Back before Christmas I had to go to the Post Office one day, so after I got done I decided to run by the pawn shop where I get most of my guns since he's right there by the Post Office. I should have known better......
Went in and he had a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull in the case and had a decent price on it. Got it out and looked it over. It was "technically" used, but it wasn't used much at all. Everything was still tight, no wear, and the ring that develops on the cylinder when it's rolled was barely visible. The scope base is integrated into the top strap of the gun and the rings that come with it were still in the sealed package. I had been thinking of getting a .454 Casull, but definitly wanted a .45 Long Colt pistol. I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone with this beast! 
And of course the guy still had lay-away........ 
Normally, it's 15% he requires down, but where I do so much business with him, he let's me put down whatever. I put down $50 for him to hold it and paid a little on it every couple of weeks when I got paid. I've learned that when dealing with small businesses, the owners really value cash. Tax and everything, I walked out with the gun 2-3 weeks ago, paying less for it than what he had it originally marked. Not that I really needed it, but for what I paid for it, I couldn't hardly pass it up. If I ever did want to sell it, I could sell it for a profit. Here's a picture of the same gun I lifted off of GunBroker. You folks up in Canada shut your eyes since it's a pistol.
Then the "troubling" part started. I never seemed to find the time to get to shoot the beast!
Finally, this past weekend was our annual Hunter Education Workshop. These things are held at one of the state F&W operated Conservation Education Camps in the state. All of the camps have archery, rifle, shotgun, and pistol ranges. When I went down, I took the .454 Casull and a little .327 Federal Magnum that I carry concealed. I knew that at the very least I'd get to sling some lead after everything was over on Sunday.Sure enough, Sunday afternoon after lunch, myself and a couple of buddies went down to the range to fire the beast. Tacked some targets up, loaded it up, fired my 6, and then as I was walking up to the target, I tore the remaining skin off the web of my hand that the pistol hadn't.
Went to the truck and got a napkin to soak up the blood, a pair of gloves, and got a couple more napkins since the other 2 guys had yet to shoot the thing. The next guy that shot it has big ol' meaty gorilla hands. It didn't make him bleed, but a blister started forming on his hand. The last guy is kind of a little feller anyway. Right after he has squeezed off the first shot he said, "WOW!!!" He fired off the other 5 and then I handed him a napkin from where his hand was bleeding. While we were down there, one of the F&W Hunter Training Officers came down there. This guy is retired Army, older than dirt, a crusty old cuss, but he lives, breathes, eats, and sleeps guns. He probably shoots more in a month than I do in a year. I showed him the pistol and asked him if he wanted to shoot it, telling him I had plenty of ammo if he did. He didn't want to have anything to do with the .454 Casull loads!
He did have some .45 Colt ammo in his truck that he ran through the gun. He said it shot really well and really liked the gun. That meant a lot coming from him. So after having shot that beast, a .44 mag is for wimps!
The dry weight on the gun (without a scope) is about 3.3 lbs. Even at that weight, it's a handful when it goes off! A 240 grain JHP bullet is running about 1,900 ft/sec at the muzzle and generates 1,923 ft/lbs of force. I can't wait until gun season this year!!! 
I have the Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger with a 7.5" barrel. I think it is between the .44 mag. and the .454. It is plenty enough gun for me!
