With my age and health issues I don't think I'd try magnum loads in them, but some of the big bore snubby threads here have made me wonder about them as 45 LC/45ACP (with Moonclip conversion) for the 454 version or 44 Specials in the 44 mag version.
Anyone have or use one much with non magnum loads? If so thoughts?
Brief experience with the .44 Alaskan and shooting specials was (subjectively) akin to shooting .38 wadcutters from a GP-100. It would be very easy homebrew a load that met your needs.
My LGS has the .454 Alaskan on the shelf and it just looks fun.
I use a .454 Casull chambered Ruger Super Redhawk for the local bowling pin matches with warm .45 Colt loads, ie 250 gr JHP at 850 fps or more. Also a 300 gr JSP at 875 plus fps, these are Ruger only near magnum loads. Those 300 gr JSP sure take the bowling pins off the table well.
I like it because I can experiment with different loads and it's a soft shooter until you get into the Ruger Only loads.
What I don't like is that it seems to not like lead bullets. I end up with a lot of lead in the barrel when using even coated bullets from Missouri Bullet Company. Not sure if it's particular to this gun, but I've read online that others have had the same issue and only jacketed or plated bullets are recommended.
Still, it's a fun gun to shoot and I thoroughly enjoy experimenting with different loads in it. So, if you reload you can run as soft as you like with it and all the way up to full .454 Casull loads.
In .45 ACP, it'll be a really soft shooting revolver.
OP's subject is something I've been wondering about as well. It sure seems like the gun would last forever using .45 ACP or moderate .45 Colt loads. Only question is, are there any .45ACP/.45 Colt JHP loads that would be able to expand out of a 2.5" barrel? The velocities you cite above, are those chrono'd from the Alaskan?Originally Posted by Exiledviking
Then again, even if no expansion is attainable, a moderate .45 Colt or .45 ACP full wadcutter would probably be pretty effective on it's own.
Blazer Aluminum 45 Colt - CCI Ammo USA
These worked well out of a Blackhawk 4.6"(and longer barrels). CCI doesn't claim the bullet as a Gold Dot but recovered rounds looked just like the Gold Dot. I'm thinking it should work at least OK out of the 2.5".
I do miss my .45 Colts and peruse the pawn shops looking for one. If Ruger would ever produce a run of Blackhawks I would be happy with that.
My Ruger SRH Alaskan will only ever be fired with .45 Colt loads, as long as I own it. I wrecked my right hand, with .44 and .41 Mags, in the Eighties. I plan to preserve my left hand, for as long as possible. (Being left-handed, but right-armed, and choosing to carry at 0300, back in 1983, had the firtunate result that my “smarter” left hand is the healthier one, today. I tended to train right-handed with the bigger “primary” handguns*, and lefty with the smaller “back-up” guns.)
Do be advised, however, that the Ruger SRH Alaskan is a significant chunk of stainless steel. Being a “snubby” does not mean that it is small. There is, of course, solid precedent for huge-frame snubbies, with Fitz, himself, toting Colt New Service snub-guns.
*I should have been smart enough to realize something was wrong, because I could not write, with a pen, for some amount of time, after shooting N-Frame .44 Magnums, with my K/L/GP100-sized hands. So, the need to write my police reports, and other paperwork, left-handed, played a part in preserving the health of my left hand.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
Thanks, I was not aware of this loading. I gotta think even if it doesn't get picture-perfect expansion out of a 2.5" barrel, it'll probably still be pretty nasty.
I get minimal expansion with 250gr xtps @ 1150fps in water. I'm not sure what the look like in tissue because a 200lbs buck won't stop it after it breaks the offside shoulder in a quartering away shot
No, those velocities are from longer barrels. And, as you said, a moderate 255 gr SWC I'm sure would be pretty effective. Another option might be a Barnes all-copper bullet at higher velocity. I remember seeing those available as self-defense loads years ago.
You can see how big the Alaskan is next to a GP100. The frame is substantial. They are beefy but handle recoil well. I prefer the non finger grooved Hogue over the original or the Letts.
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