Popular Big Bore Revolvers, what's a few of the must have's for BBR guys?

Fun to own or fun to actually shoot? After owning a number of big bore double and single actions, I ended with Bisley grips on large frame, 6" Blackhawks in 41 Magnum and 44 Magnum. The Bisley grips were the answer to all the issues I had with shooting hotter loads and made the midrange loads actually fun to shoot. Had the guns out to the range today actually. I load all my own ammo but do have a stash of various commercial offerings for all the guns. Just be sure you are a reloader before launching into owning anything except 44 Magnum in the large caliber guns.

Midrange 357/44mag sure are fun. Mild magnum if you will. My favorite for sure

I’m joining this thread a bit late, but I’ll toss in a few suggestions for big bore revolvers…

Maybe a .454 Casull Super Redhawk, or an Old Vaquero in .45 Colt that’ll let you shoot Ruger-only level loads through it…



Maybe a .44 Magnum like these S&W 629’s…



Or for a special experience, look for a .44 Special like one of the Ruger offerings in DA or SA persuasion…



Or for the smallest of the “Over .40” revolver magnums, shooting a .41 Magnum is always cool…



Just a few ideas for a big bore revolver from my suggestion box..errrr gun safe.

Good luck with your search .

Stay safe.

The 3" was sold, but there is an M29 little brother.

If I were to get another larger than 357 revolver I would most likely get a 4 5/8 BH in 41 mag..... Starline has 41 spl brass is stock as of right now. Actually I'd just grab and brass and molds now. The gun will come in time.

41 Special….
The 44 special Just to much for ya to Handle?

I’m just kidding

All mine are for defensive carry
Charter Arms Boomer 44 spl

Charter Arms 45acp Pitbull

Charter Arms Bulldog 44spl
Charter Arms 40 S&W Pitbull


The Charter Arms Boomer , as far as I know is the smallest and lightest 44 Spl made at this time

Lnf Crzr said:

41 Special….
The 44 special Just to much for ya to Handle?

I’m just kidding

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44 will only fit 5, while 41 will fit 6.

The .41Spl's biggest appeal and reason for being is that it will work in many rechambered .357's that are a bit too small to be .44's. Like L-frames and GP's.

RealGun said:

44 will only fit 5, while 41 will fit 6.

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Quality, Not Quantity. Yet that’s a Valid point

All in good fun

Many Can argue the Merits of a 44 Magnum out of a Easy to Carry 3” barrel producing superior FPS/Ft-Lbs.
Yet 150Fps More with all that Flash/Muzzle Blast and slower follow up shots (3”44mag Wrist twist)
I prefer a Hard cast around 950fps and More controlled Multiple shot ability.
Social security or Woods gun, My Big Bore choice to carry is a 44 Special. It’s Just that- as it has been said before, Special… any time of the year.

Lnf Crzr said:

View attachment 1026283 View attachment 1026284 Many Can argue the Merits of a 44 Magnum out of a Easy to Carry 3” barrel producing superior FPS/Ft-Lbs.
Yet 150Fps More with all that Flash/Muzzle Blast and slower follow up shots (3”44mag Wrist twist)
I prefer a Hard cast around 950fps and More controlled Multiple shot ability.
Social security or Woods gun, My Big Bore choice to carry is a 44 Special. It’s Just that- as it has been said before, Special… any time of the year.View attachment 1026285

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What do (each of ) those weigh loaded?

Not sure- I never weighed. I’m not at my Bench othwise.

Yet the 296 is 18oz empty and the 624 is approximately 40oz
Add a handful of shells.

The 296 needs a little more weight to practice at the range. So I have a SS cylinder I’ll get it bead blasted… that helps.
Easy to carry that all day- and loaded with 190 Buffalo bore- id prefer that to a 1911
The 624 is no problem in good leather w/Belt. A tad much- Yet comfy feeling to have that serious 6 shot 255gr on hip.
Summer and Winter carry.

BBRs are IMHO a MUST have.
45 Colt SAA, S&W 44 Magnum, maybe even a model 58 (41 Mag)

I own a Blackhawk 45/45acp and the Redhawk 45/45acp and a BFR 454 with a 5 inch barrel.The BFR is the most fun to shoot,but I carry my Redhawk more than any other gun I’ve owned. I will be adding another BFR in 45-70

.41Mag
.44Mag
.45C
.45ACP

BBR covered

Would like to have a .460, to cover the BFR
Most likely would shoot .45C in it, 90% of the times.

DustyGmt said:

Yikes, I never knew smith made a J frame like that. 190gr??? What is that a .44mag or .44spl? Intriguing. Pretty toasty I'd suspect? The .38spl is bad enough with standard loads, shooting .44 cal through an 18oz snub must be.....unpleasant. the .38spl is only what, 3 oz lighter....?

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It’s actually a L frame Scandium with a titanium cylinder. Like I stated 18oz and ya that is very lite weight. I added the SS cylinder and had it bead blasted. Just adds enough weight. The Buffalo bore 190gr is really difficult to hang onto. Yet a warm 240 is better as it’s a shove and not a snap recoil.

DustyGmt said:

That's an excellent bunch of sixguns. !s the Super RH stock? Really nice grip and the finish looks very grey, not like the typical blued, to my eye anyway.

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The grip inserts are from Chiggs Grips, I believe they’re walnut burl. The finish is Rugers “target gray” finish. I’m not sure if the process is a coating like Cerakote or another thing, but it’s smooth and looks good.

Stay safe.

Another Big bore revolver must have is a 45 Colt!

I’ll be ordering a 45 colt cylinder for this Ruger old army.

250 grains at 900 Fps is sufficient for many a thing, Like -originally designed for stopping Calvary Horses. That’s a lot of animal at a fast pace!

If you want a big-bore fighting revolver, it's hard to beat the Webley. This one's shaved, so I use 45 AR, loaded down to match the .455. Of course I would like to get a .577 Tranter, but the Webley is probably more fun to shoot.

I did not read every reply, so forgive me if I missed something.

First off, are you a handloader?
Second off, I did not see your age or physical limitations (if any). I just turned 65 and my wrists do not take kindly to the levels of abuse that they handled just fine ten years ago.

All that said, "for me", having owned a variety of .41 and .44 revolvers (in addition to 357s), the .45LC is the one "do-it-all" round for me. As much as I enjoyed the .41 and .44 revolvers, when it came time to downsize, the .357 and the .45LC are the "keepers" for me.

With the variety of bullets available, powders, etc., I can load either one down to near-mousefart loads, or up to legit SD loads.

Especially with the .45LC, that big chunk of lead does not need a lot of powder behind it to make it's point. And at the same time, doesn't beat up my wrists much.

Also, with the Speer shot capsules, I can make a few snakeshot rounds as well. Never had the occasion to try one for real, but from pattern/testing I am pretty sure they will ruin Mr. Noshoulders' day...

Lnf Crzr said:

View attachment 1039707

It’s actually a L frame Scandium with a titanium cylinder. Like I stated 18oz and ya that is very lite weight. I added the SS cylinder and had it bead blasted. Just adds enough weight. The Buffalo bore 190gr is really difficult to hang onto. Yet a warm 240 is better as it’s a shove and not a snap recoil. View attachment 1039706

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I had it and it's 7 shot .38 spl. 242 sister. It was too large to be a pocket pistol , The recoil was very nasty compared to the smaller and about same weight Charter Bull Dog. The high bore axis on the 296 I believe was the the culprit for the nasty snap back recoil , the charter is much lower and is just barely a pocket pistol but has a 1" longer barrel. Hard to beat the original Bulldog Charter .44spl format. I have a Stainless one from early 80s and the original Brigeport one from early 70s . Sold the 296 and 242 a few years back for more than I bought them new for. Neither had the hillary lock.