Poll: what's the ideal big bore revolver cartridge?

.45 caliber for me, .454 and 45 colt Ruger for me to be more precise.
Nothing in North America you could hunt with a handgun that you could not hunt with that combo.

though it would be cool if it would also shoot 45 acp.

d

JTQ said:

Mike Venturino in American Handgunner on why the .45 Auto is the best revolver cartridge

https://americanhandgunner.com/handguns/the-best-ever-revolver-cartridge/

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That's what I was looking for in the poll. Totally the best big bore for an urbanite, also fun to shoot with the best ammo availability. Can be reloaded to +P if needed, with a wider selection of bullets than what a semi auto can handle.

I like .45acp but when someone brings up big bore and yes .45acp is a big bore, my mind goes straight to rimmed revolver cartridges with the potential for “magnum” power which a .45acp does not have.

I'm gettin older & don't like the plastic fantastic genre.

Gimme a 45 & I'm set. Got 3 of 'em.
Almost voted for 41 Mag (got one of those too)

So far I have 3 on the list and still can’t decide, maybe I really do need a 41 mag…

I am a 44 mag fan from my teens (first revolver was a model 29), and I loved my 454 casull, enjoyed a 460 I shot once, and the 50ae automag was a ton of fun till it "mechanically separated" on me. I am into big bores, but I think in a revolver the 50jrh is about perfect. I don't own one yet, and I'll never give up my 44 mag, but the 50 jrh (and 50ae) just have a great balance of frontal area, bullet weight, and powder capacity to make for an awesome useable hunting handgun. Plus it fits in some pretty nice sized firearms without stepping up to the Xframe or BFR long frame. 480 Ruger does the same thing in my opinion, but if you're going over 45, might as well go 50.

I checked “Something Else” as you neglected the .44 Special.

-kBob

45 Colt of course. 44 mag next. These two are most common.

sugarmaker said:

So far I have 3 on the list and still can’t decide, maybe I really do need a 41 mag…

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Everybody needs a 41 Mag!

I am a 44 Mag fan mostly because I am a double action S&W fan. None-the-less I have to say I am surprise 44 Mag is beating 45 Colt in this poll. Between all the SAA fans and the Ruger Fans (both single and double action) I really expect 45 Colt to win this with 44 Mag a respectable second.

mcb said:

Between all the SAA fans and the Ruger Fans (both single and double action) I really expect 45 Colt to win this with 44 Mag a respectable second.

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I kind of expected that too. However, I myself voted for the 44 Mag even though I have and am a real fan of my Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt.
The thing is, I've always liked the versatility of my Ruger 45 Colt - I can load it with powder-puff, snip the heads off mountain grouse loads, to medium, make a big "boom" and punch big holes in things at the county gravel pit loads, to rip-roaring, stop an imagined charging grizzly bear backpacking loads.
However, when I was about to vote in this poll, it dawned on me that I can load my Smith Model 69 44 Mag the same way for all of those things. And, if I use 44 Special cases, I don't have to deal with those cavernous, 45 Colt cases when using small charges of powder for those "powder-puff, snip the heads off mountain grouse loads."
Of course, if I wasn't handloader, I might have voted differently. But maybe not - the 44 Mag is pretty darned versatile even without handloading.

.308 Norma said:

I kind of expected that too. However, I myself voted for the 44 Mag even though I have and am a real fan of my Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt.
The thing is, I've always liked the versatility of my Ruger 45 Colt - I can load it with powder-puff, snip the heads off mountain grouse loads, to medium, make a big "boom" and punch big holes in things at the county gravel pit loads, to rip-roaring, stop an imagined charging grizzly bear backpacking loads.
However, when I was about to vote in this poll, it dawned on me that I can load my Smith Model 69 44 Mag the same way for all of those things. And, if I use 44 Special cases, I don't have to deal with those cavernous, 45 Colt cases when using small charges of powder for those "powder-puff, snip the heads off mountain grouse loads."
Of course, if I wasn't handloader, I might have voted differently. But maybe not - the 44 Mag is pretty darned versatile even without handloading.

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I voted for 45 Colt, but these are all good points. Plus the fact that, with 44 Mag, you don't have to concern yourself with whether your particular handgun will handle a given load as long as you stay within max pressures.

Except, come on, 44 Special cases are still pretty cavernous. The same can be said for 38 Spcl.

I see the choices, voted, and commented; but in thinking about the ideal cartridge that starts with a 4 or higher, I will propose 41 Special, because it can be 6 rounds in a medium frame gun, be loaded very powerfully or more tame, and can be a carry gun, range gun or hunter. Mine is a GP100, but loads passed around are too powerful for this shooter. I am instead currently shooting 6 grains of Unique with 210 lead. Notice that I included no criteria for availability of ammo nor guns nor industry support beyond brass from Starline. 41 Special is a casualty of the history of police guns, but is capable of just as much endearment as the 44 Special, while fitting one more round in a gun capable of being carried with comfort.

Mycin said:

Except, come on, 44 Special cases are still pretty cavernous. The same can be said for 38 Spcl.

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Yeah, comparably speaking, I guess so.

Mycin said:

Plus the fact that, with 44 Mag, you don't have to concern yourself with whether your particular handgun will handle a given load as long as you stay within max pressures.

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That's a really good point too. Ten or twelve years back I decided to treat myself to a genuine Colt SAA. I had a choice between a 45 Colt and a 44-40 Winchester. I opted for the 44-40 because I was worried that someday one of my "Ruger Only" 45 Colt loads might somehow wander over into my genuine Colt SAA if it was a 45 Colt.

RealGun said:

I see the choices, voted, and commented; but in thinking about the ideal cartridge that starts with a 4 or higher, I will propose 41 Special, because it can be 6 rounds in a medium frame gun, be loaded very powerfully or more tame, and can be a carry gun, range gun or hunter. Mine is a GP100, but loads passed around are too powerful for this shooter. I am instead currently shooting 6 grains of Unique with 210 lead. Notice that I included no criteria for availability of ammo nor guns nor industry support beyond brass from Starline. 41 Special is a casualty of the history of police guns, but is capable of just as much endearment as the 44 Special, while fitting one more round in a gun capable of being carried with comfort.

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While I'm not sure 41 Special qualifies as the Ideal Big Bore, I'd really like one like your GP-100. You know, just in case you get bored with it and decide to give it to someone who'll give it a good home.

.308 Norma said:

That's a really good point too. Ten or twelve years back I decided to treat myself to a genuine Colt SAA. I had a choice between a 45 Colt and a 44-40 Winchester. I opted for the 44-40 because I was worried that someday one of my "Ruger Only" 45 Colt loads might somehow wander over into my genuine Colt SAA if it was a 45 Colt.

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I hear you. I've often thought that the Charter Arms Bulldog in 45 Colt would be a neat gun to have, but it'd come with the same concern.

I chose the 454 /45 combo. If I need more punch than a 45 offers load it with 454. I don’t heavy load 45 even though I could, I can also download 454 if desired. I have other 45s and don’t want a ruger inly load finding it’s way into one of them.
D

Would a BFR in 45/70 count? I have been eyeing one for a while, but haven't be able to justify that much money... yet. Would be a blast I think. Handloading would allow it to range anywhere from 45 colt light loads to 500 mag loads and well beyond. would be a nice companion to my rifle.

clone said:

Would a BFR in 45/70 count? I have been eyeing one for a while, but haven't be able to justify that much money... yet. Would be a blast think. Handloading would allow it to range anywhere from 45 colt light loads to 500 mag loads and well beyond. would be a nice companion to my rifle.

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Speaking of cavernous cases...

But lots of flexibility there.

I see from their web site that Magnum Research can't decide whether BFR stands for "Big Frame Revolver" or "Biggest Finest Revolver", but we know what it REALLY stands for.

For older Vets BFR stands for “Big ‘Fine’ Rock”

I knew an NCO that had a qualification shingle as worn under the marksmanship badge (his was Expert) that a jeweler had modified from BAR to BFR. Very few people noticed it. One 2LT asked why in an M16a1 Army he was wearing a BAR shingle. Rather than answer he pointed out my Small Bore shingle
and a buddy’s Bayonet Shingle. the Butter Bar was distracted and I had to go to my wall locker and show him my orders awarding Expert in Small Bore.

He never did ask the kid about the Bayonet shingle and fact was the kid had seen it in the clothing sales store and thought it would be cool to go with his Rifle shingle. At least he did not wear it on his Driver Qualification Badge.

BFR indeed.

-kBob

375supermag said:

Something else...
Specifically, the .41Magnum.

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Me too. I have 3 41 Magnum revolvers and no 44 or 45 caliber pistols. Mice, M moose, or bear the 41 Magnum hs always been enough for me.

So I am revisiting this thread after doing some more research. It seems the bullet diameter on a .44 Magnum is only .429" and the bullet diameter of a .41 Magnum is actually 0.410". Therefore, looking for something bigger than my .357 magnum, I did a compare of cross sectional area:

Magnum / Cross Section (sq. In.)
.357 / 0.100
.41 / 0.132
.44 / 0.144

So it looks like the .41 Magnum is a pretty big step up from the .357 Magnum and not too far behind the .44 Magnum.

Does the .41 Magnum have a full rim like the .44 and .357 have?

Does the .41 Magnum have a lower powered "41 Special" cartridge?

Might just change my vote from .44 to .41 Magnum. Have to think about it for a bit.

Yes, the 41 Mag has a full rim.

There's no official 41 Special. There's a 41 Special wildcat. I think Starline makes 41 Special brass, but none of the major ammo makers load for it. I'm not sure if any of the boutique ammo companies do There's no SAAMI spec for the Special, but there's an unofficial, generally accepted max pressure (somewhere in the low 20K psi range, I think). I believe there's a company that converts Ruger GP100s to 41 Special - I can't remember if it's a 5-shooter or 6-shooter.

Also not a wide variety of factory ammo in 41 Magnum. It's really a reloader's cartridge, for the most part.

There aren't a lot of guns made in 41 Magnum -- Ruger Blackhawk, Ruger Redhawk, and S&W Model 57 revolvers. Henry chambers their Big Boy lever gun in 41 Mag (but not the side-gate model).

I've always been intrigued by the 41, but you need to realize what you're getting into. It has a small, yet dedicated following.

^ got it. Thanks. Great gun, great cartridge, but some web searching shows that the ammo is very expensive, at least a buck a round and up.

Maybe I'll just rent a big bore revolver at the range (if they have any for rent, they have machine guns you can rent), get my kicks (pun here) and be happy with my .357 Magnum which is a pretty solid gun with relatively cheap ammo. But it is nice to dream and if I do ever see a 44 revolver at the right price I still might be tempted to buy it.