joess, I have S&W's and BFR's I love them both.
Both of my BFR are tack drivers and I can't find one thing wrong with either of them. Other BFR shooters I have talked to love there BFR's also. As for the S&W's I feel the same way about them as I do my BFR's. Custom Ruger's are great as well as Ruger's. Those are the three manufactures I like the most. Sure the FA is a well made handgun, but I just don't care for them. Personal preference.

quote:

Originally posted by Me_Plat:
Would the 454 460 or the 500 without a brake have more recoil than say a 458 Win Mag 14 inch barrel with a brake pushing a 550 gr at 1675 fps or a 50 Alaskan with a 700 gr bullet at 1400 fps?

That's a tough one to answer. I think you cross a line somewhere with the recoil and at that point it may be hard to differentiate between them. I had a .458 win mag in an 8-lb rifle, and it would beat a person up off the bench. This is a cartridge I really wouldn't want in a handgun........ouch!

quote:

Originally posted by joess:
Witworth, I just got a catalog from bfr today and they look pretty good. I'll have to go to a couple of gun shops in the area too get a closer look. If I buy a new one, it's either that one or a new s&w. Lloyd, Im on a fact finding mission here and thats whats great about the internet, It's like being at the coffee shop with your friends and finding out what works for everybody.Now if you got a different opinion about bfrs, I'd like to hear it,everybody has different tastes, nothing wrong with that. I'm not too fussy about which gun or caliber I'm going to get, because there will be more coming after that. It's just shopping for em. I seen some nice deals on freedom arms with scopes on them [slightly used] for 1400--1600 on the auction sites

joess -- the BFR has no flies on it IMHO. You will never find a factory gun with the fit and finish of the Freedom Arms offerings, but if you spend time in the field with your revolvers, you have to ask yourself what is most important. Like Redhawk, I'm no great fan of the FA revolvers as I think they are a bit on the pricey side -- this is not an openiing for a pissing contest about FA revolvers, so realx everyone. I think you will be hard pressed to find more value for the money (bang for the buck) than the BFR. Plus, you can get some GREAT calibers in the BFR like the .500 JRH and the .475 Linebaugh!

REDHAWK1: That would be good thing to do. Load up some of your 700 grainers at a chronoed 1400 and try a few and see what it is like.
I bet you would like them. And I would say you would handle them like a champ.
Please do that and let us know the results with maybe some pics to top it off.

And send us the emergency room bill and we'll take up a collection on your behalf.......

quote:

Originally posted by Me_Plat:
REDHAWK1: That would be good thing to do. Load up some of your 700 grainers at a chronoed 1400 and try a few and see what it is like.
I bet you would like them. And I would say you would handle them like a champ.
Please do that and let us know the results with maybe some pics to top it off.

I think you need to get a 500 Mag and load up some 700 gr. bullets in it at 1400 fps and let us know how it was. You seem to be more intrigued by it than I am.

Oh, I have a 4 inch 500 an 8 3/8th's a 10 encore and an H&R Handi Rifle in it.
They are a real horse aren't they?

Can a 500 S&W revolver acctually reachs 1400 FPS with a 700 grian bullet? I know that when Jack built my 50 Alaskan revolver he haqd 600 grainers to 1400 FPS+ and the 525s over 1600 FPS. I can assure you that is much more than enough.

quote:

Originally posted by jwp475:
Can a 500 S&W revolver acctually reachs 1400 FPS with a 700 grian bullet? I know that when Jack built my 50 Alaskan revolver he haqd 600 grainers to 1400 FPS+ and the 525s over 1600 FPS. I can assure you that is much more than enough.

With 25 gr. of H110 and a 700 gr. bullet the 8 3/8 inch barrel can reach 1200 fps and there is room for more powder, but I am not going to be the one to try it. But I am sure it could be done.

What kind of distance can you shoot with a scoped 475 or 500s&w. Now i'm talking a huntin situation, not just long distance shooting. If your in a spot where the shot might be a 150 yards or so i was wondering if you can take it with out aiming at the moon. Most of my hunting will be close. We can gun hunt out of tree stands now. But you know how huntin is, the big one didn't come down the runway he's supposed to, he's way over there.

joess, I can't speak for the .500 Smith, but my .475 doesn't have a whole lotta drop at 100 yards. I will confidently shoot game at 100 yards without batting an eye. I have shot it at 200 and it is not a ridiculous adjustment, and yes, it will take game at 200 yards! Where is bfrshooter? I shoot a lot with him and he shoots his .475 at distance more than I do. Where are you, Jim? I'm sure the .500 won't have any trouble at those distances either.

With the lighter bullets from Barnes 275 and 325 gr. range, the 500 Mag with a good scope at 150 yards is not a problem, as long as you have a good rest like shooting sticks. And you do your job, the gun is well up for the task. The Barnes 275 gr. bullets are long because of the hollow cavity, and are very accurate out past 100 yards as well as the 325 gr. The 370 gr. hard cast also shoot well out to 100 yards with a good scope. I have made some shots on 4 inch clay targets at 150 yards with them out of my BFR 500 Mag and a Bushnell 2 X 6 X 32 scope. I have since gone to a red-dot and keep my shots under 100 yards, but more realistically under 50 yards are the common shot with my handguns.

I choose which handgun to take hunting, depending where I will be, if I have a chance at a long 150 yard shot I take my S&W 460 Mag with my 2 X 6 scope, if I am in the woods and shots will be under 75 yards my 500 Mags with red-dots gets the call. I am sure my 480 Ruger will be going on a lot of my deer hunting in the woods this year.

Redhawk made an important point: make sure you have a good steady rest when shooting longer distances with e handgun........

here is the opinion. Ive posted this way back and got to the point i figured id shut my mouth but ill do it one more time. Keep in mind through this post that ive got a lot of nice custom handguns and FA guns and that may sway my opinion some. I bought a 480 bfr back when they first chambered it. I didnt have any linebaughs then and figured it would make for a cheap conversion to 475. I ordered the gun right from bfr and not a wholesaler. I ordered it looking at there websight. I ordered a 6.5 inch gun rather then the 7.5 when it came it was a 7.5 inch gun. I imediately called them and told them. they told me that unlike other manufactures they measure there barrels for the end of the frame and not the forcing cone. That really made me shake my head. I told them i wanted a shorter one and they said to do it they would have to charge me 200 bucks i wasnt to pleased with that but kept my mouth shut. Then i asked them about the sights. the websight showed a blued front blade with a colared insert. Mine came with a plain stainless front blade that a guy just couldnt see. I asked why that was and she got snotty and said they have the right to put any sight they wanted on the gun. Anyone that knows me knows im an easy going guy but that answer just didnt fly with me and i told them nicely that i felt that if i paid to have the barrel chopped i though they should at least update the sight and she hung up on me. I didnt get snotty in any way with her. I called back and asked for the manager and told him the same thing. He had the balls to get pissed and said i was lucky to get such a fine gun at the price i payed and should shut my mouth. (in those exact words) Now again i didnt get snotty in anyway with that gun until he said that. To be honest i wasnt happy with it anyway. I thought it was to big feeling. the fit between the grip frame and main frame was poor. I hated the rubber grips. It had sharp edges that would actually cut a guy. I didnt like the way the grip frame attaches only with screws and didnt have the tabs like a ruger. I didnt like that the base pin was only attached with a screw and didnt have a cross pin. The trigger was no better then some of the worse rugers ive bought. To be honest i discusted with the deal and never even shot it. I called John Linebaugh who had agreed to rechamber it for me and told him the way i was treated and he told me to dump it and buy a bisley and send it to him and hed make me a good deal on a 475 and thats what i did. It was the best thing i ever did. Another problem with it was that it was a brand spanking new gun and it sat in a gun shop of my buddys for almost a year before it sold for 300 bucks less then i payed for it. the dealer is a buddy and he told me many people picked it up and looked at it but just werent impressed. I think mostly because there so big and blocky. I think personaly for the average guy youd be better off buying a ruger for 400 bucks and having an action job free wheeling it, a belt mountain pin and a nice set of grips and for about 200 bucks less then a bfr youd have a much nicer looking gun. Only thing in my opinion the bfrs have going for them is cost. Its the cheapest way to get into a true big bore and alot of guys arent willing to buck up and pay 2000 for a gun. If you know what your buying there not a bad gun but i shake my head at guys that think there buying a gun as nice as a fa for half the price. it just aint so and i wouldnt give that fricking company another penny of my money. There the only company in the entire manufacuturing a loading industy that has ever treated me like crap. they basiscaly sold me a gun and didnt want to here any complaints. Theres some pretty big egos there. Sorry guys but if i want a big bore ill save another year or two and buy what i really want or pick up a smtih for about the same price. At least they stand behind there products.

Wow, what a lousy experience! Unbelievable. I wonder how some companies function operating on that level. Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with Magnum Research........ Was this a while back? It doesn't sound like they are plagued with poor customer service any more. I also don't think people expect to get a gun as well finished as an FA, and the ones I've shot I've liked, but I don't know if they were early or later production BFRs....... Bummer, Lloyd, sorry to hear you had to go through all of that. Thanks for sharing this story with us.

Lloyd, sorry to hear about your troubles. But I never expected a FA quality gun when I bought my first BFR. I have owned a FA Model 83 Premier Grade in 454 Casull. So I know the difference in quality.

I think the BFR has come up in quality in recent years. My newer 45-70 BFR is a very well made gun. As for customer service, I did not get the same reaction you got when I talked to them about there barrel lengths, I was also confused when I ordered a 7 1/2 and got an 8 1/2 inch barrel. I sent it to Mag-na-port and had it cut down to 6 inches and mag-na-ported. And I also had a trigger and action job done on it from my local gunsmith.

But I don't blame you for being upset with Magnum Research, I would be pissed if I was treated that way.

HEy thanks guys, that at least gives me a better idea on how the big bores do in a huntin situation. Redhawk your right, most of my hunting will also be from 50-75 yards. Before the gas got so high, I would be hunting in Lloyd's back yard. Well, maybe not so close Lloyd, over by Manistique, we just love it up there. There's a lot more deer in the lower part of the state, espesialy in the farm areas, but we don't care, we still go to the U.P. Sorry to hear about your bad expeience with bfr, every once in a while you hear of somebody having a problem like that. I'd feel the same way you do if it happened me. I do have a ruger vaqcaro--[i don't know how to spell that and I aint goin to look] I was thinking on having it made into a 5 shot heavy 45, or converting it to a 475,I'm like that size of a "carry gun", but like I said before,I'll be getting some more guns anyway. Thanks for the info guys.

BFR's did have a lot of teething problems early on. Anyway you look at it, they are oversize Rugers. But the accuracy is so far above the Rugers without having to pay for custom work that they are worth the money.
Trigger jobs are so easy, anyone with a screwdriver should be able to get to two pounds. I don't think I ever spent more then 15 minutes to do a BFR or Ruger.
Mine are working guns so it doesn't matter if the finish or grips are not up to wall hanger status. I can't afford to buy a new gun and send it off with a months SS to make it pretty without improving the way it shoots out of the box.
Reading some posts tells me some guys just have too much money, can't you guys trickle some my way?

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
BFR's did have a lot of teething problems early on. Anyway you look at it, they are oversize Rugers. But the accuracy is so far above the Rugers without having to pay for custom work that they are worth the money.
Trigger jobs are so easy, anyone with a screwdriver should be able to get to two pounds. I don't think I ever spent more then 15 minutes to do a BFR or Ruger.
Mine are working guns so it doesn't matter if the finish or grips are not up to wall hanger status. I can't afford to buy a new gun and send it off with a months SS to make it pretty without improving the way it shoots out of the box.
Reading some posts tells me some guys just have too much money, can't you guys trickle some my way?

BFRshooter, I have quit a few big bore guns, and like you I can't send everyone of them off to be customized. My BFR in 500 mag was sent to Mag-na-port to have the barrel cut down to 6 inches over all length from the forcing cone, and I had 4 port porting done. My local gunsmith took care of the trigger job and action job for next to nothing.
My only other gun that has been customized was my Super Redhawk from JHR. It was the original Alaskan called a Super Streethawk 454 as JHR engraved it into the gun.

But like you, I can't see having all my guns customized, with the money that would be spent on a custom job, I could get another BFR...lol

Redhawk----RIGHT ON!