A Pair of Big Bore Thumpers: The Puma and Ruger Alaskan by R.K. Campbell
Contributing Editor

Recently I acquired a lever-action rifle that is an uncommon blend of nostalgia, fun shooting and downright effectiveness in a light and handy package. The Puma .454 Casull rifle from Legacy Sports International (4750 Longley Ln., Suite 208, Dept. GWK, Reno, NV 89502; phone: 775-828-0555; on-line: www.legacysports.com) looks a lot like the Winchester Model 92 carbine.

The Model 92 was a fine little rifle, light and handy. The Model 92 is more than good looking. The ’92 features a lever throw with much better leverage than the better known Model 94. The ’92 chambers pistol cartridges such as the .32-20 and the .44-40. As such the short throw is very slick and smooth. The Model 1892 features two vertical sliding locking lugs that are among the strongest and smoothest of all lever gun lock ups. The Model 1892 is more a direct descendant of the Model 1886 than the Model 1873, and as a result it has the benefit of being a small scale version of a rifle designed to take powerful cartridges such as the .45-70 Springfield. While popular in its day, the Model 1873 had a relatively weak action and this was recognized when the 1886 Winchester used a new design.

Naturally, a legitimate question concerning the new Puma is strength and safety. The .44-40 generates perhaps 14,000 pounds per square inch (psi) in pressure while the .454 Casull is on the high end at 48,000 psi. I researched the history of the Puma and found the rifle has been extensively tested and found more than adequate for the .454 Casull cartridge. After all, there are revolvers chambered for the .454 and .480 cartridges that at a glance resemble the Colt Single Action Army of 1873. The Puma is a thoroughly modern rifle well made of good steel.

The Puma looks like a number of .357 and .44 caliber lever-actions but there are differences. There is a thick rubber butt pad, welcome on a light lever gun chambered for a formidable cartridge. There is a safety that is a modern addition we may either use or ignore. I am perfectly happy with the half-cock and hammer-down safety of the rifle but this additional safety is not obtrusive. The magazine tube is screwed solidly into the receiver and firmly attached. In the past, Winchester 92s converted to Magnum chambering sometimes developed problems with the magazine tube becoming disattached. The Puma will suffer no such difficulty.

The magazine may be loaded by the loading gate in the traditional manner, but the .454 is a fat round to be squeezed into the loading gate. The magazine features a rod that is unscrewed and the piece may be loaded in the same way as any number of .22 caliber rifles. I like this loading system; it is definitely handy. The rifle is light enough at about 6˚ pounds. Like all lever-action carbines, the Puma is light and flat and the balance point is right at the forward portion of the receiver. This is a simple rifle and one that is comfortable to carry for extended trips in the field.

The sights are standard fare, a square front post and adjustable leaf as found on millions of lever-action rifles. The sight picture is adequate for what the piece is designed for—brush hunting. The stock is workmanlike hardwood. The Puma is also available in stainless steel for a modest tariff, but the traditionalist in me desired a blue steel carbine.

I carefully worked several factory loads through the action to ensure the piece fed not only different nose styles but different cartridge lengths, as I wished to be able to use the 1/10th inch shorter .45 Colt cartridge as well as the longer .454 Casull cartridge. All fed perfectly. Next, I dry fired the piece a few times and accustomed myself to the sight picture. Trigger compression of the rifle is clean and crisp, unusual for a lever action rifle.

.454 Casull Compared
When we consider the .454 Casull cartridge, do not confuse this heavy duty handgun cartridge with the .45 Colt +P or the .44 Magnum. Even my favorite .460 Rowland loads are left in the dust by this cartridge. This is a strong cartridge that delivers velocity and energy superior to the average .45-70 rifle loading, but with a much smaller cartridge case. In factory loads, you really have to go to some of the Cor-Bon custom-loaded .45-70s to beat the .454. The .45-70 is the stronger cartridge with care in loading, but the point I am making is that the .454 exceeds the velocity and energy of the commonly loaded 300-grain .45-70 factory loads by a good margin.

I fired the rifle first with a variety of .45 Colt loads. The Winchester Silvertip is a light loading designed for personal defense that would be ideal for home defense in this rifle. The MasterCast 225-grain hard cast SWC also gave good results and burned clean. I had on hand the semi-smokeless Cor-Bon .45 Colt load as well. This one gives a resounding boom and is completely enjoyable in the Puma. These loads generated light recoil and were genuinely pleasant to fire. In fact I quickly expended my modest supply of factory .45 Colt loads in short order. Firing a gate-loading revolver is one thing, but a nine-shot lever-action really burns up the ammunition!

Moving to handloads, I began with a small horde of handloads that were too hot for most .45 Colt revolvers. Results with Meister bullet cast bullet handloads and others with the Sierra 240-grain JHP and the Hornady 250-grain XTP bullet were good, with fine accuracy. The rifle was pleasant to fire. Recoil with loads in the 1,500 feet-per-second (fps) class was mild. These loads are in .44 Magnum territory but are pleasant indeed to fire. But the rifle is a .454 and we moved on to full power .454 Casull ammunition next.

I tried the Winchester 250-grain load first. This load uses Hornady’s proven XTP bullet at a modest 1,600 fps. This idea is to considerably exceed the velocity of any .45 Colt or .44 Magnum revolver load but with less recoil than the potent (and difficult to manage) full power .454 loadings. This is a mid-range load that allows the .454 Casull user to field a factory load with milder recoil. The Winchester load succeeds and gives excellent accuracy. This is a good whitetail load adequate for boar-sized creatures.

There are heavier loads available and the Winchester 260-grain Partition Gold is one of the best. This is a full power load developing 2,300 fps. Compare this to the .30-30’s .308 inch 150-grain bullet at 2,200 fps and you will see the Casull round has the greater potential to drop large animals at moderate range. The 260-grain bullet uses proven Nosler Partition technology. The Nosler bullet is among the most proven on the planet and translates well to the .454. This is a heavy load, but the Puma kicks no worse than a lightweight .30-06 rifle with this load. One of my friends compared the Puma’s kick with this load to the 7mm Magnum in a standard rifle.

(Remember, the velocities I am quoting are carbine velocity. The loads will lose 300 to 400 fps when fired from a handgun.)

The Hornady 300-grain load exited the 20-inch Puma barrel at 2,000 fps. The standard deviation or difference in velocity between shots was remarkably low, on the order of 12 fps for 10 shots. This load is also very accurate. The thump is there but this load seems to be well balanced and the 300-grain bullet produced quite a cloud of dust on the berm. This bullet is considerably different in appearance than other XTP bullets, as it must be stronger than .45 Colt bullets to hold together at an extra 500 fps. This bullet is among the best choices as a single all-around load for the Puma.

Cor-Bon produces a record seven loadings in .454 Casull. One is a reduced power load using a 240-grain jacketed hollow point. Similar to the Winchester loading, this one offers .44 Magnum power for those hunting thin-skinned game or simply ducking the .454’s recoil. Accuracy is excellent. A 265-grain loading broke about 2,300 fps, while the 300-grain load exhibited 2,100 fps. The 265-grain bonded core load is intended for heavier game while the 300-grain load will expand quickly for short range brush hunting. Remember, bullet weight alone is not the sole indicator of a loading’s performance. The 265-grain load is quite interesting and I hope one day to take the measure of a bear with this loading. The Cor-Bon loads gave excellent results, feeding smoothly and exhibiting good accuracy.

The .454 DPX load was recently introduced and is quite a sensation among .454 fans. The relationship between Barnes and Cor-Bon is a good one for shooters, and the .454 DPX is another example. The Barnes bullet is a solid copper design that allows expansion at the “petals” in the nose of the bullet but keeps the base together for good performance. This loading is perfectly suitable for elk and the like, provided the shooter can stalk close enough to place the bullet correctly. Bear, elk and moose have been killed with .45-70 rifle loads of less power and don’t forget the exploits of the .44-40. Shooters who stalked their game and shot straight killed a lot of game with the .44-40. In practical terms, the .454 has more than twice the smash of the .44-40. I think that anyone contemplating hunting the largest North American game needs to take a hard look at Cor-Bon—and to practice his or her shots.

Firing offhand was quite enjoyable, partly due to the large recoil pad of the Puma. A departure from tradition, this device is really needed to use this rifle well. Deer-sized targets were definitely in danger well past 100 in offhand fire. Sighting the rifle in was another matter. It was possible to sight the rifle in to a few inches high or low at 100 yards with a certain load but getting the dead zero more difficult. And, frankly, this is not the most pleasant of rifles to fire off the benchrest.

The rifle is pleasant enough but after a few magazines full the shoulder gets a bit sore; recoil accumulates and sneaks up on you. Medium power loads such as the Cor-Bon reduced power load strike four to five inches low at the highest sight setting while the full power 300-grain loads may strike four inches high with the lowest setting. I can live with four inches high and calculate drop, but this is a woods carbine. I hunt boar and the longest shot is often 75 yards, although my last was taken at 15 yards. My friend Matthew Bishop recently took his deer at a similar distance with a lever-action rifle. This is where the Puma shines.

In bench resting the rifle, with the shooter and the rifle stabilized and with no “give” to absorb recoil, the testing was sometimes brutal. It isn’t really fair to give an accuracy comparison under these conditions but at 50 yards, typical brush-hunting range, the Puma proved capable of groups in the 2-inch range. A few five-shot strings hovered at the 1˚-inch mark. I suspect with sufficient load development and a comfortable rest the rifle might perform a bit better.

But remember, this is a short barrel carbine designed for hunting boar and bear as well as whitetail at short range. The Winchester action is famed for reliability in adverse conditions and may have a little “give” in the action for that purpose. For the person who can fire the rifle up to its potential, it is up to the task of taking large game such as elk and grizzly at appropriate range. Again, compare the .454’s paper ballistics to the .45-70. The .454 Casull hardly seems like a pistol cartridge and may be the ideal carbine round. Overall, I find nothing not to like about the Puma. It is a great carbine, possessed of extreme power and good accuracy. The carbine is smooth in action and obviously well made of good material.

The rifle would be a fine personal defense piece, loaded with .45 Colt ammunition, and one of the most capable and fun lever-action “cowboy” rifles around. While I completely enjoy the .44-40, in today’s world the .45 Colt makes more sense. And finally, for anyone making forays into territory that may be home to dangerous beasts, the Puma is a godsend.

A carbine is handy but a revolver on the hip is even handier. The Ruger (1 Lacey Pl. Dept. GWK, Southport, CT 06890; phone: 203-259-7843; on-line: www.ruger.com) Super Redhawk Alaskan is an interesting interpretation on the survival theme. It is similar to a number of high grade custom revolvers. Once again custom makers recognize the market and the demand for the type gets the attention of the major makers.

The Super Redhawk has features that make it a first class hunting revolver. The frame extension that extends to the first 2˚ half inches of the barrel increases the strength of the revolver but also allows optical sight mounting. The Super Redhawk is the most comfortable of all revolvers to fire with the .454 Casull chambering, and the massive cylinder holds six rounds instead of the traditional five.

The Super Redhawk is a fine revolver but the Alaskan is awesome in more ways than one. The barrel of the Alaskan is reduced to 2˚ inches, which means it is contained in the frame extension. The weight of the piece is reduced to 41 ounces—light indeed for a .454 Casull revolver. The revolver features a non-fluted cylinder and well-designed Hogue grips. I am especially impressed that the grips extend under the trigger guard, limiting the rapping of the third finger so common with Magnum revolvers.

The Alaskan is a very smooth revolver. The sights, trigger action and grips all add up to a good handling revolver. The Alaskan is well balanced and an attractive revolver on all counts. The Alaskan is very pleasant to fire with standard .45 Colt loadings. Even the heavy Cor-Bon .45 Colt +P loads are not unpleasant. For those who prefer the revolver for personal defense, the Alaskan would make a fine choice. There aren’t that many double-action .45 caliber revolvers available, and the Alaskan is easily the strongest double-action .45 Colt revolver ever produced. The Ruger tends to place five shots for five in a 1-inch circle at 25 yards with good quality .45 Colt ammunition. With the Winchester Silvertip defense loading, the piece hardly bucked at all.

But the Alaskan is after all a .454 Casull, not a .45 Colt, and that is the rationale for the revolver. Those traveling where bears are a real danger will find the Alaskan comforting on the hip. Many defensive incidents against bears result in shots to the body at contact range. A semi-automatic pistol would jam after the first shot in this situation, but the revolver may be fired repeatedly. Few of us could manipulate a single-action revolver quickly in such a situation. The double-action Alaskan is the ultimate in personal defense against larger animals. The short barrel allows the piece to be drawn quickly and brought into action in a heartbeat.

After a pleasant session with the .45 Colt there is only one description for recoil with the .454 loadings: brutal. The Alaskan is a well made revolver but recoil with the .454 Casull loads is simply rugged. A 300-grain bullet at 1,300 fps from a 41-ounce revolver jolts the piece over the head with each and every round. In a defensive situation with an animal intent on maiming the shooter, we do not wish to load anything less than full power loads.

A considerable amount of practice should be undertaken before deploying this handgun. While it will probably be fired but little in practice with full power loads, we should be familiar with their recoil. Still, this is a lot of insurance in a light and relatively compact package. While price should never be the sole determining factor in personal defense, it is worth noting that both the Puma and the Alaskan are strong, reliable firearms and both may be purchased for less than the price of a single high-grade custom handgun devoted to defense against large animals. I think that this is a tribute to modern manufacturing.

These two firearms certainly raise the bar on portable power. The Ruger revolver is a special purpose handgun well suited to its niche. The Puma, on the other hand, is a versatile woods carbine that offers the user quite a few options as well as different levels of power. Overall, I find the Puma a first class rifle with many good features. The mighty .454 has really made its mark with this one.