Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alaskan
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re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alas
Unless you're a gunsmith/machinist, it's gonna cost a fair pile of bucks. Almost certainly not practical; if you could score an Alaskan for a decent price, and sell the SRH for a fair price it would come out just about even. WAY cheaper than having the SRH worked on.
If you're interested in a stubby cannon, CDNN just came out with their latest catalog.... how about a snub-nosed S&W 500 or S&W 460.... they were $649.00 or something like that. Add in the FFL fee and shipping, you're still under $700.00 --- and you've got the world's most impressive snubby.
Unless you're a gunsmith/machinist, it's gonna cost a fair pile of bucks. Almost certainly not practical; if you could score an Alaskan for a decent price, and sell the SRH for a fair price it would come out just about even. WAY cheaper than having the SRH worked on.
If you're interested in a stubby cannon, CDNN just came out with their latest catalog.... how about a snub-nosed S&W 500 or S&W 460.... they were $649.00 or something like that. Add in the FFL fee and shipping, you're still under $700.00 --- and you've got the world's most impressive snubby.
re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alas
What a snooty response to an honest answer to your questions. You asked if this "transformation" was possible and received the answer that it will cost quite a bit of money. You also asked if it was practical and was told it wasn't. You also asked for other comments and received some practical and economical suggestions regarding alternatives. If you did not want the answers you received, you should have phrased the questions in a manner that would give you the answers you wanted. Then again, you would have probably then complained of getting bad advice.
What a snooty response to an honest answer to your questions. You asked if this "transformation" was possible and received the answer that it will cost quite a bit of money. You also asked if it was practical and was told it wasn't. You also asked for other comments and received some practical and economical suggestions regarding alternatives. If you did not want the answers you received, you should have phrased the questions in a manner that would give you the answers you wanted. Then again, you would have probably then complained of getting bad advice.
Re: re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an
Then again, you would have probably then complained of getting bad advice.)
My response might very well been perceived as snooty, it was not my intention. I did ask a question and am grateful for the whole two replies I received. With that said, I have posed this question in 2 other forums and received plenty of advice, some suggesting, that it was practical. So I thought I might try a forum devoted to pistols. Quite frankly, I didn't enter this forum to find a mind reader, sooth sayer or literary critic. If my reply offended you, you have my sympathy, but you my friend should leave the fortune telling to the professionals. Reuglydog said:
Then again, you would have probably then complained of getting bad advice.)
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Re: re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an
Also bear in mind that one needs no special qualifications to post an opinion on an internet forum.... and that some of the most enthusiastic and frequent posters are, in fact, totally unqualified to express any opinion whatsoever; their babbling is quite apparently B.S. to the knowledgeable, but frequently taken as gospel by the neophyte.
As I stated in my first response, unless you're a gunsmith/machinist and do it yourself, it most definitely is NOT practical. A decent gunsmith is gonna hit you for at least $250 for a job like that... and most likely closer to $350. Should anything ever go wrong with it, as far as Ruger is concerned, you have no warranty. If you sold your SRH for $450-$500 and dropped $550-$600 for an Alaskan (worst case scenario), your net cost would be about $100 and you'd have a firearm that Ruger would cover forever.
It's quite possible you didn't get any further responses because other members read my post and decided there wasn't much more to say.
With all due respect, I'd suggest you recommend to those folks that they use the dictionary and look up the definition of "practical".1stMarDiv said:
Also bear in mind that one needs no special qualifications to post an opinion on an internet forum.... and that some of the most enthusiastic and frequent posters are, in fact, totally unqualified to express any opinion whatsoever; their babbling is quite apparently B.S. to the knowledgeable, but frequently taken as gospel by the neophyte.
As I stated in my first response, unless you're a gunsmith/machinist and do it yourself, it most definitely is NOT practical. A decent gunsmith is gonna hit you for at least $250 for a job like that... and most likely closer to $350. Should anything ever go wrong with it, as far as Ruger is concerned, you have no warranty. If you sold your SRH for $450-$500 and dropped $550-$600 for an Alaskan (worst case scenario), your net cost would be about $100 and you'd have a firearm that Ruger would cover forever.
It's quite possible you didn't get any further responses because other members read my post and decided there wasn't much more to say.
Re: re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an
And Your reply was duly noted. Thank you for your time. I am no professional and as if I were to get a prognosis from a Doctor I would want a second opinion. My main problem with the SRH is this. (9 1/2 inch barrel, although very accurate) is to much for me. I acquired the gun from a friend to help with legal fees resulting from a divorce. Dirt cheap I might add, So I was and still am looking for a way to change to a shorter barrel more in line with my idea of a powerful, flame throwing, monster, Honestly the long barrel brings to mind the prop firearm carried by many clowns (me being one of). Are shorter barrels available for this gun? Thats really the question I meant to ask. And really, thanks for your help.
wwb said:
And Your reply was duly noted. Thank you for your time. I am no professional and as if I were to get a prognosis from a Doctor I would want a second opinion. My main problem with the SRH is this. (9 1/2 inch barrel, although very accurate) is to much for me. I acquired the gun from a friend to help with legal fees resulting from a divorce. Dirt cheap I might add, So I was and still am looking for a way to change to a shorter barrel more in line with my idea of a powerful, flame throwing, monster, Honestly the long barrel brings to mind the prop firearm carried by many clowns (me being one of). Are shorter barrels available for this gun? Thats really the question I meant to ask. And really, thanks for your help.
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re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alas
If you really want a fire-belching monster, make shipping arrangements with your friendly local FFL dealer and call CDNN at (800) 588 - 9500. Tell 'em you want one of their 2-3/4 inch (or something like that) barrel S&W 500s.
Seriously --- if you don't know about the S&W 500, it's the most powerful (non wildcat) handgun cartridge there is... makes a .454 Casull, a .475 Linebaugh, or a .480 Ruger look like pussycats. .44 Mag isn't even on the same planet.
They also offer the same snub-nose in .460 S&W.... much more flexible... shoots .454 Casull for "light" loads and .45 Colt for "plinkers".
If you really want a fire-belching monster, make shipping arrangements with your friendly local FFL dealer and call CDNN at (800) 588 - 9500. Tell 'em you want one of their 2-3/4 inch (or something like that) barrel S&W 500s.
Seriously --- if you don't know about the S&W 500, it's the most powerful (non wildcat) handgun cartridge there is... makes a .454 Casull, a .475 Linebaugh, or a .480 Ruger look like pussycats. .44 Mag isn't even on the same planet.
They also offer the same snub-nose in .460 S&W.... much more flexible... shoots .454 Casull for "light" loads and .45 Colt for "plinkers".
re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alas
It will take the value of your gun, drive it into the dirt, and then pee all over it.
Trade it in for the one you want. The extra cost will be what you'd spend to "bubba" the thing with a barrel chop.
It will take the value of your gun, drive it into the dirt, and then pee all over it.
Trade it in for the one you want. The extra cost will be what you'd spend to "bubba" the thing with a barrel chop.
re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alas
1stmardiv, If you simply want to cut the barrel and have a snub it's fairly easy. You simply cut the barrel neatly as you can with a hack saw, square it up with a file, and re-crown it and re-finish the end. Then you'll need to put a front sight on the snout of the frame. (Look at the alaskan models and you'll notice that the sights are a bit smaller than the longer barreled srh's.) If the scope ring cut outs are an eyesoar to you, there is a product called "All metal" that is basically a bondo. You can fill them with it, clean it up nice and re-finish the entire gun. There are a pile of gunsmiths out there who can help you, as well as send you in the wrong direction. Be carefull, not all so called "gunsmiths" know squat! ....With that said, be warned if you want to attempt to remove the barrel from a srh! Rugers are as they say, "built like tanks!" and it's true. I've got a new-found respect for these guns. Turning the barrel out of a SRH is no easy task and best left for a professional. Hamilton Bowen is one of the best in the world, and even he gave up doing this kind of work some years back after having serious difficulty with threads "galling". He now has the tooling and can do this work however. If you want to do any serious work on a large bore revolver, I'd strongly suggest contacting him 1st. It's absolutely do-able. I also have that same gun and I also got a great deal on it so I am taking the chance on a chop job with no care in the world about how it turns out. (I also hate the behemoth 9 1/2" elephant trunk of a barrel. :roll: ) If the job went south, there are still options. But as stated, it will cost some $$. It all depends how bad you want it and how much you like tinkering around with your guns........... While you need to understand that the typical internet info can lead people into bad places, others also need to understand that this is entirely possible, and safe, and fun for guys like me or yourself, who like tinkering with their guns. Custom revolvers are waaay cool imho. ............I want a short barreled .454 for carry in the woods and deer/hog hunting. Althought the alaskan is a great gun, I need at least a 4" barrel as that is the minimum legal length for hunting in my state. So my 1st option was; to cut the barrel to suit. But that created a not-so-good looking gun imo. So now I want the barrel taken out and re-placed with a 4" or 5 1/2" redhawk barrel. I can go with a .45 lc barrel or if I find a deal on a .44 mag barrel, it can be re-bored to .454 dims. Colt anaconda barrels will work as well, or one can be custom made. It's going to cost me, but until Ruger starts making guns to suit individuals needs, these are my choices. Another and easier option, is to just buy a .45 lc redhawk and use the .454 cylinder from my SRH in it's place. It takes a bit of fitting, but can be done fairly easily by the average joe paying attention to barrel/cylinder gap and a few other details. But for the most part they've been known to drop right in.......Personally, I like the trigger and grip of the SRH much better than the redhawk. So in this case, my only viable option is to pay a professional to do at least the hard part of the work. Any other questions and I'll be happy to tell what I've learned. And again, if you're the least bit unsure, contact a REAL gunsmith. There are many gunsmiths out there who should find another line of work. Some of them even appear to be professional. :lol:
1stmardiv, If you simply want to cut the barrel and have a snub it's fairly easy. You simply cut the barrel neatly as you can with a hack saw, square it up with a file, and re-crown it and re-finish the end. Then you'll need to put a front sight on the snout of the frame. (Look at the alaskan models and you'll notice that the sights are a bit smaller than the longer barreled srh's.) If the scope ring cut outs are an eyesoar to you, there is a product called "All metal" that is basically a bondo. You can fill them with it, clean it up nice and re-finish the entire gun. There are a pile of gunsmiths out there who can help you, as well as send you in the wrong direction. Be carefull, not all so called "gunsmiths" know squat! ....With that said, be warned if you want to attempt to remove the barrel from a srh! Rugers are as they say, "built like tanks!" and it's true. I've got a new-found respect for these guns. Turning the barrel out of a SRH is no easy task and best left for a professional. Hamilton Bowen is one of the best in the world, and even he gave up doing this kind of work some years back after having serious difficulty with threads "galling". He now has the tooling and can do this work however. If you want to do any serious work on a large bore revolver, I'd strongly suggest contacting him 1st. It's absolutely do-able. I also have that same gun and I also got a great deal on it so I am taking the chance on a chop job with no care in the world about how it turns out. (I also hate the behemoth 9 1/2" elephant trunk of a barrel. :roll: ) If the job went south, there are still options. But as stated, it will cost some $$. It all depends how bad you want it and how much you like tinkering around with your guns........... While you need to understand that the typical internet info can lead people into bad places, others also need to understand that this is entirely possible, and safe, and fun for guys like me or yourself, who like tinkering with their guns. Custom revolvers are waaay cool imho. ............I want a short barreled .454 for carry in the woods and deer/hog hunting. Althought the alaskan is a great gun, I need at least a 4" barrel as that is the minimum legal length for hunting in my state. So my 1st option was; to cut the barrel to suit. But that created a not-so-good looking gun imo. So now I want the barrel taken out and re-placed with a 4" or 5 1/2" redhawk barrel. I can go with a .45 lc barrel or if I find a deal on a .44 mag barrel, it can be re-bored to .454 dims. Colt anaconda barrels will work as well, or one can be custom made. It's going to cost me, but until Ruger starts making guns to suit individuals needs, these are my choices.
Another and easier option, is to just buy a .45 lc redhawk and use the .454 cylinder from my SRH in it's place. It takes a bit of fitting, but can be done fairly easily by the average joe paying attention to barrel/cylinder gap and a few other details. But for the most part they've been known to drop right in.......Personally, I like the trigger and grip of the SRH much better than the redhawk. So in this case, my only viable option is to pay a professional to do at least the hard part of the work. Any other questions and I'll be happy to tell what I've learned. And again, if you're the least bit unsure, contact a REAL gunsmith. There are many gunsmiths out there who should find another line of work. Some of them even appear to be professional. :lol:re: Help! me turn my.454 Casull from 91/2" into an Alas
And btw, I did read above about whether or not it is"pactical". I agree that you'd be better off to just sell the gun and buy an alaskan. With that said, it's your gun. Do what suits you. I just offered some things I've learned as food for thought and help if you really are going to cut that sucker down.
And btw, I did read above about whether or not it is"pactical". I agree that you'd be better off to just sell the gun and buy an alaskan. With that said, it's your gun. Do what suits you. I just offered some things I've learned as food for thought and help if you really are going to cut that sucker down.
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