I've always love the big bore rifles and just started getting into big bore handguns. I recently picked up a .44 Mag Ruger Redhawk and absolutely love it. Shooting it made me want something even bigger so I put a Super Redhawk in .454 on layaway. I gave some thought to the .500 S&W but the .454 is more available and semi close in ballistics.

Anyway, who else is into big handguns? What's your favorite?

[ 07-18-2003, 03:06: Message edited by: schapman43 ]

45 colt/Linebaugh. You made a good choice. Most affordable big bore to shoot, for pistols, accurate, and you can use the casull ammo when you have to use too much pressure, and just want that recoil.

475 and 500 Linebaugh are nice.

s

Far and away, the 480 is my favorite. I've had the opportunity to shoot several 454's, 475's and 500's in a variety of configurations, but after I shot my buddies 480, I sold my 44, and have never wanted another revolver since. Well, thats not true, I'd like to get a second 7 1/2" SRH, and cut this one down to 5". I've found the 480 to be extremely accurate, and more importantly, the SRH has been an easy gun for me to shoot accurately. Also important to me is the 480's recoil isn't abusive, it is the maximum I handle well out of a revolver. I figure if a 400 gr @ 1200 fps or 460 gr @ 1050 fps isn't enough, its big rifle time. I just don't see the killing power of the more powerful rounds as being comencerate with the increased recoil.

The only thing I'm thinking of adding is a 270 gr keith style SWC mold for a good plinking bullet. That said, the 310 gr, 400 gr and 460 gr molds I have do the trick just fine.

I have a Ruger Redhawk .44. love it. it has put several deer in the freezer.

I,m just waiting for the 500S&W to come out in a lever action rifle. It would make a good pig gun.

Paul nails the essence of Linebaugh's arguments for larger calibers. If you need to go over 35-40k, the increase in ballistics, in handguns, is not worth the recoil. Increase caliber, and bullet weight, and maintain lower pressures. Casull loads do go into the 50-60k range.

Since my gun will shoot Casull power loads, I have to agree with him. It gets to the point that a handgun is a punch press, and, you are not going to get 2100 fps for hydrodynamic shock, so, if you want more killing power, go up in caliber, bullet weight, and bullet design.

Though I have a hard time saying this, , I agree completely with your post, Paul, and, if it wasn't for the cheap ammo avaliable in 45, the 480, or better yet, 475 downloaded, give a real big step up in penetration and bullet weight, and diameter, to a lesser degree.

I've always wanted a 500, or 50 caliber pistol, and I hope that S&W new round will finally make a reasonable price 50 avaliable, in reasonable packages.

To reinforce Paul's post: A famous big bore advocate who has been shooting lots of heavy handgun rounds now has real problems with wrist, hands, and forearms, from recoil.

I think the 454 loads are on the the border of sanity, and it is wise to keep any big bore in the 35k-40k pressure range, if you plan on shooting them in any number, or for any length of time.
Since I have done something like that, I suggest alternating with a 22 lr. pistol of similar weight and design to your heavy gun. This defines your flinch, and helps get rid of it, since it WILL develop using heavy 45 loads.
Someone said Elmer Keith shot about 600 rounds of 44 mag a year, period.

Great post, Paul.

gs

[ 07-18-2003, 04:45: Message edited by: Socrates ]

To me a big bore handgun is a 45 LC, and I like them. I am thinking of a 500 linebaugh, but I would shoot lead bullets at just over 1000 fps. Frankly, my wrists are not strong enough to take the recoil of even a hot-loaded 454 casull, never mind a 500.

Just ran a recoil calculator on my favorite outdoors load.

325 grain bullet 1350= 31 ft-lbs of recoil.

Social load:

260 grain HP at 1450=26 ft-lbs of recoil.

PLENTY for just about anything in North America, including Brown bears, if shot is place right.

www.buffalobore.com for good ammo.

John Taffin has forgotten more then I ever knew about guns. His article on Linebaugh's guns are a primer in this area:

http://www.sixguns.com/range/Linebaugh.htm

s

Nothing really big here,just the Ruger SBH 44 Mag 10.5" and I like it very much.

A 255 grain cast Lee SWC at 1455 fps, very accurate,no leading with Vihtavuori N110... and lotsa FUN!

It has seen lots of hot jacketed loads,the barrel actually started to "unscrew" itself out. Got it fixed by myself though.

I use a large Hogue wooden grip,one got broken but Hogue replaced it for free.

A good shoulder carry gun in the woods when I am training dawgs, no handgun hunting here though.

Even my wife likes that load,see:



(She did ask "WTF have you put in here,though, but wanted to shoot more) Forgot the glasses...I didn�t notice that right away,sorry.

I'm a weinnie!
I've been shooting 45 Colt out of Ruger 4 5/8th for a lot of years. My two most favorite 45 Colts are S&W mod. 25s. The are easy to carry, accurate and do well with the 8.5 to 9.5 grains of Unique behind a 255 grain cast bullet. I load and shoot these by the thousands.
When I feel the need for a harder hitting 45 Colt load I use my Colt Anaconda with a 6 in barrel shooting a 300 grain cast bullet a head of 20 grains of H110.
The 45 Colt will do the job on anything I feel is appropriate to shoot with a handgun.
Jim

Well I coudnt take it. I went to my shop to put some money on the .454 and had to put a matching .480 on layaway. I cant wait to get both of them.

Currently, I own a 7.5 inch barreled Silverhawk in 45LC, that I shoot either 325 gr LBT Cast Performance bullets, or 325 gr HC truncated cone bullets a cyber friend makes for sale (he claims the largest meplat of this design, in this cal.).
I recently purchased a stainless 6 inch barreled Taurus M66 7-shot 357, of which I've yet to shoot.
I've owned two S&W M29's, a Silverhawk 44, and a Blackhawk 357 in the past. ~~~Suluuq

I shot 44's for years and when Seifreid and Taffin were yakking up the 45 LC for warm loads in Rugers in 6-shot factory and 5-shot custom Rugers, I got bit. I then got the bug with an FA 83 in 454 with an extra cylinder for the 45 LC and never looked back until Pierce wrote the 475 Linebaugh in an FA 83. I just had to have one. The only problem was that with all the publicity, the factory just couldn't make enough of them in the premium models. When I could finally get one, it was the field grade and was ECSTATIC. I am going to thin down the grips and round off the corners on the frame ala the Reeder Custom grips. The only 500's that I have tried were 500 Max's and recoil was definitely fierce and wouldn't shoot one again without Magnaporting.

Nothing larger than .44 Mag, although I have a few of those. Isn't that considered a medium bore around here? Although I suppose 300's could be considered full-power loads.

Just kidding, of course. I know that there are legitimate opinions favoring lesser bullet weights.

Seriously, though, I would have to consider a reasonable-weight .44 with 240's to be a medium-recoil weapon. The mountain guns and lighter, and the 300's and heavier, are what start to be irritating. Aside from poor grips, of course.

I love em. For me the .45 Colt is king, although I will have a .475 Linebaugh built in the near future. I used to shoot heavy .44 mag but went back to standard loads after I began using the Colt. I have a stock Ruger bisley that I reserve for standadrd colt loads and recently received a Bowen five shot conversion for the medium and full tilt loads. However I agree with the statements made by PaulH and Socrates above about cartridge pressure and recoil. Most often I shoot a 325 gr. LFN @ 1350 fps and a 360 gr. LFN @ 1300 FPS, both with a long .500" nose length. The latter at 1450 fps is quit a handful. Definitely not for the uninitiated.

Loads in the Casull pressure range are propably exponentially harder on the guns as well.

One more thing. IMO for the heavy .45 colt and up a pair of well fitted grips are mandatory. The first time I shot my Bowen custom with the factory ruger grips I could feel the sharp and uneven edges dig into my palms with every shot. After about 40 rounds of that I was done for the day.

HI,

I like my 44 mag SRH, but I have been shooting mostly my new 500 Linebaugh from MR. Clements. I shooting a 475 WFN around 1200 fps out of a 5.5 inch barrel, it is really not that bad as far as recoil. Kev

45 ACP is about all I can stand to shoot for any amount of shots. I had a M629 for several years but sold it to finance other "interests". It would cause me much pain and discomfort in the wrist after about 50 shots. I severely fractured my right wrist many years ago and the recoil is a problem. Therefore, I play with the shoulder fired big stuff!

Kent

10mm, 45lc, 45acp.. yeah, it's all good...

but I also have a 708 bolt action pistol...

jeffe

Hmmm, I like big-bore handguns of all kinds, especially stuff that shoots big bullets at low to medium velocities.
.44 special, .45 ACP in 1911A1s, .45 colt in a Ruger Bisquero (don't much care for the bisley grip, though), and .44 magnum in a Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter.
The SBH is a wonderful hunting tool, very accurate and easy to shoot well.
It kills whitetails quite handily out to 70 yards (my longest shot with a handgun to date).

I would love to have a 50 caliber handgun, but all the modern 50s are over-powered monsters.
The dream, of course, is a Bland-Pryse in .577.

Give me a 41 Magnum and I will be happy for a long time!

I like big bore handguns even better than big bore rifles. No handgun should be under .41", and the bigger the better!!

I admire them but must admit my 454 casull RSRH is too much for me with old hand injuries.

Karl.

I've been into big bore handguns even longer than big bore rifles. A couple of 44 magnums, a FA .454, followed by the obligatory TC Contender 15" .45-70, but the grandaddy of my big bore handguns is the Encore 12" .50 Alaskan. I almost got a S&W 500, but I figured, why step backwards in power? Now if I can figure a way to get Birdman to give me one of his .50 BMG handguns and a couple of rounds for the Nuke Delivery System, I guess I would have the ultimate hi-powered handgun.

www.birdman.org

I like shooting .45 Auto and .44/.45 Mags. Tried a 50 AE Desert Eagle - way too much for my wrists!
It was like trying to "one hand" my .458 Win Mag!

44 or more derf

Well, it was big bore handguns that turned me on to big bore rifles. I have a couple of Blackhawks (a convertable and a Bisley) in 45 Colt that inspired me to shoot 45-70 after I realized that those 300 grain Lee bullets I was casting could be paper patched and loaded into a 45-70.

I would like a 5-shot Bisley in 475/480, but that is years away; I am content with the 45's for now.

Gents,
Most fun,my S&W 625,next are the pair of Blackhawks in 45 Colt,bad to the bone is my RSRH
in 454 Casull, The Big,Bad Intimidator is the 16" unbraked Contender 45-70. Of course I would not be without my 1911's,that would be like merely passing through and I would not have any if I weren't here to indulge ;>D
45nut

I have a Freedom Arms premier grade in .454 with a 4 3/4" ported barrel. IMHO the finnest handgum built in the world, period.

im doing a 44 mag,45-70, and 50 alaskan. i think youd like the 50 marlin. jason

I have two Smith model 29s, but since I've purchased my Super Redhawk in .480, I've all but forgotten about my .44 mags. The Ruger has proven to be a great pig gun with factory loads (I use Gold Dot 325 grain loads). Big slug, moderate velocity is a pretty lethal combination.

The 454 Casull handgun was too much for me, but not in rifle, so I put it vice-versa..........I have Model 92 SS Puma carbine that's plumb to shoot the 454 Casull. Out of her 20 inch barrel it will pump out a 300 grain slug at average of 2050 fps with 32 gr. of W296. A really great carry gun for look'in or not for look'in trouble IMO.

I max out at a .45 Win Mag. Those are fun to shoot - but 50 AE/454/etc. are just too much for comfort. I'll take the heavy recoil in the shoulder, but don't like it in the wrists.

I have more big bore handguns than rifles. I use a couple different 45 ACP's at work--full size and compact. There's also a 10mm I wish I could use at work.

The revolvers include 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum, and 45 Colt, all Rugers. 95% of their ammo is cast bullets of about 210-255 grains going 800-1000 FPS, and the remaining 5% are the same bullets going 1200-1250 FPS. I have a 300 grain WFN for the 45 Colt, but it doesn't shoot as accurately at 1200 FPS as the 255 grain SWC.

I think Elmer Keith got it right when he said that '1200 FPS is all you need' using his SWC designs of what is now perceived as medium weight. I've used 158/357, 210/41, 240/44, and 255/45 with such success for so long that I have developed considerable confidence in their accuracy. The heavy-for-caliber WFN's are probably a better bullet for pure penetration on larger animals, but the old middleweight SWC's are accurate in a wide range of velocities and are (to me, at least) a much better all-around bullet. I don't do a whole lot of big game hunting, but I do have a couple deer to my credit with revolvers--one each with 357 and 44 Magnum. Both critters went down at the shot like a fat chick on a camp stool, using SWC bullets at about 1200 FPS. I know that's not much "experience" on larger game, but there's several truckloads of small game and varmints that have fallen to my SWC's over the years.

I likely won't be adding a 475, 480, or 500 caliber revolver to the collection.

Well, I like 454 in my seville. Just got it reworked, and with custom grips, should be a peace of cake.

I've been looking at, and tried to buy, a 475 Linebaugh/Ruger, but it was someone elses(customer), a Freedom Arms 500 caliber JRH, owner wouldn't sell .

I REALLY like the idea of a 5 shot revolver, shooting a 525 grain bullet, at a slow, 1000fps, and, for full house, at 1300 fps.

This bullet, and speed, are just devastating on anything they hit, and penetrate like crazy.

Recoil for the heavy load is 61 foot pounds. At 1000 fps, that same load only generates 35 ft pounds of recoil, and I could shoot that ALL day.

When the elephants attack, I can break out the heavy loads...

gs

I agree, the 454 Casull is a little much for a handgun including myself, but in a rifle package, the 454 Casull is quite the shooter........I was just out the at the range this afternoon. I had my chronograph, my Puma SS 1892 in 454 Casull and some new loads I just built up with True Shot 360 grain WNFP GC, 28.2 gr. of H110. This load produce a average of 1804FPS out my Puma 92. This load in rifle is shootable, but I can tell you IMHO that I would not want to shoot this load in a handgun.......No thanks! With Casull, I'll stick to the rifle version

[ 09-08-2003, 08:34: Message edited by: CK ]

CK:
454 Casull=short 45-70.

I don't like the small case, for heavy bullets, but, given a rifle length barrel, look out.

This round is way up in power.

My favorite was a 230 grain bullet, over a full case of H-110. Out of a 6 inch barrel, what, 1800-1900 fps? I figured if 230 grain hardball was considered an effective stopper, what happens when you more then double the velocity?
Most of my mil friends thought I was nuts. The border patrol guys I know are going,

"Yes, bring it on."


I also liked the Speer 452 200 grain, flying ashtray, at about 2000 fps. I figured this was approaching hydrodynamic shock levels, and, would
be about twice as effective as the detonics 451, which proved very effective in ALL police shootings it was used for.
gs

Saw some beautiful 350 grain, jhp 500 or 510 caliber bullets, I just have to have in an FA
revolver, and, in a 500A2.

Plans are a FA in 500 JRH, and a matching 500A2.

Same bullets, awesome results.

Jack Huntington rules.

gs