Ok friends, so I have been looking all over for a BFR in 475 and just found out that in Cali, its not gona happen.

The caliber is legal but Mag Research has to submit that model to do a "drop test" to sell it here, so unlesss I can find a private seller with a Cali ID Im about out of luck getting one and I dont have the cash for a FA or custom at this time. Sigh this state sucks.

Anyway the other gun I was looking at when I started wanting a new toy was a 454 prob a SRH.

In looking at a few at local stores I have seen a few nice ruger 45 colts and its go me wondering.

Would it make more sense to get the 454 and just load down when I dont need the full power loads, or to the 45 colt and load it up.

Either gun will accomplish anything I want to do with it in this area just fine.

Honestly I dont think I can go wrong with either and im really excited to be getting a new toy soon, just wondering what folk that own these ruger offerings think of them.

The .45 Colt is one of my favorite rounds. That said, an SRH in .454 is a really fine revolver. You can periodically find them used for a good price.

I happen to have a BFR .475 for sale but I guess due to California screwy laws I can't ship it to a California dealer for you to pick up?

Ill triple check but what I was told last night is the seller has to have a California ID or they cant do the transfer.

California basically says if its a nice gun you shouldnt own it. Super frustrating.

I don't know the details of how he acquired them, but I know a guy in California that owns several BFR's.

I dealio I got was that they can be owned here but not ordered, except the 44 mag cause they sent that one to do the stupid testing. Its a deal between the company that makes the gun and the state and rather or not the company wants to pay the couple hundred bucks and do the paper work for each model they want to sell.

They are not very common around here so finding on on the local used market is a chore. I'm not overly heart broken I mean I dont think I'll be left in a bad place if I get either of the guns I'm looking at.

I found this with a google search. The kicker may be the last sentence. Question is is a BFR illegal in California of is it just illegal to be imported and sold new by dealers. If it is illegal to bring a used one I would think there are a lot of older guns that haven't passed the test that also would be illegal, ie old collector Colts.

"California state law says that a resident of California may only have a firearm transferred to them by a dealer licensed in the state of California. So if you wish to purchase a firearm out of state, it must be transferred to a dealer in California and you must go in to that dealer to do the 4473, DROS, background check, and waiting period. The firearm must obviously be legal in California."

I'll go back to the guy thats been helping me and see what he can do.

Sometimes they just say no to cover their bums, I was at a gun show the other week and listening to a few store owners talk back and forth I found if you have 4 owners you have 4 different takes on the same law.

Overall I think I will be plenty happy with any of these offerings, and while I prob will never NEED more than 45 colt that doesnt mean I dont want more =P

There are few animals that walk this continent that will be killed any deader by a 454 than a 45 Colt. The 454 will extend your range, but a 45 Colt will shoot clean through most critters as far away as most can shoot it accurately. Good luck in your search for the gun you that you wish.

It's not about need its about want.

Anyway my BFR is 7.5 inch barrel and I will throw in some brass and a box of 100 cast bullets for $750 plus shipping.

Oh nother question.

How accurate are 45 colt loads in the 454 SRH? I have shot a SRH in 454 before but never with 45 colt

Several of my favorite handgun cartridges have been mentioned in this thread so I will throw my two cents in the ring.

One quick comment: The model is BFR, no 44, 475, 500 JRH etc., etc. What damn difference does it make which cartridge the revolver is chambered in when the mechanics of the revolver are the same from cartridge to cartridge? So, if you had a BFR in 50 AE and also wanted a cylinder for 500 JRH they would have to perform the same test twice on the same revolver? This is horse!!!!!

Anyway, I would go with the 454 SRH and never look back. That gun fits my hand like a glove and gets glowing reports more often than not with regard to accuracy.

I do not own a 454 at the present time but that will change soon. With that said, I do own a 45 Colt and you can load it to beastly levels. Just sample the Buffalo Bore 325 grain loads at 1325 fps. if you would like to see what the grand old Colt can do. The owner of BB (Tim Sundles, no?) told me that those loads are running right at 30,000 PSI so (or was it cup...I will have to look at my email) which, according to the experts, is well within the strength limits of the Blackhawk cylinder. The SRH cylinder is even stronger so keep that in mind.

Still, though, with the 454 you can load to slightly hotter than "Ruger Only" 45 Colt levels and still be way below the ceiling for the 454. At those levels it won't even be breathing hard. The 454 is a very versatile cartridge that can do a lot of things.

Now, if I were you and I wanted something more powerful, I would strongly consider getting a 475 Linebaugh of some sort. It's a badass, plain and simple. With top end loads it will buck and snort and you know that you have something. On the other hand, you can buy the Hornady 400 XTP loading fairly cheap relative to other handgun cartridges and it provides plenty of power without the horrendous recoil.

I am now getting into the 500 JRH. In fact, I just left the loading bench and have some new rounds that are ready to be tested this coming weekend.

41 Magnum
44 Spcl.
44 Magnum
45 Colt
475 Linebaugh
500 JRH

That's some fun shooting and those are cartridges more than capable of handling just about any handgun hunting chore.

Good luck.

P.S. My ramblings may not be interesting but the point is that you can't go wrong with either the 45 Colt or the 454. Just remember that the 454 delivers a ton of performance but not as much as the 475 and various 500s but with top loads, its recoil is right up there with them.

Your accuracy will not be as good with a 45 colt shot out of a 454 gun. I have a 460, which shoots the 454 and the 45 colt as well, but accuracy tapers off quickly with anything but the 460 being shot out of it. The 45 colt was atrocious, so I quickly lost intrest in it, and blew it off as "worthless". Then I learned that its not the cartridge that was inherently inacurate, it was just shot out of the wrong gun!!

If you are at a very short distance, you may not notice much loss in accuracy, but at 50 yards and beyond, you will start seeing it rather obviously.

I just landed a Colt Anaconda in 45 Colt and am currently awaiting delivery. I can't wait to get it to the range. The 45 Colt is a great round, at least from what I found on my research. It does everything the 44mag does, and then some. But it does it with less pressure. And you can load a heavier bullet as well.

Just from my research on the colt 45, I got excited about the round, and just had to pick up a revolver in 45 colt. Now I've even gotten the idea to get a lever action marlin rifle in 45 colt so that I can shoot the same loads in the rifle and the revolver. Then I have anything covered out to 100 yards with the revolver, and the rifle can take anything out to 200+. However, I also have the 460 that I mentioned above, and it is my "long distance" gun at the moment.

I don't have experience with the 45 colt yet, but I'm thinkin it will be a great one to have in the arsenal!!

A .45 will shoot better out of a .454 than a .460. Part of the reason is the case length of a .45 is "about 1.3",and the .454- 1.4",(pretty close), but the .460 is about 1.8".That's a lot of free bore! I've been talking with magnum research lately about this very topic. I wanted to order a BFR specifically for .45LC but they are adament about it shooting just fine out of their .454.I gotta think they know a little about shooting.
On the ruger .45, make sure the one your looking at can handle hotter rounds, I'm sure someone here can help you with that. Honestly, I would go with the SRH! just my .02.Keep us posted!

Zach - that isn't just a CA law. No one can go outside of their own state and have a handgun transferred to the in that state. It has to be transferred to you by a dealer in the state in which you reside. Long guns are different as far as the feds are concerned and you can buy one out of state. Some states law disallow that as well though.

I found this info on GunBroker about CA handgun sales:
http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/dwcl/12125.php

SAA style revolvers which are above a certain minimum size (and the FA 83 is substantially over the minimum) are exempt from the DOJ Handgun listing. It is also important to understand that the CA DOJ list only applies to those handguns which are allowable for retail sales between CA dealers and non licensees inside CA and does not in fact prohibit shipping to a CA dealer any handgun not on that list. CA dealers can receive handguns which are not on the approved list for sales to other dealers, out of state sales and sales to CA law enforcement officers.

Single action revolvers over a certain minimum length are exempt from the rule.

12133. (a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a single-action revolver that has at least a 5-cartridge capacity with a barrel length of not less than three inches, and meets any of the following specifications:
(1) Was originally manufactured prior to 1900 and is a curio or relic, as defined in Section 478.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) Has an overall length measured parallel to the barrel of at least 7 1/2 inches when the handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are assembled.
(3) Has an overall length measured parallel to the barrel of at least 7 1/2 inches when the handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are assembled and that is currently approved for importation into the United States pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of Section 925 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a single-shot pistol with a barrel length of not less than six inches and that has an overall length of at least 10 1/2 inches when the handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are assembled

@Landrum the laws are actually worse than you know, not only does every caliber within the model have to be tested but every color!!

I was told if there are two pistols, say 2 autos, and the only diff is the case color, the manufacturer has to send both colors for testing if they want to sell both in Cali.

Super hippy lame.


Thanks for the imput everyone! its all very helpful, if I can get a 475 through private transfer thats the way Im gona go if not it will prob be the SRH,either way I'm sure im going to be thrilled

Exactly!

Good point about the 45 colt shooting better out of the 454 than it does the 460.

As far as guns that can handle a hopped up load, I found 4 that were highly recommended. The Red Hawk, Super Red Hawk, Raging Bull, and Anaconda. There are probably more, but these 4 were highly recommended as actually being built specific for the 45 colt caliber and its full house abilities.

Don't forget the Blackhawk. It'll take more than you may want to shoot.

The Bisley has been the foundation for some real hammers, the 45 Colt be on the mild compared to the 475's a 500's.

Exactly!

335grn hardcast at almost 1300fps, and very enjoyable to shoot out of this plow handled SBH Hunter. The recoil actually feels good, not painfull at all, which allows me to shoot it accuratly for extended sessions. Plus, there is not an animal on the planet that I would not hunt with this load. I had a 12 inch 454 encore. It hurt.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that if you want a 454 you have to go double action(given your situation)... Since you were looking at the BFR originally, I assume you like single action guns...

The platform(double vs single) will make a much bigger difference in how much you like the gun than the caliber will.

At iron sight hunting distances, I don't think you would notice the difference between the 2 on game.

Scoped...the 454s extra fps could be an advantage...

It amazes me how much more recoil I hear about from the .454. A laymen such as I wouldn't think it'd be all that worse than a .44 mag or .45 LC . Interesting.

I had a 454 SRH that I just sold. I also have a Bisley 45 colt. I've shot both side by side - 45 colt with 300 gr hard cast over 25.0 gr H110 (1275) and 454 with 340 cast over 28 gr H110 (1375). The 454 was actually more pleasent to shoot - not that either was horrendous.

I really dig the 5.5" SS Bisley's. I sold the 454 because I didn't see the need for 2 - 45 cal 'magnums'.

My SRH in 480R is easier shooting then my 45 Colt Bisley. It is all in the platform, the SRH has added weight and better ergo's IMO than even the Bisley, especially with Hogue's Tamer grip.

the thing is the 454 can be loaded to be an elephant killer, a buffalo killer, an elk killer or a deer killer, and really for varmints to be honest. it does not require it to be run full throttle. run a 475 full throttle and it aint gonna kill anything the 454 won't and it'll recoil like all holy hell. people just run them a little down when they handload and the factory loads aren't redlined either, the 454's tend to be. you don't have to do that either. i've got friends that haven't fired their 454 in years b/c of the recoil from factory loads from years ago, they run some of my potent but downloaded reloads which are similiar in 454 fashion to what most run their 475's at and the recoil is not that bad. i find the recoil exagerrated greatly. i have loads that'll rip your shooting glove and loads that are above any 44 load my 16 year old 100 lb daughter shoots comfortably. it's really quite silly imho. a 325 gr 475 bullet at 1500fps isn't that bad, but neither is a 300 grain 454 at 1500. ya wouldn't know which one is worse and i've done doubleblind tests with bfrs with the same barrel length and grips and so far no one has reliably been able to tell a difference.

I have had this article in my files for a long time and this looks like a place where it might fit, If this is a re-post sorry..

http://www.customsixguns.com/writings/dissolving_the_myth.htm

This is a great thread...