[Sharps-shooter]

can anyone give me a recommendation for the best ballistics for a centerfire revolver? I gor this taurus handgun yesterday, and I don't like it so far. wah. Has anybody got one of them Ruger alaskan series things? they look pretty tough. I'm fairly new to handguns, I haven't had a whole lot of experience with them over the years, and most has been with centerfire non-revolvers or non-centerfire revolvers. TIA.

[george29]

Nah, Alaskan's are for wimps, get a Walker.

[Deer Hunter]

Ever heard of the .88 Magnum?

[model4006]

500 s&w

[kd7nqb]

A buddy of mine has a Rugar Alaskan in .454C and I have shot it quite a bit, personally I like it but I find due to very heavy recoil its takes considerable amount of time between shots. Certainly would not consider it for CCW but its a solid gun even though with the short little barell you feel every bit of recoil.

[Geronimo45]

The BFRs from IMI.

[alucard0822]

Chuck Norris :neener: http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=51533&stc=1&d=1169181458

[Retro]

So Chuck Norris carried a Alaskan in "Texas Ranger"? I thought he carries a super blackhawk stainless.

[.41Dave]

What model Taurus did you buy, and why are you unhappy with it? Also, when you ask for "the best ballistics for a centerfire revolver", what kind of shooting are you wanting to do? The best ballistics for self-defense are very different from the best ballistics for hunting, which are very different from the best ballistics for cowboy action shooting, which are very different from the best ballistics for bullseye target shooting... etc., etc. With a little more info, we can give you a more informed opinion.

[THE DRILL INSTRUCTOR]

deleted by BW

+1, Deer Hunter.

[ArfinGreebly]

I gor(sic) this taurus handgun

Pray tell, good sir, which of the plethora of Taurus revolvers didst thou avail thyself?

I may have missed a backstory somewhere else?

I'm guessing you picked up something starting with "4" in the calibre?

I'd hate to be throwing ballistic suggestions for 4-inch .357 hardware if you're looking for 6-inch heavy artillery.

So, my good man, what's your cannon?

Are you looking for more recoil? Less recoil? More accuracy? Bigger holes? More ballast?

[picture of me, wandering with streets with a brass oil lamp]

[dbarale]

That one? :

http://www.strangepolice.com/images/content/108295.jpg

[Smith & Wesson Man]

I have a smith 460 and I really enjoy it. It has impressive balistics. If you shoot the 460 magnum you can get it moving at about 2,300fps:) It can also shoot 454casuall and 45lc. What caliber was the taurus? I bought mine for two reasons: hunting and something fun to reload for. One hundred yards is no problems for this, Smith says they can reach out to two hundred (which I don't think I will try). With all new smiths all of their revolvers come drilled and tapped ready for a scope. I am not sure if this helps. For me the 460 is to my knowledge is the fastest bullet on the planet right now, the 500S&W is the biggest.

[NavyLCDR]

S & W Man,

What is your load for the 460? My wife got her 460 for XMAS and I cut my reloading teeth on it, got my first reloading gear December 26th. I am currently loading 46gr H110 behind 250gr Hornady XTP/HP and 41.5gr behind Hornady 300gr XTP/HP Mags. Any other suggestions?

[Bear41mag]

Retro...So Chuck Norris carried a Alaskan in "Texas Ranger"? I thought he carries a super blackhawk stainless

Actually in the early series he carried a 4" 629 .44 mag in a Bianchi Cyclone crossdraw holster. Then he switched over to the wimpy Beretta 92 9mm.

[Eightball]

This one, in .600 nitro express. Enjoy!
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=51568&stc=1&d=1169221287

[model4006]

you shouldnt hang me on a hook johnny. my mother hang me on a hook once...... once.

[Sniper X]

I call SPAM as he never respomded to the questions or comments! It was a very vauge questions.

[ArfinGreebly]

I think not.

Sharps has mentioned before that he was more of a rifle dude (check his earlier posts) and was looking to get into the hogleg market.

I wish he'd give a little detail, though.

Sharps? Dude? Speak to us, buddy!

[MCgunner]

Pray tell, good sir, which of the plethora of Taurus revolvers didst thou avail thyself?

I may have missed a backstory somewhere else?

I'm guessing you picked up something starting with "4" in the calibre?

I'm guessing here, he bought a M85 and he doesn't like it because the chambers are too tight and shoving those .454 Casull rounds in the cylinder is hard on his thumb....:rolleyes:

[Plastic Cowboy]

Squeeze the trigger on my 500 S&W mag with one of my handloaded 440gr. hardcasts and tell me what the mightiest revolver in the world is!!!!
:evil:

[MCgunner]

Ballistically, IIRC, the .460 beats the .500.:neener: One thing I like about the .460 and why I'd choose it if I was in the "too much to be practical" revolver market, is that it'll chamber .45 Colt and .454, or at least I've read that. Whadda they get for .500 brass, buck a round? I've never found any on the ground at the range, so that avenue is out. LOL!

[Sharps-shooter]

Thank you all so much for your considerate replies. I do a bad job of asking questions sometimes.

The revolver I recently acquired is a model 415, which is a .41 caliber 5-shooter. Probably I'm just not used to it yet, but it doesn't feel so comfortable in my hand, and the fact that it has a capacity of only five makes me feel "outgunned", although by whom I'm not sure. This is a strange feeling, since normally I don't carry anything, and I feel fine about that.

The main practical reason I would want something like this is for self defense against dangerous game such as cougar, black bear, and trophy whitetail bucks (honestly warden! he was coming right at me!) that live in the woods around the farm. I don't have a concealed carry permit right now, but do live in an open-carry, shall issue area, and might get one in the future.

I really like versatility in a firearm, and so the idea of a 460 that also fires 454 casull and 45 colt is immensely appealing to me, I'll look into that. The walker is a bit bulky (compared to many rifles), and I've only ever seen it as a percussion revolver. But it is an impressive old gun.

What is .88 magnum? I think that would qualify as a "destructive device" where I live, which would probably make it hard to get ammo for.

Also, I'm not planning on doing any drive by shootings at schools, so what do you mean, drill instructor? I have a feeling there's a movie or pop culture reference here that I don't get.

well, thanks again for your comments everyone.

[Sniper X]

I'd say get something in either .454Casull, or perhaps .480 ruger but both will kick quite sharply! Much more so than what you have...shoot, .41 mag kicks less than .44 mag.

[Hawk]

Pfeifer (http://www.pfeifer-waffen.at/cms/html/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=32)

First time I saw it I thought it was a Photochop job. Seems real enough, through.

I can see the motto now: "The Pfeifer Zeliska in .600 Nitro Express - because no matter how you cut it, .460 and .500 S&Ws are for pansies and little girls".

Looks like it'd hurt.

[carterbeauford]

The BFRs from IMI

.450 Marlin :eek:

I wouldn't mind having one in 30/30, you know, just to say I have one.

[Baphomet]

Pfeifer

After seeing that, I had to do the math: 6,230 joules is equal to 4,595 foot-pounds (plus a tiny smidge).

13-pound revolver or no, I'll pass, tyvm.

(And before someone points out the decimal, Europeans often use decimals in place of commas. My Belgian born and raised wife does it all the time and it used to drive me nuts. Not too mention logic dictates that no .600 Nitro is going to generate ~5 ft/lbs pounds of energy.)

[atavuss]

sharps shooter you asked about the Alaskan, I just got a Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull. fired it for the first time at the range, shot a box of 240 gr. magtechs and a box of 45 Colts. the magtechs had a bit of recoil, not at all unpleasant to shoot, the 45 colt loads were very mild and very pleasant to shoot. here is a short video of the 240 gr. magtechs:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=z18b4nTCV3w

[hankdatank1362]

from the .600 Nitro express revolver's website:

There won’t be any permanent damage inflicted to your wrist

Yeah... because fractures heal after a couple weeks.:D

[Eightball]

What is .88 magnum? I think that would qualify as a "destructive device" where I live, which would probably make it hard to get ammo for.

Also, I'm not planning on doing any drive by shootings at schools, so what do you mean, drill instructor? I have a feeling there's a movie or pop culture reference here that I don't get.Yes...there IS a pop-culture refrence there....pop-culture for gun nuts. Anyone got a link to that handy?

[Jackal]

About a year ago my local dealer had a 50-70 revolver. It was HUGE!! It held 5 rounds, was blued and just plain massive. I can't remember the brand but every time I went there, I drooled on the display case. I think the price was around $2500, if memory serves me correctly. I cannot stress the fact of just how monsterous this thing was. It made the S&W N frames look like pocket pistols and dwarfed the .500 S&W's.

[carpediem]

Not to be pedantic, but I'm fairly sure that the MGL-140 takes the cake in the hand-held revolver category :D

[Hawk]

Compliments of IMDB on Johnny Dangerously:
Danny Vermin: I got something to stop him.
Dutch: They made it for him special. It's an eighty-eight Magnum.
Danny Vermin: It shoots through schools.

[tantrix]

Pick up one of these.

.600 Nitro Express
Ballistics: 900gr bullet @ 1950/fps - 7600 ft-Ibs/energy

A little background on the cartridge:

1) It scores 155.9 on the Taylor K.O. scale. This is higher than the .50 BMG.

2) The recoil isn't as bad as one might think. It rates a 12.2 recoil velocity, while the .500 S&W Magnum rates a 16. The cartridge however, is more powerful than the .500 S&W (duh)

3) The .600 Nitro Express is a highly respected dangerous game cartridge, able to take down ANY known big game in the world (elephant, cape buffalo, crocodile, whatever you can think of) But...it is not the most powerful. The .460 Weatherby Magnum holds that title with its 8245/ft-lbs of muzzle energy.

4) According to John Taylor, if you shot an elephant in the skull with the .600 Nitro Express and missed the brain, the sheer force of the bullet would knock the elephant senseless, for about thirty minutes.

5) .700 Nitro Express has been made at this time, and it is rumored that an .800 Nitro Express exists. (At $100 per cartridge for .600 Nitro Express, I think I'll stick with that one. :D )

And of course, pics. This revolver was specially made for a Swiss guy, and there are only a few in the world. He paid Swiss francs 20'000 (plus tax) = $17,000 US. (Not bad eh?)

http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/2197/600nitrorevolver9hr.jpg

[THE DRILL INSTRUCTOR]

I'm sorry if someone found my comment insensitive, I thought it wouldn't be taken that way. Thanks Hawk, for the life of me I couldn't remember the name of that movie.

The movie was made long before school shootings were as common as they are now, and I don't think drive-bys used to be so pop-culture then either.

[Brian Williams]

No problem, quoting movies, just explain when you do so. Thanks DRILL

[Shawn Michael]

Is it accurate to say that the 460 hits harder farther out (100+ yards) and the 500 hits harder closer in up to 100 yards?

I did not see any 460 factory ammo that had muzzle energy exceeding the 500

My observation (with humans working in ER in south central LA) is that you can punch a guy full of holes with 9mm but 45 causes huge numbing area, much greater disruption of hemodynamics and puts them down. From that really unscientific observation I developed the idea that a caliber really makes a difference not in eventual death, but in a one shot stop of whatever you are shooting. So .44 special, 45, always seemed more ideal than 9 or 10mm bullets. Along that line I thought the .500 would have the best stopping power.

Additionally, from reading posts here I have been under the impression that the .500 works a little better in a "short" 6-7 inch barrel.

There is no doubt that the 460 is a smarter and more versatile gun with its capabilities but I might think the 500 would have an edge at 75 yards.

The only reason I choose the 500 was because of the sticky at the top of this category.

Any thoughts?