Ruger Alaskan 454 Casull

Does anyone have one of these. I'm thinking it would be a good weapon to take on long hikes up in the mountains for bear. I don't trust bear spray. I'm just trying to justify it to myself in some way. Doubt I would ever have to use it.

I don't think you would really WANT to ever use a gun like that. I hope you have big wrists or really good aim, because the follow up shot isnt gonna happen very fast.

I'd almost rather carry a full bore carbine of some sort. Like a M44 Mosin with 203 grain soft tips, they have a bear on the box so you know its good.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: I don't think you would really WANT to ever use a gun like that. I hope you have big wrists or really good aim, because the follow up shot isnt gonna happen very fast. I'd almost rather carry a full bore carbine of some sort. Like a M44 Mosin with 203 grain soft tips, they have a bear on the box so you know its good.

I have a m44, but I;m not going to carry that up there. I need something light and powerful. If I was going to carry a rifle I would opt for my Ruger American 30-06 as it lighter then the m44, but I don;t want to go hunting just hiking.

The 454 casull isn't that bad of a snap(basically a magnum version of the 45 colt). The 460 & 500sw are going to be better suited for it though. Its still better than bear mace or a pointed stick.

I beg to differ in the recoil department.

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro man shot all those body armored bad guys with the .454 Casull and never complained a bit about their wrists (plus it killed the body armor wearing baddies).

So following my irrefutable logic tree :

If

Body armored baddie > Stupid Bear

and

.454 Casull > Body armored baddie

but

.454 Casull < 80's crappy action hero wrist

Then

Bear < .454 Casull < your wirsts.

So it's perfect for your needs!

(Actually, following that logic, you should be able to kill a bear with your wrists...)

You could track down a Mateba, the cocking system is supposed to suck up a bunch of the recoil. Plus it's the coolest looking handgun ever made.

Both my older & younger brother lived/worked in Alaska for several years. My younger brother mostly worked their seasonally, while older brother lived/worked full time year round.

We all are/were fairly avid outdoorsmen, hunt, fish, shoot, 4x4, etc.

Younger brother bought & carried a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull for the very reason as the OP. Carried it during summers while out fishing, hiking, etc. along with a can of bear spray.

Older brother carried a Remington 870 "Homedefense" or some such 12 Ga. Was a factory 870 12 Ga with pistol grip, and extended magazine. Alternated Slug, 00, Slug, 00, Slug, 00, etc.

I sided with the Older brother, if I had a bear charging at me, with my adrenaline pumping, a hand gun, regardless of how large of a caliber, and especially with as short of a barrel as an Alaskan was probably not the best idea. I'd be lucky to hit the bear at any distance, let alone a clean kill shot, and the last thing I want is a now injured, pissed off, bear charging me.

The shot gun with the 00 gives the best chance of hitting a vital part of the animal in my opinion.

• Lee

My buddy's got a Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull/.45LC (.410 too?) The recoil wasn't that bad. After shooting the .454 Casulls, the Long Colts felt like it was a pea shooter. But his has the longer barrel, too, so that'll have an affect on the recoil.

My dad had a 454 Casull. It was stolen a few months ago. Anyway, he said it was a pea shooter next to the S&W 500. Still a large gun, though.

When I was sailing to Alaska, I talked to a pilot once (ship's pilot for Prince William Sound) and he hunted Kodiak bear. He said they used combat shotguns loaded with slugs because if you got between a momma and her cub in the tall grass, your only chance of surviving was to hit it in the shoulder to stop its charge. He also said you could smell them before you could see them. Have phun.

We have a Ruger Super Redhawk in the shop right now chambered in .480 Ruger. Comes with a bandolier holster and 2 boxes of ammo.

What might the price be on a beast like that?

xd wrote: I don't trust bear spray.

You are wise not to trust bear spray!

Max_Archer wrote: You could track down a Mateba, the cocking system is supposed to suck up a bunch of the recoil. Plus it's the coolest looking handgun ever made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateba_Autorevolver

$700 looks just like this one with the steel grey finish. If I had the extra scratch I would be bringing it home.

Nothing beats a rifle in this regard thanks to the standoff range and power, but the shotgun w/slugs are a decently good idea for medium to close in. I'd personally want a FA capable glock 31c.....but since we're stupid here, and I don't possess the required manufacturor license, I can't get the g18 in the first place to mix parts to make that happen.

On a side note, there is something nastier than the 500sw now isn't there?

In reply to yamaha:

The blue prints for making the auto sear and selector are widely available on the net. There is even the Glock Exotic Weapons Manual that tells you every step of making the conversion. If legal in your state file the paperwork and have your auto Glock.

Personally I normally carry my 45 Colt and my Marlin 1895 .45-70 when heading into the hills. Most of the time the Marlin is left in the rig unless I am going for a longer hike. Most of the bear around here aren't huge but big enough that I wouldn't want to mess with. The Colt loads are loaded hot by a guy over in Idaho.

New full auto conversions of anything have been banned since '86, unless you're the PoPo.

Ah true. Forgot us lowly civies can't have the fun toys without paying a huge price tag for old gear. The one I played with was owned by a LEO.

Don't think I'd care to go up against a bear with anything a Glock could spit out. I think you'd just piss the thing off. More.

I dunno Hess a full auto 21 (.45 ACP) might be taken notice of by a bear. But yeah I would prefer to have something more in the magnum category.

Glock 20

Dr. Hess wrote: New full auto conversions of anything have been banned since '86, unless you're the PoPo.

I will clear this up, as usual.

1.) Law Enforcement
2.) NFA Dealer with post-may dealer demo
3.) NFA Manufacturor can create new, only as a dealer/manufacturor demo
4.) Not eligible for private ownership due to new manufacture of FA being banned in '86

There might be one more, but there are more than a few FA G18's floating around. I fixed a G18 that a nfa dealer brought out for a range day(had all my armorer's tools there). Oddly enough, the selector on the slide was only there to interrupt the autosear.

I will admit, not as good as a magnum revolver, but better capacity if needed. And 357sig, 10mm, 45acp are pretty good in different ways. I'd hate to find a bear that found some cocaine and took 5-6 shots from a magnum before mauling me to death.

For good measure.

Shotgun, why?

More controlable and able to place a larger amount of destruction where needed at a faster pace than pretty much any handgun.

The rifle argument is invalid, outside of shotgun range you are not certain that you are going to be having a nasty bear encounter or just "I saw a bear in the woods".

Oh yeah, cheaper too.

Remember, a standard 12 gauge 1oz slug loading is about the same muzzle energy as a standard modern .45-70 at the muzzle.

Though if I carried a shotgun for bear it would be holding 3" 15 pellet 00 buck if it had any buckshot in it.

In reply to Apexcarver & Kenny McCormick:

The problem is size, thats why people carry large bore pistols instead. I don't have my velocity charts in front of me to do the math, but don't most big bore magnum handguns exceed .45-70 in its own terms? Not knocking the 45-70, I love that round and wish it were deer legal here.

For the OP, you can buy this as a kit......