Hi I'm thinking about buying a revolver, I havnt looked yet but probably a ruger. Which cartridge should I choose? I do alot of hiking(horn hunting) I'll probably pack it with me while I'm hunting to. Cougars and black bears are what we got here. I do reload. I dont know much about pistols.

The 357 Mag. is probably the best bet. After that, the 45 Colt or 44 magnum would do very well, especially if you wanted to try handgun hunting later on. Rugers would be good for the latter two calibers, but a Smith and Wesson D/A in 357 would be good for the first option.
Peter.

my vote is for the 45 colt. most versatile underrated caliber out there in my opinion.

Who makes a very good 45 colt?

Is there a revolver that can shoot a different cartridge? What I mean is like I can shoot a 38 out of a 357 magnum.

quote:

Originally posted by kennedy:
Is there a revolver that can shoot a different cartridge? What I mean is like I can shoot a 38 out of a 357 magnum.

Yes, a .357 revolver will shoot a .38 special, but not the other way around. The same with a .44 magnum and .44 special.

In the early-mid 70s, I did a lot of backpacking in the Big Bend area + weight was always an issue. In those days the best compromise between firepower + weight was the Charter Arms 44 bulldog in 44 spl. at 28 ozs. I never felt under gunned.

Kennedy, yes you can just as DCS mentioned although some have found it inadvisable to do that as a usual diet as the shorter cases can leave a ring in the cylinder wall that can affect the chambering of the Magnum cartridges.

I dont know alot about pistols, the ring from shooting shorter cartridges I did not know. Learn something new everyday. I've been reading up on pistol cartridges. The 44 mag caught my eye so did the 454 casull also the 480 ruger. I'm a big guy but I dont have much experience with pistols.

quote:

Originally posted by kennedy:
I dont know alot about pistols, the ring from shooting shorter cartridges I did not know. Learn something new everyday. I've been reading up on pistol cartridges. The 44 mag caught my eye so did the 454 casull also the 480 ruger. I'm a big guy but I dont have much experience with pistols.

For one that has little experience don't make the mistake of buying to big.

I brought several large bore revolvers at very reasonable prices from beginner handgun shooters.

Buy a good mid frame 357 Ruger GP100 or S@W 686 4 or 6 inch.

I prefer stainless the finish hold up a lot better.

Don't worry about the so called ring from shooting shorter cartridges IE. 38spl 44spl in the 357 or 44mag.

I have shot many 10's of thousands of 38's in 357 revolvers nothing a chamber sized brass brush won't take care of shortly.

Here's a good article for you to read before choosing.

https://www.ammoland.com/2019/...-cases-96-effective/

if u don't reload u might have trouble finding ammo in some locations for 480 and 454.
44 spl is a great caliber. since you don't shoot pistols a lot the bigger calibers, 454, 44 mag, 480 etc might not be fun for you recoil wise until you get used to them. in 45 colt theres 2 diff varieties basically, those suited for the colt and their knock offs and the ruger and t/c and some others that you may need to get a second mortgage on ur house to afford. with the ruger you can shoot the milder colt loads or the stout ones, with the colt the mild loads only. the ruger is "hell for stout", not so the colts. look in any reloading manual and you will see 2 diff sections for the 45 colt, one for colts etc only and one for rugers and t/c. think of it like the diff between the 38 spl and the 357 mag. with the 45 colt (caliber, not brand), and the 44 spl/mag. you get a lot of mild to wild choices in the same gun.

Right now I'm thinking either 44 magnum or the 480 ruger.

quote:

Originally posted by kennedy:
Hi I'm thinking about buying a revolver, I havnt looked yet but probably a ruger. Which cartridge should I choose? I do alot of hiking(horn hunting) I'll probably pack it with me while I'm hunting to. Cougars and black bears are what we got here. I do reload. I dont know much about pistols.

If you plan to do a lot of hiking/stalking with cougars and black bears as the main threat,
I'd recommend to keep revolver light !!!

Your don't need more than a 357M or 44Spcl for those threats. Both can be had in a 3" or 4" barrel 5 shot. You can easily find snake shot in both cartridges if neded. I think you'll come to appreciate the lighter more comfortable carry.

quote:

Originally posted by RaySendero:

quote:

Originally posted by kennedy:
Hi I'm thinking about buying a revolver, I havnt looked yet but probably a ruger. Which cartridge should I choose? I do alot of hiking(horn hunting) I'll probably pack it with me while I'm hunting to. Cougars and black bears are what we got here. I do reload. I dont know much about pistols.

If you plan to do a lot of hiking/stalking with cougars and black bears as the main threat,
I'd recommend to keep revolver light !!!

Your don't need more than a 357M or 44Spcl for those threats. Both can be had in a 3" or 4" barrel 5 shot. You can easily find snake shot in both cartridges if neded. I think you'll come to appreciate the lighter more comfortable carry.

i have never found snake shot to work with a damn. but ask p dog shooter. he has undoubtedly shot "many 10s of thousands" of them and no doubt can add that experience to his incredible list of believe it or not credentials.

I used to load snake shot in an old S+W mod. 1917 in 45 ACP when we were hauling hay. When backpacking however I chose the 44spl. because it was the most knockdown for the least weight. Against possible 2 legged predators or the mistake of stepping into an arroyo + kicking a piglet by mistake; forget about outrunning mama.

quote:

have never found snake shot to work with a damn. but ask p dog shooter. he has undoubtedly shot "many 10s of thousands" of them and no doubt can add that experience to his incredible list of believe it or not credentials

I shot many 10's of thousands rounds of 38s how you get snake shot out of 38s beats me.

Looks to me like your the first one to mention snake shot.

If you are considering a .44, I would recommend you consider the S&W Model 69. It is a 5-shot .44 Magnum built on the L-frame with a 4-1/4 inch barrel. It is slightly lighter than the Model 629 Mountain Gun and a little smaller overall. As you are a handloader, I would recommend starting with .44 Special loads in .44 Magnum brass. That way you avoid leaving a ring in the chamber.

P-Dog: You can easily load snake loads with the Speer shot capsules that are made in both .38 and .44. Just fill them with shot and load like a bullet. The last ones I bought had instructions in the box.

quote:

P-Dog: You can easily load snake loads with the Speer shot capsules that are made in both .38 and .44. Just fill them with shot and load like a bullet. The last ones I bought had instructions in the box

Done both have shot capsules in stock.

But we were talking about 38spl and 44spl leavening rings in the chambers of the magnums.

After many many rounds one might have some difficulty chambering a magnum cartridge.

But a little work with a chamber sized brass brush will take care of it.

P dog: I guess I misunderstood your post. I thought you had not tried the shot loads.

As most of us on this site are handloaders, I suggest loading .38 loads in .357 brass, or .44 Special loads in .44 Magnum brass, if you want a lighter load. That avoids the carbon build-up further back in the chambers. I have shot lots of wadcutter loads in .357 brass and lots of midrange .44 loads, and they worked fine.

Kennedy, back to your original thought, if I were you I would go with the 44 over the 454. It doesn't sound like you handload so that choice would give you a much broader range of buying ammo. And if you do load you can do it cheaper for the 44.

quote:

As most of us on this site are handloaders, I suggest loading .38 loads in .357 brass, or .44 Special loads in .44 Magnum brass, if you want a lighter load. That avoids the carbon build-up further back in the chambers. I have shot lots of wadcutter loads in .357 brass and lots of midrange .44 loads, and they worked fine

That works too if I didn't have 10 thousand 38 cases I would do it also 357 I load 950fps 240gr LSWC/a in 44mag cases

But the OP doesn't reload

I'm in the same situation with 357 brass. A friend went in with Jack McBride in the 70s + bought up all the once fired brass from the DPS range. It was cheap enough then.

I would pick a 44 magnum.

I find this Hoopla about a "Ring" from shooting 38 spl in a 357 or 44 spl in a 44 mag to be another answer for a problem that does not exist. Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's the 357 mag was King of the police revolvers, used by thousands of Departments and virtually all of them were issued 38 spl ammo for practice. The average cop is probably less attentive to cleaning their gun properly than the average gun owner and if getting a ring was so common, how come we never saw or heard of it from all of those departments? I remember Skeeter Skelton shot thousands of hot loaded hard cast 38 spl's in his S&W M-19's and nary a word about "Rings". I have done the same, especially with my 44 mags and have never had any kind of malfunction, much less damage from the practice, but, I always clean my guns after use as a matter of habit. As Shakespeare wrote: "Much ado about nothing".

quote:

I find this Hoopla about a "Ring" from shooting 38 spl in a 357 or 44 spl in a 44 mag to be another answer for a problem that does not exist

Cleaning is the key.

I have shot enough 38spl in a 357 between cleaning's that chambering a 357 was very hard.

But that was not a every day carrying firearm just one used for practice.

But after a good cleaning it was right back to normal.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
If you are considering a .44, I would recommend you consider the S&W Model 69. It is a 5-shot .44 Magnum built on the L-frame with a 4-1/4 inch barrel. It is slightly lighter than the Model 629 Mountain Gun and a little smaller overall. As you are a handloader, I would recommend starting with .44 Special loads in .44 Magnum brass. That way you avoid leaving a ring in the chamber.

I second this advice exactly! The 69 has a 4” barrel, weighs only 35oz, and, since its a five shot, is very thin for being a 44. I like 8.5 grains of Power Pistol under a 250 grain Keith SWC, Starline 44 mag brass, CCI 300 standard large pistol primers. You can substitute about any 240-250 grain jacketed bullet with no issues. This load runs around 1000fps and is under 16k psi pressure. Current SAAMI pressure MAP for 44 mag is 36k psi. This gun is very stoutly built, so you can put the throttle to the floor if you want with no issues, except you’ll want the fat 500 Smith grips for the really heavy loads.

Revolvers are NOT Pistols; everyone stop it.
I recommend you actually shoot a 357, a 45 LC, and a 44 mag, before you buy one. The first time you shoot one without ear plugs you will drop it and flinch like hell from that point on. I assume you are hiking without ear plugs.
Jut consider that.
Recoil; 44s do have some and if you have not fired one, you will flinch.
357s and 45s are much less. But you need training on them.
Personally, I would take one of each, each time I went hiking. I never take the same thing into the field twice in a row.
I like Single Actions; get a Ruger 45. Simple, reliable, and old fashioned. I would take a 7.5 inch barrel though; cavalry type. I know....
You want to stop a cougar or a bear; carry a 12 gauge with slugs. No revolver can to what that will.
Come on out and we can shoot some....you will understand the diff.
I have a Springfield Armory, 1855 .58 caliber pistol, with shoulder stock; that would work on a cougar. Or get a Howdah from Cal. Preferably a double.
Oh don't worry about rings; easily cleaned out.

Revolvers are pistols as are every firearm designed to be fire with one hand.

definition pistol
noun
1a short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand.

Actual handguns are very useful for defending ones self against animal attacks.

https://www.ammoland.com/2020/...-cases-97-effective/

I have taught hundreds of people to shoot handguns never seen any one drop one because of the noise.

Back in the day I have seen lots of people fire many different handguns before hearing protection was common.

It is very common for people in life and death situations to report never hearing the sound of their own gun fire.

Even in a lot of hunting situation people report not hearing the shot or feeling the recoil.

So buy the handgun you want learn to shoot it carry and with confidence

That is a fine line of distinction. Another argument that most likely will never be solved. Certainly, they are all HANDGUNS but as I was taught that wheelguns are revolvers + semi-autos are designated as pistols. True about not hearing the report or feeling the recoil.

Not a fine line, or ambiguous at all; we all need to use the ATF definitions, part of US code; Here is the ATF definition of a revolver:
"The term “Revolver” means a projectile weapon of the pistol type, having a breechloading chambered cylinder so arranged that the cocking of the hammer or movement of the trigger rotates it and brings the next cartridge in line with the barrel for firing."
And the definition of the pistol is "a chamber(s) as an integral part(s) of, or permanently aligned with, the bore(s)"; clearly a revolver does not fit that definition, as we were all taught.
Go ahead and let that new revolver shooter touch off a 44 mag without ear plugs and get the report from him. Since it will never happen, we will never know, will we?
Big difference than with a 9mm, or 45, as we taught our soldiers to shoot. With earplugs.

Argue with the dictionary.

Sam Colt was issued Patents for the Revolving Pistol.

quote:

Go ahead and let that new revolver shooter touch off a 44 mag without ear plugs and get the report from him. Since it will never happen, we will never know, will we?

Your right it will never happen on any range I control

Why any would competent instructor do that now days when we have very good hearing protection.

I have taken many first time shooters to the point of handling full house magnum loads.

By starting them with mid-range loads in the same handguns.

In just a couple hours of range time.

Some people actual think it is funny to shock a first time shooter.

By "slipping" a magnum load in.

No better way to ruin and turn off a new potential firearms owner.

When one doesn't have the skills themselves it is very easy to dismiss others who do.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
That is a fine line of distinction. Another argument that most likely will never be solved. Certainly, they are all HANDGUNS but as I was taught that wheelguns are revolvers + semi-autos are designated as pistols. True about not hearing the report or feeling the recoil.

this!

Tom, you of all people I would not think would use the ATF as a viable source of reference; Websters maybe. Moot point + not worthy of discussion. The report sound + felt recoil is not felt or heard IMO on one shot. Repetitive shooting is a different kettle of fish. But one shot? You never suffer from it. Again IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Tom, you of all people I would not think would use the ATF as a viable source of reference; Websters maybe. Moot point + not worthy of discussion. The report sound + felt recoil is not felt or heard IMO on one shot. Repetitive shooting is a different kettle of fish. But one shot? You never suffer from it. Again IMO.

THIS i don't understand. i have many times while sighting in a gun stopped to record notes, plaster holes etc, then forgotten to put ear muffs on again and was stunned/deafened by the unexpected blast of a large caliber weapon.
under stress or hunting? no. but otherwise, hell yes one shot would do it. last week i was paper training, off a bench, a bisley 45C i got here on AR and did exactly that. i had pain in my right ear and deafness and buzzing in it for about 30 minutes, which is what happens when i do this occassionally.

quote:

Originally posted by kennedy:
Who makes a very good 45 colt?

Colt does.
A 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation SAA is about a good as a revolver can get.
Cal

Yep, I have a matching pair adorned in ivory stocks. but John I think you are still enamored by my 1926 Colt New Service revolver. You are still welcome to come + fondle. Shoot it too.

yea but the price makes me unenamored. not saying its not worth it, but other prioritys exist. but yea i just may take u up on that when next time i have to go to hell. i mean austin.
its great these days that looking like a freak and wanting to become an abomination of nature starting in the first grade in austin, washington state and all the other liberal asshole places has faded.

usfa made a nice colt copy, but you will have to buy a used one as they don't make them now.

splitting hairs, pistol, revolver, in a conversation every one understands a pistol is a pistol, your et up with tech..I find the terms acceptable...Your not wrong but your baffeling us with Bull shit!