.454 Casull Recoil vs .460 , .44mag
 

I traded into a 6" revolver in .454 Casull. To be honest its a SRH, not a Smith. Its uncompensated nor ported. How does the recoil of it with full house loads compare to full power loads in .44mag and .460 loads from my .460XVR (8 3/8") with compensator.

The reason I ask is because the previous owned said that he was getting rid of it because of the excessive recoil.

Is SRH,ruger? Sturm Ruger Handgun?

454 Casull is well above .44 mag in recoil.
Never shot a .460.

I have a few 44 mags and an 454 Casull.

The Casull is a 7.5" Freedom Arms. Not ported.

454 has significantly higher recoil than 44 mag.

Even my 2.5 in 629 Backpacker recoils less with 44 mag than the Casull does with full power loads.

That said, I think the grip is the biggest determining factor in how well a shooter can handle heavy recoil.

The Backpacker has ugly but nice Hogue grips and those help a lot.

The Casull has a rosewood grip that fits my hand perfectly and is comfortable.

Recoil on both is no problem for me. Not painful at all.

On the other hand, the stock grip on my Ruger Super Blackhawk kills my hand even when shooting 44 special. I have swapped it out for a Pachmayr presentation grip.

SRH=Super Redhawk.

A full power load in the 454 is a definite step above a full power load in a 44 mag. Only shot a 460 Smith once, but it seemed a little more then my SRH 454 used to kick.

The 454 is really a reloaders round. Although light recoiling factory practice rounds are available, the price for factory ammo, as well as availability really benefit the reloader. Load your own, and it costs you no more for plinking loads then it does to load for a 45C or 45acp, yet the power is there if you want it.

Larry

460 is heaviest recoil of the three.

Thanks guys. Yes, SRH is Ruger Super Red Hawk. I wasnt sure if the compensator on my .460 mitigated much of the recoil. I never fired one without a compensator so I dont know what that would be like. I will eventually get a set of dies for the .454 and reload for it also. If the recoil of the uncompensated .454 is no worse than the recoil of my compensated .460 I have no worries.

S&W 460 Magnum vs Charging Bear - YouTube

This is what the recoil of a full power .454 round looks like out of a snubbie .460 Magnum. I have found that the hot .460 rounds produces slightly more recoil than the same weight bullet does in .454.
The below video shows the recoil from a hot .44 magnum load. It's not even in the same ballpark as the other two loads.

.44 magnum S&W Model 29 vs M&M.MOV - YouTube

Mark

Many years back I worked in a gun shop & sold Freedom Arms 454's. I believe It's energy is at least double the 44mag. Easy enough to look up. Many of the 454's were sold back to us & I was told by a couple of shooters, they will wear shooting gloves the next time out with the 454.

I have owned a Freedom Arms 454 and own several 44 Magnums. I think it is difficult to compare recoil until you know the weight of the handgun. Put a scope on a FA454 and it tames the recoil. The S&W 460 and 500 are heavy guns which should significantly help felt recoil.

I have not fired the 454 round out of my 460V but the 460 200 gr FTX round was not that bad sure its deafening loud and the shock wave hits you in the face but it was not painful.

I shot 300 gr Georgia Arms deer stoppers out of my 329 Ak backpacker and my buddy fired a couple of rds and wanted no more of it. I didnt think it was that bad either. I am going to try some Buffalo Bore 305 gr. L.B.T.-L.F.N. heavy 44 mag and if not worse then GA 300 gr use that in my AK backpacker, I guess I am not that sensitive to recoil. I thought the 460 was stout but not unpleasant I would think the 454 would be right in the middle.

I have all three and I would say 460 is the most recoil then 454 and the. 44 mag but 460 by a long shot most recoil. However I still love it and shot 50 rounds of it Saturday for a rifle competition.

Recoil is a highly subjective experience even when the same platform is being compared by different shooters.
From non-compensated revolvers a top .454 load will produce pronounced muzzle flip compared to the .460's rearward shove. Since top .454 loads are only a few hundred fps behind the .460, I would expect the .454 to have more discerned recoil when fired from a dedicated .454 platform as compared to the .460 from a Smith & Wesson. Those who have .460 revolvers can shoot both calibers and will discover the .460 to be harder recoiling.

You can easily calculate the initial recoil velocity of a weapon given
the muzzle energy of the load and the weight of the gun. This gives
a relative way to judge recoil before you buy/fire a gun.
As the previous posters have noted the design of the stock is a huge
factor affecting how well one deals with heavy recoil. Some go to a
rubber grip, some go to a SAA type stock (think Elmer Keith).

---
Nemo

Given the extra weight and the compensator on your X-Frame, the SRH in .454 will probably produce more "felt" recoil and because of the difference in grip angle will feel differently. I'd rather shoot my P.C. comped .460 all day as opposed to 4 cylinders worth of .454 outta a SRH. Been there, done that.

MY 454 is a Taurus Raging Bull and I could swear it kicks less than my 57 in 41mag. with target grips and a 8 3/8" barrel. I know that is not actually possible but my right hand says different!

2nd ^^ Buck460XVR

It seems very possible to me.

The Taurus comes with padded rubber grips that look similar to Hogue monogrips.

These probable soak up much of the recoil compared to the hard wood targets on your 57.

All this talk about the physics of momentum transfer, while true, doesn't capture the impact on a human.

The hardness of what hits you makes a big difference even if the momentum is the same.

Getting hit with a 4 pound brick is much worse than getting hit with a 4 pound pillow even if both are going the same velocity (and therefore have the same momentum).

Dave

I'm more impressed that the guy is shooting M&M's at 25 yards :)

I don't know if this helps the conversation or not, but I have a friend with a .500 Smith 4" that I've shot a few times (350 or 400gr). I have another friend who shoots that same revolver, and has no problems with it.

He shot my M29 once, set it down, and said he never wants to do that again :)

I guess a pound difference in weight, no porting and hardwood grips do make a difference !

Interesting thread !
As far as .44 Magnums goes, I have quite a few in different barrel lengths and all are pleasant to shoot with target grips or Hogue grips with all loads.
I have shot my buddy's Freedom Arms .454 Casull in a 7.5" non ported which to me has just a bit more bite than my Taurus .454 Casull Rageing Bull. Still both not bad recoil at all.
Even my Ruger Super Redhawk .480 7.3/8" seems about the same as my .454 Rageing Bull if not less recoil.
Talking about the S&W .460 XVR in 8.3/8" does have a bit more recoil than above mentioned but not that much more.
The S&W .500 on the other hand has more recoil then the .460 but still an enjoyment to shoot even with full house loads.
I love shooting my .460 XVR 8.3/8" as well as my 5" & 6.5" .500's.
Personally I believe you'll love the .460 in the 8.3/8" with all loads. Not punishable at all.


Ernie

Comparing the recoil of my Ruger SRH 7-1/2"bbl. vs S&W 500 4" bbl., both with full house 300gr. bullet loads, I think the 500 is a tad easier, though they both are pretty vicious. The 500 is a couple ounces heavier & has the compensator, while the SRH is not comp'd & has a long bbl. (flip), but both have great grips. I think once you get above 44Mag power, the gun's weight becomes the deciding factor. 454, 460, 480, 500....they're all crazy powerful. Some people just don't like the muzzle blast that the mags have & can't shoot them well because they flinch so badly.

I have a 7 1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk .454 Casull with the Hogue (?) padded grip. I've shot the big 400 grain Doubletap hunting ammo, and recoil to me is not that much worse than shooting hot .44 mag 240's from my 4" 29 with target stocks. Concussion is a different story because of much higher pressure levels. I am a firm believer that the shape and fit of the grip has a lot to do with recoil discomfort. I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 mag with a 3.75" barrel. It is the easiest for me to shoot because it has a Bisley grip. Of course the weight of the revolver may also play into the equation.

The recoil compensated .460 XVR delivers a VERY MILD recoil impulse! This is due to both weight and effective compensation.
One cannot really compare "recoil" across platforms that are both lighter, and lack an effcient compensator system.
In the XVR - to me, the .460 really does not "kick" much at all with top factory loads.

I would post a video here,,,,,but the site wont let me for some reason......

I had a super redhawk .454 7.5".

With standard loads in both the 454 had significantly more recoil and blast than my 5" 629 classic or 629 mountain gun.

240 grain loads in the .44 mags.
300 grain loads in the .454

I have a 7-1/2" FA in 454, and I will state unequivocably that 25 grains of WC 820 behind a 320-grain hard cast SWC is a handful with the factory resin impregnated grips. Those are the grips that the revolver came with, and although it also has a set of Pachmayrs I have never bothered to change the grips and shoot the Casull with the Pachmayrs. I have no doubt that the grips would change felt recoil significantly.

As for the 460, although I have never shot one, I have to believe that porting changes the game entirely. In other words, the Casull unported will have more recoil than the ported 460, all other things being equal.

And the 44's recoil is going to be very dependent on what is being shot. In other words, recoil impulse from a 4" shooting a 300-grain Buffalo Bore load is going to be much different from a 6" and a 240-grain load.

And FWIW, I don't like a SRH period. Their design just doesn't do much to dampen felt recoil, in my estimation.

I had a SRH 9.5" barrel in .454. I shot some 300 XTP's in it that a friend who like to load max loaded. I believe that he said that the velocity was 1650fps. I did not like to shoot those too many times due to the recoil. I shot the same loads in my compensated .460 and I did not mind the recoil. I sold the .454 and still have the .460.

Recoil is in the eyes of the holder. When I bought the 460, it came with 2 boxes of ammo. 5 rounds were missing from one of the boxes.

I have the 460 XVR and as you probably already know you can shoot the .454 casull through it as well. The 460 with 325 grain Buffalo Bore is a significantly heavier recoil than the 300 grain .454 through the same gun.... This is a .454 through it

Attachment 160733

Groo here
Not only is the 454 up to twice the power of the 44
it is shot in similar size guns.
The 454 has a very fast kick making the 44 feel like a push.
The 460 and the 454 are similar but the 460
is chambered in a larger frame gun so maybe feel easier to shoot.

OK. My opinion:

Worst (most uncomfortable recoil): S & W Model 29 with combats (Pachmayhr), followed by factory grips (4" & 6").

Next worse: 44 Super Black Hawk in 44 mag (7 1/2") (Several OM and NM)

Next up: A Gary Reeder 454 (with unported 5 1/2 ").

Best recoil: Taurus Raging Bull in 454 (6" ported)

However, the Reeder is not uncomfortable with a Bisley Style grip. The 44 SBH and S & W were uncomfortable.

Both the 454 and (VERY) hot loaded 45 colt RUGER ONLY loads (Way above 44 mag power) are more of a push than a slap. The 45 Colt super loads were also very manageable in a 3 1/2 inch Vaquero with Bisley grips (oversize) but not with plowhandle grips.

I must absolutely AGREE with this post! The .460 Magnum is capable of considerably greater "power" than the .454, but when shot from the S&W "XVR" platform is amazingly tame! I own and shot a number of S&W .500's prior to acquiring my XVR and there is NO comparison in recoil between the big, brutish .501" slugs sitting on top of TOP charges versus .452" slugs!
The .460 XVR is really a VERY GOOD long-range, big-game revolver...there is NOTHING else like it.

Amazingly Tame is a great way to put it..I was very suprised when I fist shot the XVR at how much the long barrel and proper compensator made it a very shootable gun. I will say..don't be near where the gas gets blown..It can be quite suprising to others!!