The Big-Bore Chronicles

Many times reduced velocity loads simply don’t shoot that well based on my past experiences. They are pleasant to shoot but often lack the power and accuracy to be of much use beyond practicing the basics of marksmanship. Such is not the case with Winchester’s reduced recoil loads for the 454 Casull.

The rounds are loaded with the 250 grain Hornady XTP bullet and from my 4 3/4 inch Freedom Arms 454 Casull, they exit the muzzle around 1250 fps which is roughly the equivalent to a 44 Magnum or heavy 45 Colt load. From a rested position I am able to keep 4 shots in 2 1/2 inches at 50 yards with open sights and using a scoped 10″ gun they group in about 1 inch.

I used these rounds exclusively this deer season and they performed wonderfully accounting for 6 kills. When placed broadside through the lungs on an average sized whitetail there was 3-4 inches of damaged tissue and the bullet exited the off side. The only bullet that didn’t exit was fired from approximately 65 yards and impacted the spine after traversing roughly 1/2 of the deer. Another spine shot in which the deer was directly below my stand penetrated the spine fully and exited through the bottom of the chest. Of course both spine-shot deer were anchored immediately.

Only one bullet was recovered from a spine-hit deer and as you can see it expanded pretty well. On one side, which I assume hit the spine first based on the angle, the jacket was peeled back almost to the base. On the other side the bullet expanded back to the cannelure groove doing a significant amount of internal injury.

If you’re looking for a great shooting 454 Casull load without the sometimes punishing recoil of full-house loads, you owe it to yourself to try the Winchester 454 Casull in the silver box loaded with the 250 grain Hornady XTP. You can expect a street-price of around $35.00 per box of 20.