.454 Casull lever gun?

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Clint E.

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Hey Guys,
I'm interested in a lever gun in .454 Casull. What are my options?
From what I can tell it's probably going to have to be a Rossi, which is ok, just wanted to know if there are other options.
Who carries the Rossi's? Does anyone know who would have any in stock?
I really like the looks of the Rossi R92 'El Jefe' carbine in stainless with the "16 barrel. Does anyone know if these are available in Canada?

Thanks!
 
When I bought my Rossi a couple of years ago the stainless 16" 454 Casull was rare, but there were some about. I settled for the 20" blued 454 and found it was still a very handy sized rifle, but a little pricey to feed even shooting 45lc.
 
How much do you really gain in a short-barrelled lever using a 454 Casull over a 45 Colt? I've always considered the 454 Casull to be an oversized 22 Mag (hear me out before you crucify me). The real reason to have a 22 Mag is to get the same performance from a handgun that you'd get from a 22LR rifle. I think that the 454 Casull is in the same boat, just on a larger scale. You can get 45 Colt rifle performance out of a revolver. It would be a lot more relevant to our Southern Cousins that can use them to hunt. The limited gains burning 30% more powder (according to Barnes - the only source I have in front of me at the moment) would seems to fall into the category of "the law of diminishing returns". If the 45 Colt version was morer readily available and ammo was (and reloading is) cheaper, I'd be more inclined to go in that direction. Fair disclosure though, I have a Vaquero in 45 Colt already making it more reasonable to own a second Colt rather than a Casull, and I already have three 45-70's.
 
BigUglyMan said:
How much do you really gain in a short-barrelled lever using a 454 Casull over a 45 Colt? I've always considered the 454 Casull to be an oversized 22 Mag (hear me out before you crucify me). The real reason to have a 22 Mag is to get the same performance from a handgun that you'd get from a 22LR rifle. I think that the 454 Casull is in the same boat, just on a larger scale. You can get 45 Colt rifle performance out of a revolver. It would be a lot more relevant to our Southern Cousins that can use them to hunt. The limited gains burning 30% more powder (according to Barnes - the only source I have in front of me at the moment) would seems to fall into the category of "the law of diminishing returns". If the 45 Colt version was morer readily available and ammo was (and reloading is) cheaper, I'd be more inclined to go in that direction. Fair disclosure though, I have a Vaquero in 45 Colt already making it more reasonable to own a second Colt rather than a Casull, and I already have three 45-70's.
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May be true but if you shoot 22mag out of a rifle you have a 100+m gun instead of a 50m gun. The 454 makes a handgun hit with more impact than a 30-30(same muzzle energy, heavier bullet) and a compact lever gun hit like a 45-70.

The Rossi is as far as I know the only option for a 454 lever gun and I bought mine locally as soon as it came in to the store. Personally I got it as a bush gun to carry as it only weighs 5lbs making it feel like nothing to carry(almost like a toy to hold it's so light) but still has the impact of factory 45-70 loadings. Great guns as you can load 45 colt to extremely high pressures safely adding huge amounts of versatility to the gun. I have everything from 140gr round ball loads(6.5gr unique) that sound like a 22lr for small game to my 300 gr FP(30gr H110) hardcast for predators. I could do 350-400gr too but I haven't tracked down a mold yet or had one made but I'm personally not terribly concerned about it.

As for who has them in I have no idea as I gather they don't sit on the shelf long. The 16" barrel models even less so. I'd call around to every gun shop you can track down and inquire.
 
No good reason to go over 300 grain in the Casull. It you want to shoot heavy bullets then you really should step up in case capacity to the 45-70. But I agree that if you're just going to shoot factory ammo in the 45-70 then you're just p*ssing into the wind.
 
with the 454 casul can easily get 2200 fps wth a 300 grain bullet out of a rossi in a 20 inch barrel .


if you seat the bullets out to the same overall length , the combustion chamber in 454 and 45 colt is the same size . the only difference is the 45colt will have a shorter neck .

BUT is there any difference in the strength of the brass between the 45 colt and 454 ?

the 454 uses small rifle primers , the 45 colt large rifle primers ( your probally suposed to use pistol primers ..... i use what i have on hand ) .

the 454 casul is rated for 65,000psi .
the 45colt is rated around 15,000psi .

my personel opinion is it is probally ok to load modern 45colt brass up to 44 mag pressure levels ( assuming the gun is safe at those levels ) .

but to go higher than that is probally why the 454casul uses the small primers , and what apears to be slightly heavier brass .
 
.454 is pretty impressive out of a pistol let alone a long gun. I miss mine very much. Still planning to pick up another sooner or later. The M92 is a very slick gun.
 
The Rossi .454 is a great choice for anything in North America, providing
the shot is within 100 yrds. and well placed. The Big 5 in Africa have been
taken with this cartridge from handguns using hardcast as well as heavy
jacketed bullets.

The brass for the .454 is much heavier in the base and web area compared to the
.45 Colt. I don't use the Colt cartridges in my .454 to avoid a build-up of lead
in the chamber, which can cause a dangerous pressure spike when a hot loaded
.454 is fired. Guns have been destroyed because of folks not thoroughly cleaning
the chamber after shooting a bunch of lead .45 Colt in their guns, then torching
off a full-on .454 jacketed round. :eek:

Round ball loads are a hoot in my Rossi and they shoot straight to 50yds.
or so, but they do tend to lead foul the bore pretty much.
I'm happy with all three of my Rossi's and have no problem recommending
them to folks. ;)
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Clint E. said:
I really like the looks of the Rossi R92 'El Jefe' carbine in stainless with the "16 barrel. Does anyone know if these are available in Canada?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

FWIW, I shot a 16" barreled Rossi in .454 Casull a while ago. I found the 16" barrel balanced too muzzle light for my taste. If I was buying one of these I would go with the 20" barrel just for the better balance it offers. The additional velocity and mag capacity are just icing on the cake.


Mark
 
Personally I got it as a bush gun to carry as it only weighs 5lbs making it feel like nothing to carry(almost like a toy to hold it's so light) but still has the impact of factory 45-70 loadings
Click to expand...
.

This is exactly what I want one for, a nice small package that I can use as a bush gun, carry in the pack while bow hunting and scouting for Bighorns. I was looking for a Marlin Guide Gun but with the recent debacle with Remington, I really like the idea of the Rossi in .454 Casull. Still plenty of punch but in a lighter package with over double the mag cpacity.

mmattockx said:
FWIW, I shot a 16" barreled Rossi in .454 Casull a while ago. I found the 16" barrel balanced too muzzle light for my taste. If I was buying one of these I would go with the 20" barrel just for the better balance it offers. The additional velocity and mag capacity are just icing on the cake.


Mark
Click to expand...

This is a good point, I just looked at the specs of the 20" Rossi and the Marlin Guide Gun with 18" barrel, and the overall length is the same.

So the search begins.....
 
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