My current article for the magazine is comparing the performance of various handgun cartridges on big game. I have seen hundreds of game animals killed with all types of handguns but I have never owned the guns. They were always clients using their own guns. Now I have a need to line them up and provide a compartitive photo in my article.

Sooooooooooooo if you're a reloader who can send me a dummy shell for this, I would prefer not getting loaded ammo unless it's the only way. I don't know what I can provide you in exchange except a copy of the article in return Email? Here is the list if anyone feels the need to contribute to this.

.38 special
357 magnum
40 S&W
10mm
41 magnum
454 casul
480 Ruger
500 any brand

Did I miss any? I have a .44 mag so they are easy. I have a selection of rifle cases I have amased over the last 20 plus years but never did the same thing with Handguns for Photo use with the magazine. I know some of these are easy and I may be able to get them local but if one of you guys has a loading bench and several of these it would be easier to just get this done in one swoop.

I can send 357 mag. and 454 Casull. PM me an address.

How can you compair cartridges that you don't have? Isn't that like rating cars you haven't driven?

CAS, with all due respect if you read the original post it says:

"I have seen hundreds of game animals killed with all types of handguns but I have never owned the guns. They were always clients using their own guns."

I have seen all of them shoot and kill cleanly, wound, or fail miserably on game in one way or another. All I want for the article is to line them up next to each other for a comparison photograph.

Did you actually think with all the articles I have written that I would hold them in my hands and just absorb the information and experience they could give me? I write only about things I know first hand with lots of years of experience.

I don't own these guns so I never loaded for them. I'm not a Shell collector either. So I thought it would be a good idea to make a photo for those who read the article a little comparison visually showing the size.

It's not that complicated. However I guess writers should stay behind the curtain and not let the secrets out on an internet forum, kinda like the "wizard of oz".

[ 02-25-2003, 07:10: Message edited by: JJHACK ]

It just boggles the mind that you can't come up with a 38 special round on your own.

ive got the 50 alaskan jason

JJ,

Just a thought, if you are a gun writer you have got to know some one that has or works in a gun store. Drop in with your camera and gets some pics of some factory ammo lined up on a display case full of pistols. A little mention of thanks in a article can go a long ways.

Who uses a .40 S&W on big game? I shot a domestic goat three times with Hydroshoks and he was still standing. That was a rough lesson.
Don't forget the 38 casull, 38 super auto, 44 special, 45 ACP, 45 Long Colt, 44-40, 445 supermag, and the 475 Linebaugh. You sure you've done your research?

[ 02-26-2003, 17:37: Message edited by: recoiljunky ]

Southern Utah, That was a clever idea! I suppose that would have been the easy way to handle this. There is a gun shop within an hours drive of my place too. Thanks for that suggestion. I have to go into town tommorow so It will be on the "to do" list!

I guess it's hard to imagine not every one lives in town or near a big city. I don't, so coming up with these was not as easy as I originally thought. I don't have a nearby gun range either so I don't belong to one. I can shoot right by the house so why go to a range which requires a long drive and a crowd of people?

I write for several magazines but I'm not what I would consider a "Gun Writer" very few articles are about guns directly. Most are about hunting and wilderness travel where guns are used but not the main focus of the text. So I don't collect these things for fun, and have no use for them other then this project. If some of this "boggles the mind" I'm sorry for your displeasure.

If you still need a 41 mag e-mail me your snail mail address and I will get you one with a 230 gr Keith bullet. Sorry, no jacketed available right now. Keith looks better anyways.

Recoil Junky; Yes the research is there. I don't need ammunition which I have not seen used. Many would be so similiar in performance that it's not relevent.

The jist of the article without posting it here is that I was guiding black bear hunters with hounds for many years when I was younger. I hooked up with an Ohio policemen who wanted to use his carry gun to kill a bear. In Idaho anything .22 centerfire or bigger is( was) legal. So he used his .45 ACP the results were poor. However he returned home and told of his hunt. The several years which followed provided an endless string of Cops wanting to shoot a "man sized" target with their carry guns. The majority of my business was police from back east for a long time.

This provided me with a massive amount of data on what calibers and bullets functioned perfectly and those which were a pathetic waste of time. Just for the interest of the readers here. During this time in Idaho hunters could shoot two bears each. We were taking 30-40 bears a year in Idaho and another 10-15 in Washington every year. This was as many as fifty bears a year for many years. There were 100's of bears involved. The resolution to the data is significant.

So the Article direction might be of interest now that you know what it's about, more or less.

Sounds like it will be a very interesting article, JJ. I'd definately be interested in reading it once you've had it published.

Wish I could help you on the dummy rounds. I only have a few in my meager collection, and I only own/shoot a .44. I live over two hours from a sporting goods store now, so I understand your plight!

Good luck my friend,
Canuck

If ownership of handguns makes you an expert, I would be one. I shoot them very well. But I have never killed anything with them.The credibility of someone who has seen the performance of various handguns on a large number of animals would then be greater than mine. If he actually owns the guns should make no differance.

I know a few missing handgun hunting cartridges from that list.That were milestones of sorts each time they came out. The 357 super mag. the 445 supermag, and the 45 winchester magnum....whats the periodical, that we may check references possibly....its always caution in these times...bob

good luck with the article....if you have a need and no one steps up I can off the 357 super mag in several types of bullets...would that be unprimed or primed?.........bob

All I can offer is 454 Casull 300gn JHP and 44mag 250gn JHP. Shoot me an email at nortonja@charter.net if I can be of any help.
Jake

Thanks Recoil Junkey but I have those as of today. I'm in need of a couple more. 480 and 500. I have the others, thanks for the interest and your kind offer!

Sent you an e-mail. Need your address. Should be able to send you both the .480 and the .500. Dennis e-mail at dmadriaga@ascg.com

Thanks guys, I have all the shells I need or they are on the way. I wish I could thank those of you in person in some way. I only realized today I recieved these shells from people with real names and it's hard for me to figure out who some of the "nicknames" belong to with the real names on the return addresses.

I hope you know how much I appreciate the effort you all made! Thanks Again.