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Ruger owns a nice market niche for .45 caliber revolvers that can handle higher pressure "Ruger only" .45 Colt loads.
Of course, Ruger markets revolvers chambered in the .454 Casull for those who want more power than a .45 Colt. The .454 Casull is loaded to a very high maximum pressure of 65,000 PSI. To put that into perspective, when you touch off a .454 Casull in a Super Redhawk, that investment cast cylinder and frame is supporting the pressure equivalent to a .300 Winchester Magnum.
Ruger has six of those atomic bombs in that cylinder, so anyone who thinks investment casting is inferior to forging hasn't seen what Ruger is doing with their revolvers!
However, the Super Redhawk is a very large revolver and many of us want a more tamer cartridge and smaller handgun. For many of us, we prefer the Blackhawk and Redhawk. While there are some .454 Casull Blackhawks out there, they only hold five rounds. For many of us, we don't want to give up the traditional six round capacity.
The wildcat "Ruger Only" .45 Colt loads fill the void between the .45 Colt and .454 Casull. The "Ruger Only" .45 Colt is loaded to a maximum of 30,000 CUP (roughly 30,000 psi) according to Hodgdon.
Some ammunition manufacturers market "Ruger Only" .45 Colt ammunition under silly nomenclature like ".45 Colt Magnum Super +P" to reduce liability of people blowing up Colt Single Action Army clones.
The problem with these wildcat loads is that they'll void your warranty if your Blackhawk or Redhawk blows up.
While the Blackhawk and Redhawk are very strong revolvers, you're still shooting a wildcat cartridge loaded to roughly 30,000 PSI in a revolver chambered for a cartridge with a maximum pressure of 14,000 psi. Ruger obviously designs their revolvers to handle a lot more pressure than 14,000 PSI, but you can't know for sure what your revolver can handle without potentially dangerous experimentation.
So it begs the question: Why doesn't Ruger market a ".454 Ruger" cartridge loaded to around 30,000 PSI in a slightly longer case to prevent loading into Colt Single Action Army clones?
Ruger's investment into this new cartridge would be minimal. The Blackhawk and Redhawk would be essentially unchanged as they're already capable of handling the higher pressure.
Plus, ".454 Ruger" sounds better than ".45 Colt Magnum Super +P Ruger Only Don't Shoot In Colt SAA"
Of course, Ruger markets revolvers chambered in the .454 Casull for those who want more power than a .45 Colt. The .454 Casull is loaded to a very high maximum pressure of 65,000 PSI. To put that into perspective, when you touch off a .454 Casull in a Super Redhawk, that investment cast cylinder and frame is supporting the pressure equivalent to a .300 Winchester Magnum.
Ruger has six of those atomic bombs in that cylinder, so anyone who thinks investment casting is inferior to forging hasn't seen what Ruger is doing with their revolvers!
However, the Super Redhawk is a very large revolver and many of us want a more tamer cartridge and smaller handgun. For many of us, we prefer the Blackhawk and Redhawk. While there are some .454 Casull Blackhawks out there, they only hold five rounds. For many of us, we don't want to give up the traditional six round capacity.
The wildcat "Ruger Only" .45 Colt loads fill the void between the .45 Colt and .454 Casull. The "Ruger Only" .45 Colt is loaded to a maximum of 30,000 CUP (roughly 30,000 psi) according to Hodgdon.
Some ammunition manufacturers market "Ruger Only" .45 Colt ammunition under silly nomenclature like ".45 Colt Magnum Super +P" to reduce liability of people blowing up Colt Single Action Army clones.
The problem with these wildcat loads is that they'll void your warranty if your Blackhawk or Redhawk blows up.
While the Blackhawk and Redhawk are very strong revolvers, you're still shooting a wildcat cartridge loaded to roughly 30,000 PSI in a revolver chambered for a cartridge with a maximum pressure of 14,000 psi. Ruger obviously designs their revolvers to handle a lot more pressure than 14,000 PSI, but you can't know for sure what your revolver can handle without potentially dangerous experimentation.
So it begs the question: Why doesn't Ruger market a ".454 Ruger" cartridge loaded to around 30,000 PSI in a slightly longer case to prevent loading into Colt Single Action Army clones?
Ruger's investment into this new cartridge would be minimal. The Blackhawk and Redhawk would be essentially unchanged as they're already capable of handling the higher pressure.
Plus, ".454 Ruger" sounds better than ".45 Colt Magnum Super +P Ruger Only Don't Shoot In Colt SAA"
