Help me decide on a big-bore sixgun

[John Wayne]

I'm in the market for a large-caliber revolver. Purchase will be sometime in the near future, but still saving up ATM.

What I'm looking for is a carryable revolver with good handling characteristics and a respectable amount of knock-down power. What I don't want is a boat anchor, scoped 14" barreled monstrosity, or a 2" gun in .454 Casull.

This gun will be carried on hiking/backpacking/camping trips, as well as when working on hunting land clearing shooting lanes, etc. I do not plan to hunt with it. I reload, and plan to shoot it frequently for recreation and proficiency.

Right now the requirements I've got are as follows: .41 or larger caliber, DAO or DA/SA, fixed sights, SS or other durable finish (not blued). Light weight is a major consideration, 5" bbl. max.

I live in the Southeast, and am not under any illusions about attacks by hordes of wolves, rabid cougars or grizzly bears. I am, however, concerned about coyotes where I hunt, and black bears that may be attracted by someone else's irresponsible disposal of trash when camping. This is why I'd like something with more punch than the .38 spl. 442 I usually carry.

Right now, the Ruger Redhawk in .45 LC has most of the features I want, but I imagine it's rather clunky. I have handled a SW Mountain Lite in .44 spl. and loved it, but didn't like the fact that it was limited to 200 gr. bullets. SW's 329 PD in .44 mag also appeals to me. IIRC, there is also a 36 oz. Blackhawk in .45 LC, but it's single action, with a blued finish. Haven't completely ruled out the .357 as a contender either, but it'd almost have to be a SW 65 4", which are hard to come by.

What say ye?

 

[broken]

....

youve got alot of choices,go to summitgunbroker.com,deals,im having a coyote problem as we speak,my daughter was de/icing her rig and they run my dog on the porch, she thought they was wolves,lots a snow and the yotes are thick .my s/w 10-6 outa thin em out.wadcutters,roundnose,hp pmcstarfire 125"s.oh yeah if i needed more i would by a smith or ruger .357 but dont feel the need.

 

[Bellevance]

S&W 686+ in 6-inch or 4-inch.

 

[James T Thomas]

cup of tea

Take a look at .Taurususa.com:

The 444 series revolvers; titanium-stainless.
Weighs 28 ounces, so it will recoil. However for coyotes a respectable
44 special cartridge; which is compatable, would do.

 

[NMGonzo]

redhawk 4 inch .44 ss

 

[336A]

John Wayne Wrote:

I live in the Southeast, and am not under any illusions about attacks by hordes of wolves, rabid cougars or grizzly bears. I am, however, concerned about coyotes where I hunt, and black bears that may be attracted by someone else's irresponsible disposal of trash when camping. This is why I'd like something with more punch than the .38 spl. 442 I usually carry.

broken wrote:

youve got alot of choices,go to summitgunbroker.com,deals,im having a coyote problem as we speak,my daughter was de/icing her rig and they run my dog on the porch, she thought they was wolves,lots a snow and the yotes are thick .my s/w 10-6 outa thin em out.wadcutters,roundnose,hp pmcstarfire 125"s.oh yeah if i needed more i would by a smith or ruger .357 but dont feel the need.

+1

A big bore is not realy neccesary for your purposes. A good .38 SPL service revolver will fill that role with ease. Despite what a lot of uninformed folks will tell you coyotes are not hard to put out of commision, nor is any other canine or feline in this country. They're all light skinned and light boned. Put a bullet in the pump house and it's lights out. If your worried about bears and neighboring campers trash discipline don't be. The bear will not even bother you, it will be to busy rummaging through your neighbors stuff and won't pay you no mind.
That is exactly what happened to my wife and I a few years back while camping in a heavily bear populated state park. Our neighbors had a late night shin-dig and were up pretty late getting tanked. They failed to adhere to park policy and left their coolers and Coleman cooking stove out. Mr. bear woke them up about 4:30 - 5:00 as was destroying said property. Mr. bear didn't even pay us a visit as we had all our stuff inside the truck If he did we would have known as we had our two dogs with us, and the Chocolate Lab was quite the guard dog. Our camps were about 70yd apart.

This park is so infested that an electric fence surrounds the trash dumpsters and gets turned on at night. Will the .38 SPL kill a black bear?....yes. Has it been done before?....yes read here http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17623.
Also look into getting some bear spray from here www.tbo-tech.com. I can assure you that if you kill a bear out of season you will have some explaining to do. This stuff will get his attention quick, and heck it has been used for 6 years in Alaska now. At roughly $35 I'd call this worth it's weight in gold vs possible attorney fees.

I don't know if you reload or not or your experience level. But good luck finding .45 Colt ammo .44 SPL, and .41 mag. When you do be prepared to walk out with one less appendage cause thats what the ammo will cost well not quite but darn close enough. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Rexster]

Taking your signature line into account, and also considering you did not mention handloading, I would think a .357 is indicated. I am in SE Texas, with both brush country and Piney Woods to consider as terrain, though I am usually stuck in the big city. My all-around utility guns, when outside the city, are Ruger GP100s, and a 4" Speed Six, though I am getting nostalgic, and looking for good pre-keyhole L-frames, (686, 586, 681,581) and K-frames. (19,66)

My very first police duty sixguns were a 581 and a 686, though I moved "up" to N-frames for a while, settling on a Model 58 in .41 mag. The L-frames went away due to economic hard times in the 1980's, while the M58 stayed, though I mostly retired the M58 when it got a bit loose, around the very early 1990's.

I don't yet handload, and I would hate to have to feed a big bore sixgun, if fired regularly. I fire my .45 Colt single-action sixguns only occasionally. The only big-bore rimmed ammo that seems reasonable available around here is .44 mag. .41 mag, .44 Special, and .45 Colt is like gold. I am glad to have a spare .45 ACP cylinder for my Ruger Bisley.

How to carry a 4" sixgun in the field? Well, my Speed Six rides in a Sparks PMK, and I have a Sparks 200AW for K-frames, though my only current K-frame is chambered for .22 LR. I can tote my GP100s in a Galco Phoenix or a Kramer Vertical Scabbard. I have a now-discontinued shoulder rig I have used for all of my 4" sixguns.

The Sparks 200AW is notable, in that it has a leather flap that keeps the hammer spur and rear sight covered, protecting clothing from abrading, and the sight blade somewhat protected from damage.

EDITED to add: OK, I missed the reloader part the first time around. This means ammo cost will be lessened, compared to factory ammo, for big bores. In the Southeast USA, though, I still don't see big bores as necessary, over the .357 mag. A GP100, Speed Six, or K- or L-frame, packs notably easier than something larger. I prefer my big bores in single-action sixguns, which are more carry-able, IMHO, than N-frames and Redhawks. Yes, I have owned and toted N-frames and Redhawks.

 

[David E]

I, for one, would not select a Model 329. If I had one (and couldn't sell it) I'd reload for it. The problem is, the loads would be equivalent to .45 acp, so why not carry a .45 acp?

I'd look real hard at the S&W Mountain Gun in .44 or .45 Colt. Since you're a reloader, you can find the load that works for you. I'd think a 240 grain SWC or JHP @ 1000 fps would be plenty sufficient for your stated tasks.

While a good case can be made for a .38, if I went with that size bore, a better case can be made for a .357, such as the Model 66 or Ruger Security Six. Both pretty light for their power, even with a 6" barrel.

Further, I don't think you'd be losing anything if you went with a Single Action. Proper technique has you cocking the hammer while coming down from recoil, so you could maintain a decent rate of fire with accuracy. True rapid fire isn't often called for afield. If it is, then I hope you did a lot of rapid fire DA with the loads chosen. If not, then you're just making noise.

 

[Starter52]

A S&W Model 625 in .45 ACP is my choice for a big caliber revolver that doesn't weigh you down.

 

[Confederate]

What you need is a primo Ruger Speed-Six, me lad.

Years ago, my wife's parents were visiting from Turkey. Her parents had left to go shopping and about an hour and fifteen minutes later, I heard a sound of someone sneaking around downstairs. I quickly looked out the front window and there was no car, and I'd seen them all leave. Grabbing my Speed-Six (below), I began to descend the stairs, carefully walking on the sides so as to not make any noise.

As I got to the bottom, I heard the sound of someone clinking dishes. Why would a bad guy be putting away the dishes? At that point I put the gun full into my pocket and sneaked a peek around the corner. There, putting up the dishes, was her father. He never noticed the gun, but explained that he'd gotten bored out shopping and had the women drop him off at the house. We chatted awhile and then I went back upstairs and put the gun back in its place. I later asked my wife to ask her parents to give me a yell if they came in unexpected.

The Speed-Six packs a real wallop if needed, yet it is a breeze to carry and takes a full six rounds. Ruger's new guns are muzzle-heavy and bulky. The SP-101 is great, but takes only five rounds and has a stiffer action.

S&W's 65/66 mid-frames are also nice, but a bit pricier.




This is my 3-incher, which is a bit tough to find.




This is the standard 2.75-inch, standard grips.

 

[ceadermtnboy]

I think given your requirements that the charter arms 44 special target model with the 4" barrel would work nicely and also no need to worry about scratching pretty finish etc. It may not load up to what you want to, but for the southeast it would be sufficient. good luck!

 

[Quoheleth]

I would go 3" Ruger SP101 in .357 Mag, loaded with some 158 gr jacketed hollow points or cast lead hollow points. That's plenty salty to get the job done. Five rounds, a concealable and packable gun, and solid enough that you could shoot it all day every day and not shake it loose.

Choice #2 would be a 3" or 4" Smith K-frame, either model 19 (or it's stainless equivelent) in .357 or model 10 (fixed sight) or 15 (adjustable sight) or their stainless equivelents in .38 Special.

IMHO, you don't need the firepower - and therefore the weight - of the heavier caliber gun. Keep it lighter and more comfortable.

Years ago, Skeeter Skelton wrote a couple articles about the perfect trail gun. The .38 Special was his choice, though a snubbie .357 downloaded a bit or a good .22 were also in the running. His rationale was it was relatively light, offered enough power to protect one's hide from critter or persons, and could be carried without being obtrusive.

Q

 

[bigeye]

Quoheleth, I agree completely on the SP101 3". It is one hard to beat weapon, and with such a variety of ammunition available, it just is hard to go with anything else. Yes, I have one, among several other hand guns. The 101 is my favorite.

 

[shockwave]

My recommendation would be the Rossi R97104 .357 Magnum 4", which I've found to be superior in competition to the S&W 686 6". Easy to handle and lots of punch.

 

[Stainz]

You cannot beat a .45 ACP revolver, like the current 4" 625JM, for a utilitarian/frugal big bore. It is frugal both in recoil and ammo cost. You can load .45 Colt plus level loads, too - even .45 Colt bullets - since there is no feedramp or recoil energy requirement, as in a bottom-feeder. It can also be loaded mildly for plinking - or bullseye. Moonclips are cheap, 100/$35 delivered, and about as fast a reload as possible. You can also reload .45 Auto Rims, cute little 'big bores' that load without 'clips (HKS #25 Speedloader). My 625JM, an early one, is nearly five years old - and quite a keeper. It came with lots of extras, too - quite a package, if a bit heavy (43 oz). An all day shooter, too - little recoil, albeit more than the typical 1911.

Stainz

 

[nksmfamjp]

I really like my Ruger Bisley 5.5" SA with adj sights in 45LC. I would like to find a conversion in 480 Ruger or one of the big Linebaugh calibers. For heavy calibers, 5" is probably as short as I would go. I like smooth grips and to let the gun recoil up in my hand. That movement takes quite a bit of energy. I have found rubber grips ok, but they put the recoil into my arm, which I do not like.

I hope you like recoil. . .even heavy 45 LC can leave blood on your gun after some shooting!