Ruger Forum

SamMan23 · March 6th, 2011, 03:47 PM

I have never been a revolver guy. I shot the Alaskan in 44 magnum and I loved it.

stuart9534 · March 6th, 2011, 04:45 PM

I have always been a revolver guy, and I love my Alaskan. It is my favorite big bore. If they were less expensive, I would buy another one.

off road · March 6th, 2011, 05:02 PM

The Alaskan is my all time favorite! Power in a compact package. I have a safe full of longer barreled revolvers that are of no practical use anywhere except at the range (I don't hunt). I'll never again buy any revolver with a barrel longer than 2.5".

cwb · March 6th, 2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by off road

The Alaskan is my all time favorite! Power in a compact package. I have a safe full of longer barreled revolvers that are of no practical use anywhere except at the range (I don't hunt). I'll never again buy any revolver with a barrel longer than 2.5".

This happened to me! I had a few 6's and 8's and once I bought my Alaskan, the longest I have is my 4" GP and Redhawk.

The Alaskan is one of my favorites guns.

andyrping · March 6th, 2011, 05:19 PM

I have a .454 and have been trying to figure how to obtain a .44.... Any donations?

SamMan23 · March 6th, 2011, 06:03 PM

Strangely I can see myself carrying a Alaskan in 44 daily because it is not that huge. It is also not difficult to shoot accurately contrary to what I hypothesized beforehand and the 44 seems like a great multipurpose gun. It seems like I would not feel undergunned if I wandered into bear country.

I keep wondering 44 or 454 now. With 454 I can use 45 colt as well. I have never shot 454 and just might hate it.

I also wonder whether a short barrel with such a powerful round is truly able to take advantage of the cartridge. But on the other hand you may not wear a long barrel revolver if it is too large.

41RED · March 6th, 2011, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyrping

I have a .454 and have been trying to figure how to obtain a .44.... Any donations?

I have the 44 and would pick up the 454 if I can find it the same time I have cash in my pocket!

cwb · March 7th, 2011, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamMan23

Strangely I can see myself carrying a Alaskan in 44 daily because it is not that huge. It is also not difficult to shoot accurately contrary to what I hypothesized beforehand and the 44 seems like a great multipurpose gun.

I OC'd my Alaskan last year in AZ in a Simply Rugged Holster. Not quite a summer gun but not too bad.

Amigo Will · March 7th, 2011, 08:52 AM

A short barreled 454 is still more power than a long barrel 44mag

off road · March 7th, 2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamMan23

Strangely I can see myself carrying a Alaskan in 44 daily because it is not that huge. It is also not difficult to shoot accurately contrary to what I hypothesized beforehand and the 44 seems like a great multipurpose gun. It seems like I would not feel undergunned if I wandered into bear country.

I keep wondering 44 or 454 now. With 454 I can use 45 colt as well. I have never shot 454 and just might hate it.

I also wonder whether a short barrel with such a powerful round is truly able to take advantage of the cartridge. But on the other hand you may not wear a long barrel revolver if it is too large.

I have both the .44 and .454 (Alaskans and 7.5" SRH's). Based on energy, the .454 is twice as powerful as the .44 (and for the record the S&W .500 is nearly three times the .44!). A .454 from a 2.5" barrel, is still more powerful than a .44 from a long barrel, so that is something to consider if you are worried about being undergunned. The recoil from the .454 is quite manageable given the weight of the gun and the excellent Hogue Tamer grips....so the .44 is a relative pussycat. In todays world, the legendary .44 is actually an "intermediate" cartridge.

I am in black bear/cat country, and a short barreled .44 is the perfect combination of power, controllability, and portability. When I am camping off of vehicles I pack the Alaskan, but for backpacking I have a S&W 329NG on order, because it is a full pound lighter than the Ruger!

bowfishn · March 7th, 2011, 05:22 PM

The SRH 7.5 " barrel using +P loads will send a 310 grain cast bullet with GC @ at 1500 fps giving the 44 mag a muzzle energy of 1549 ft lbs
The SRH with a 9.5" barrel using the same load will deliver a muzzle energy of over 1750 ft lbs, I know this because this is the load I use in my SRH 9.5" barrel. I had a 454 in the same gun with the 9.5" barrel and it will not double the energy of a hand loaded 44 mag +P load. The only reason the 454 has been touted as having twice the energy of the 44 mag is that it is compared to low energy 44 mag loads designed to be safe out of 44 mag guns produced back in the late 1950s Although the 44 mag in a 2.5 inch barrel does not have the power of a 2.5" 454, it does however in the longer barrels have more than the 454 in a 2.5" barrel. Even the mighty 500 S&W with a 10.5" barrel does not possess twice the energy of the + P loads out of a 9.5" SRH 44 mag. The 44 mag may not be the most powerful of the big bores out there but it is not as wimpy as some would like to make it out to be, 7/8 of a ton of muzzle energy is nothing to sneeze at. That being said if I were to buy an Alaskan I think I would choose the 454 because it would almost have the power of a long barreled 44 mag.

bowfishn · March 11th, 2011, 02:43 PM

I may have to rethink the 44 mag in the SRH Alaskan, after checking out Buffalo Bore 340 gr. +P 44 mag ammo. It's a factory ammo that on one review at Midway, the guy was shooting it through his Alaskan 44 mag and getting an average of 1260 fps with the 340 gr bullet, not bad for a 2.5" barrel. thats still almost 1200 FT lbs. Momentum of 61 and a Taylor Knockout of 26. Not a 454 but not to far off from most 454 loads. And that's a tested load safe for that firearm.

LJenkMD · March 11th, 2011, 03:29 PM

Love mine, though I rarely carry it. A Hoot to Shoot!!

off road · March 11th, 2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowfishn

The SRH 7.5 " barrel using +P loads will send a 310 grain cast bullet with GC @ at 1500 fps giving the 44 mag a muzzle energy of 1549 ft lbs
The SRH with a 9.5" barrel using the same load will deliver a muzzle energy of over 1750 ft lbs, I know this because this is the load I use in my SRH 9.5" barrel. I had a 454 in the same gun with the 9.5" barrel and it will not double the energy of a hand loaded 44 mag +P load. The only reason the 454 has been touted as having twice the energy of the 44 mag is that it is compared to low energy 44 mag loads designed to be safe out of 44 mag guns produced back in the late 1950s Although the 44 mag in a 2.5 inch barrel does not have the power of a 2.5" 454, it does however in the longer barrels have more than the 454 in a 2.5" barrel. Even the mighty 500 S&W with a 10.5" barrel does not possess twice the energy of the + P loads out of a 9.5" SRH 44 mag. The 44 mag may not be the most powerful of the big bores out there but it is not as wimpy as some would like to make it out to be, 7/8 of a ton of muzzle energy is nothing to sneeze at. That being said if I were to buy an Alaskan I think I would choose the 454 because it would almost have the power of a long barreled 44 mag.

Sure, you can work up a handload that may seem exceptional, but most folks don't handload and most don't find a 9.5" barrel very convenient....so your point is mostly moot except in an academic sense!!! Whatever a .44 will do, a .454 will do better!

cwb · March 11th, 2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowfishn

I may have to rethink the 44 mag in the SRH Alaskan, after checking out Buffalo Bore 340 gr. +P 44 mag ammo. It's a factory ammo that on one review at Midway, the guy was shooting it through his Alaskan 44 mag and getting an average of 1260 fps with the 340 gr bullet, not bad for a 2.5" barrel. thats still almost 1200 FT lbs. Momentum of 61 and a Taylor Knockout of 26. Not a 454 but not to far off from most 454 loads. And that's a tested load safe for that firearm.

After having tested a lot of loads through an Alaskan, I think there is a misprint there. Getting a 310gr bullet over even 1110 fps requires loads pushing well over 40k PSI with just about every powder made. A 340 to 1260fps may be happening, but it's way, way over pressure, even for a Ruger