.454 Casull
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| .454 Casull | ||
|---|---|---|
 Comparison of handgun rounds. .454 Casull third from the left. |
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| Type | Handgun | |
| Place of origin | United States | |
| Production history | ||
| Designer | Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer | |
| Designed | November 1959 | |
| Specifications | ||
| Parent case | .45 Colt | |
| Case type | Rimmed straight | |
| Bullet diameter | .452 in (11.48 mm) | |
| Neck diameter | .480 in (12.19 mm) | |
| Base diameter | .480 in (12.19 mm) | |
| Rim diameter | .512 in (13 mm) | |
| Rim thickness | .057 in (1.45 mm) | |
| Case length | 1.383 in (35.13 mm) | |
| Overall length | 1.77 in (44.96 mm) | |
| Primer type | Small rifle | |
| Ballistic performance | ||
| Bullet weight/type | Velocity | Energy |
| 240 gr JHP | 1900 ft/s (~579 m/s) |
1923 ft·lbf (~2615 J) |
| 300 gr JHP | 1650 ft/s (~503 m/s) |
1831 ft·lbf (~2490 J) |
| Test barrel length: 7.5 in Source: Handguns Magazine |
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The .454 Casull is a firearm cartridge , developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer. It was first announced in November 1959 by Guns and Ammo magazine. The basic design was a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt case. .45 Colt cartridges can fit into the .454's chambers, but not the other way because of the lengthened case (very similar to the way .38 Special cartridges can fit into the longer chambers of a .357 Magnum and .44 Special cartridges can fit into the longer chambers of a .44 Magnum). The new Casull round uses a small rifle primer rather than a pistol primer, because it develops extremely high chamber pressures of over 60,000 lbf/in² (410 MPa), and a rifle primer has a significantly stronger cup than a pistol primer. The .454 Casull can deliver a 250 grain (16 g) bullet with a muzzle velocity of over 1900 feet per second (580 m/s), developing more than 2000 ft·lbf (2.7 KJ) of energy, although energy levels from common .454 revolvers with 7-8 inch barrels are typically somewhat lower (1,600-1,700 ft·lbf). The round is primarily intended for hunting medium or large game and metallic silhouette shooting.
The original cartridges were loaded with a triplex load of propellants, this gave progressive burning, aided by the rifle primer ignition, resulting in a progressive acceleration of the bullet as it passed up the barrel.
The recently introduced .460 S&W Magnum cartridge has the same diameter as a .45 Colt or .454 Casull, and therefore revolvers chambered for it will also chamber the .454 Casull and .45 Colt. Until the introduction of the .460 Smith and Wesson Magnum, and the .500 S&W Magnum, the .454 Casull was the most powerful commercially produced handgun round on the market, significantly eclipsing the newer .50 AE.
[edit] In popular culture
The signature weapon of Alucard, the lead character in the manga series Hellsing, is the Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto. It fires custom-made explosive .454 Casull rounds with a silver core designed to kill vampires. As the weapon's name implies, the manga takes considerable liberties with the actual .454 Casull, as Alucard's gun is a semi-automatic pistol. Rimmed cartridges such as the .454 Casull are not typically used in semi-automatic weapons, with the only rimmed cartridge seeing wide use in semi-automatics being the rimfire .22 LR.
