighter loads available that puts it about on par with a 44. He personally hasn't had time to get sufficient with his to hunt deer. It was a steal when he bought it. He hopes to someday put down a deer with it.Time will tell. Good luck and Happy Hunting,my husband's favorite past time. It's taken the African Big Five,Cape Buffalo, Lion,Leopard,Rhino,Elephant.It's a wonderful Cartridge,as is 500 S&W. Sister Pat.( I typed this while my husband told me what to type:haha:)

[H2O Mellon]

I'm a HUGE .454 fan. I didnt go hunting this year but the small buck I got lat year was shot @ aprox 60 yards. It kicked the deer up several inches in the air then nothing else. The deer did not go 10 feet. I'm a true beleiver in the Ruger Superredhawk .454. For hunting I use nothing but Winchester Partian Gold or Winchester Silvertips.

Here is a pic of the deer I got last year
Here is another pic of my most favorite hunting handguns. My .454 Ruger and my .44 Colt Andaconda.

[H2O Mellon]

I'll add this....

If $ is no concern and you don't mind droppign $1200, you might want to check out the S&W .460. I must admit even though I'm a huge Ruger (revovler) fan, the S&W .460 is nice. You can shoot .460, .454 & .45 LC in it.

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[DCcatfisher]

Thanks for all the info I am going to try to purchase one of the 454's by next deer season and give it a try. I am also thinking about a Ruger MKIII Hunter for small game hunting

[south_va_fisherman]

only thing i know about the round is the bullets arent cheap and shooting them will rattle every inch of you. ive only taken 3 shots with one before, but that was enough :big_smile:

[south_va_fisherman]

"overkill" was mentioned in a number of posts. compared to a .243 at 50 yards, the .243 will push out 1600FPE(give or take, depending on load) while the .454 will be around 1450FPE, according to my cartridge guide. i know the .454 is a big chunk of lead, but i wouldnt call it overkill. i would call anything over .30-06 overkill. deer have very thin skin and dont require a cannon to kill

[Ed Lacy]

I have a Freedom Arms 454 w/7 1/2 brl.that I've had for 18 or 19 years and it's the finest firearm I own. Less than .003 between the cylinder and barrel, glass smooth trigger with no creep or grittyness at all. And the cylinder locks up tight with no movement at all. This is from the factory, not reworked. The gun can hold 1 1/2" groups at 100 yds. I can't. So if I don't make a one
shot kill on a deer or boar, it's bad on me, not the gun. Never handled the Ruger, so can't comment on it, but, the Ruger rifles I have are excellent and I'm sure the revolver is as good.
IMO, a 357 or 44 on deer is all you really need. I like the 454 for hogs though, I don't like them coming after me with revenge on their minds.