ruger alaskan article

[swamp]

one of the best articles i've found on the ruger alaskan... worth reading..

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_10_51/ai_n14936913/?tag=content;col1

[blaze]

Thanks Swamp.. that was very good reading

[Hi Ball]

The funny thing I noticed about all of these Big Bore pistols, that are really hand cannons to some degree, is that most people who are shooting them will seldom shoot more than 20 rounds a session......Fact.

I myself will usually shoot 7 to 10 shots and put the gun away for another day. It is just not near as fun as it used to be years ago shooting the .44 magnum model 29 Smith & Wesson. It also starts my hand to hurting just a bit and that is the tell tale sign enough is enough.

However, one just can not get over the power of these big hand guns and how flat they shoot down range at 100 yards or more. They also hit with a lot of authority and make big holes in whatever the target might seem to be.:)

[GF.]

Doesn't surprise me at all that these guns don't see a lot use. Not exactly 'plinkers' :D

What does surprise me is the need for speed.... Why build a cartridge with great down-range performance when its real utility is in situations which begin with the front end of bear at 20 yards or less and end with something coming out the back end of that bear at close to zero yards...... and preferably not via the normal digestive process? :eek:

Seems to me that the ideal cartridge would be able to push as large a bullet as possible just fast enough to go through about 10 feet of bear - or similar dangerous critter - without requiring the pistol to be so large as to be impractical to carry and/or impossible to bring into play on extremely short notice, and without generating so much recoil as to make multiple, aimed shots a physical impossibility for anybody outside of Hollywood.

Seriously. - How are you supposed to aim a revolver with its hammer lodged in your forehead? :confused:

At that rate, they should just go with a single-shot design. That way, you'd have every reasonable chance to stop the beast with a single round, or - if you missed - at least you'd be unconscious while you got clawed/stomped/bit/gored/eaten.:D

[swamp]

i'd certainly consider the 44 mag or shooting 45 long colts out of the 454.... I've shot the ruger alaskan in 454 and the recoil is an absolute bitch...

[GF.]

I'll bet!

That just seems like one of those rounds where you really have to want to kill something in the very worst way before you're gonna want to touch one off!

Although learning to shoot it with lighter Colt loads and then stoking it with Casulls for justincaseofohmigodimgonnadie...... Yeah, I could see that.


:D

[Hi Ball]

I have NOT conjured up the nerve to fire a Full MAX load in my .460 Smith & Wesson and honestly I don't plan on it in the near or far future either. It has become more of a conversation piece than a pistol in this house and at the shooting range. ;):D

[billt]

The Ruger .454 Alaskan is a lot of power in a small package. About the only thing that can top it is the S&W .500 snubbie. The Ruger is easier carried. I like the pistol, and the only reason I don't have one is I already have a Ruger .454 in a 7 1/2" model. The only thing I don't care for is Ruger's "Target Grey Finish". I would rather have the brushed Stainless finish my Super Redhawk wears in .44 Magnum. It is much easier touched up with some Flitz Metal Polish if need be. Bill T.

[swamp]

the smith in 500 is an X frame and would be a dog for carrying...

I nver seen the alaskan in a target gray finish

[billt]

the smith in 500 is an X frame and would be a dog for carrying...

I nver seen the alaskan in a target gray finish

They don't come in Target Grey. What I meant is I wish my 7 1/2" .454 was bushed Stainless. It just plain looks better, and is easier to touch up with some Flitz if it gets dull looking. The S&W .500 comes in a 2 1/2" Model, and isn't too bad for carrying. But for an "emergency piece" I'd hate like hell to shoot either without ear protection! Bill T.

[swamp]

They don't come in Target Grey. What I meant is I wish my 7 1/2" .454 was bushed Stainless. It just plain looks better, and is easier to touch up with some Flitz if it gets dull looking. The S&W .500 comes in a 2 1/2" Model, and isn't too bad for carrying. But for an "emergency piece" I'd hate like hell to shoot either without ear protection! Bill T.

The smith in 500 is available in a 4 inch bbl... but nothing shorter... and weights 56 oz

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&langId=-1&productId=14778&tabselected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15707

[billt]

There are still a lot of 2 1/2" models still floating around. The Cabela's by me had one just a few weeks back. The worst thing about them are those silly orange grips. The problem with all of these high powered snubbies is the cartridges are designed for much longer barrels. The velocity loss is substantial. Much of the powder never gets burned. The heavier the bullets, the worse it gets. Bill T.