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

Ideal big bore handgun cartridge

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For me it is .44mag simply due to the assortment of single and double action revolvers chambered for it. With that said the .45 Colt is nipping at the heels of the .44 for me. As for .454Casull, I grow tired of those violent loads at full power pretty quickly and prefer loading those cases down to .45 Colt + P levels.
The .475 Linebaugh? Its alright I guess. I am tempting to get rid of it and the .454 and just stick with the .44 mag and hopefully .45 Colt down the road as my kings of pain...:D
 
I vote for the .44 S&W Special. I have everything from .357's to .500's but it's the .44Spl that is the most practical and closest to ideal, 99.99% of the time. The best balance between power and portability. It fits perfectly into the Colt SAA and similarly sized sixguns and a 250gr at 950fps will do what needs doing most of the time. No bleeding ears or busted knuckles needed. Of course, the .45Colt does the same 250gr at 900fps but it does it with a lot of u nused powder space, less strength and a greater propensity for out of whack chamber/throat dimensions.

My first .44 Special was a custom Old Model by Jim Stroh, 22yrs ago. Now I've got two more coming from Andy Horvath and Jack Huntington.

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Then Ruger came out with their own version.
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It's the perfect cartridge for the SAA, like these two Cimarrons.
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Or this USFA.
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The GP100 is really the DA version of the Colt-sized .44Special.
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The S&W 24 is also a classic.
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DR505 said:
I believe the .45 Colt/.454 is more versatile that the .44 magnum, and as John Linebaugh put it, it does the same or more work for less pressure than the .429 caliber magnum.
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Not really. Seems when John dissolved some old myths he created some new ones. There's nothing the .45Colt can do that the .44 can't do with less powder. It's about as meaningful as the .45 doing it with less pressure. Comparing standard .44's to the "Ruger only" .45's, they both use the same weight bullets at comparable velocity, with the .44 having a slight edge in velocity.
 
I've reached the age where I don't have to impress anyone with my manliness or machismo. For me the 45 Colt is best as it was designed, a black powder cartridge, particularly in traditional styled single action revolvers. In more modern single actions like the Ruger Blackhawk, etc., and in double action revolvers, the 44 Special does everything I would need a handgun to do. You can duplicate Elmer's load of a cast 250g bullet at 1200-1250 fps in the stronger guns and it's original performance level, a 246g lead bullet at ~ 750 fps. The Special reigned supreme as a target cartridge for years after it's 1907 introduction. In between, shooting 200g-250g bullets at 800-900 fps it is a nearly ideal self defense cartridge for the revolver.

If you want to brag to your friends about how much recoil you can handle or you intend to slay the Big 5 of Africa, the 44 Special would not be a first choice. For most every other chore requiring a big bore as stipulated by the OP the 44 Special will do it all and with a certain class all it's own.

YMMV,
Dave
 
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To me it depends on the application. I am a huge .44 Special fan but do like the .45 Colt quite a bit. A good .44 Magnum revolver will fit in a hip holster, be carried on a daily basis. A .45 Colt can do that but other than a Ruger Your not going to get the ballistics out of that .45 Colt to match the .44 Magnum. You can always go bigger and .45 Colt +P up to .454 are great rounds but are in a specialty niche or a hand loader only category. I understand also those that live in Bear and Beast country have a greater need for big power, more so than most of us. But that is niche and one that a correctly loaded .44 Magnum can fill. You are just not
Going to get .44 Magnum performance out of your Colt, Uberti of S&W Model 25.
 
Charlie98 said:
Then you will need to pull the .44MAG off, since it really is the .429MAG. At least the .41 has truth in advertising going for it.

Following my logic of discounting the .44, I picked .45Colt/.454Casull, as someone mentions, it covers all the bases in a standard big bore handgun frame.
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Exactly, for reasons I cannot logically explain the .44 Mag annoys me because it’s actually a .43 Magnum and everyone thinks its the end all be all magnums cartridge. The only reason I’d ever consider buying a .44 Magnum is to honor old Elmer Keith. I’d rather have his Goldilocks .41 Magnum.
 
KansasTrapper77 said:
Exactly, for reasons I cannot logically explain the .44 Mag annoys me because it’s actually a .43 Magnum and everyone thinks its the end all be all magnums cartridge. The only reason I’d ever consider buying a .44 Magnum is to honor old Elmer Keith. I’d rather have his Goldilocks .41 Magnum.
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Do you know the history behind it?
 
CraigC said:
Do you know the history behind it?
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.44 Magnum of course is a lengthened .44 Special which in turn is a lengthened .44 Russian (and this is where I’m not entirely sure) is a spinoff of the .44 American/S&W? The Russian had to be downsized for internal lubrication purposes.

And naturally when they released the .44 special they didn’t want to change the name because then it wouldn’t be the almighty .44. So in my mind it’s still a marketing thing which I find annoying.

Fun fact I believe the .38 Special holds that name for quite similar reason.
 
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It's a shame you did not include the .41magnum in your poll. I have been hunting, competing and just generally enjoying shooting mine for the last 30+ years. I have not found anything I want to do, that the .41magnum is incapable of doing, and doing well. It really shines when a handloader, like myself creates the perfect round for the purpose it is designed for and it exceeds expectations.
 
I haven't found anything yet that a mid-range .44Magnum couldn't drop at revolver ranges. The only reason I don't replace the old SBH .44 with a BH .41 is convenience. I've had and still have .45Colt revolvers and, in my opinion, their only shortcoming is the skimpy rim. Not an issue for feeding and ejecting from a single-action revolver but I've had .45Colt brass jump the rim in lever guns and once or twice shell holders. Haven't had one yet jump the rim in a DA revolver so maybe there's some magic to the star extractor versus a single claw. It's a minor quibble but enough to tilt the scales to the .44.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
I haven't found anything yet that a mid-range .44Magnum couldn't drop at revolver ranges. The only reason I don't replace the old SBH .44 with a BH .41 is convenience. I've had and still have .45Colt revolvers and, in my opinion, their only shortcoming is the skimpy rim. Not an issue for feeding and ejecting from a single-action revolver but I've had .45Colt brass jump the rim in lever guns and once or twice shell holders. Haven't had one yet jump the rim in a DA revolver so maybe there's some magic to the star extractor versus a single claw. It's a minor quibble but enough to tilt the scales to the .44.
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Thanks for pointing that out. I will put the .45 on my "do not buy" list. I only want a revolver with real revolver cartridges that have a proper rim. I may have to go in the 44 camp on this, but have not voted yet. Hard to do since the biggest handgun I have shot is a 38, I just got my .357 and have not gotten to the range with it yet. But I saw the pressure for .357 is 35,000 psi and for a .44 is only 36,000 psi, so I wonder do I need anything bigger than my .357. Not going after big game or fending off bears, wild hogs, or pumas, so....
 
aaaaa said:
Thanks for pointing that out. I will put the .45 on my "do not buy" list. I only want a revolver with real revolver cartridges that have a proper rim. I may have to go in the 44 camp on this, but have not voted yet. Hard to do since the biggest handgun I have shot is a 38, I just got my .357 and have not gotten to the range with it yet. But I saw the pressure for .357 is 35,000 psi and for a .44 is only 36,000 psi, so I wonder do I need anything bigger than my .357. Not going after big game or fending off bears, wild hogs, or pumas, so....
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45 colt is originally a single action revolver cartridge.

Pressure limits really have nothing to do with effectiveness against man or beast. Elmer Keith said many times his 44 special loads at 25k psi were much more effective than 357 magnum. It’s about balance, between bullet size and weight and frontal area and velocity.
 
Bazoo said:
45 colt is originally a single action revolver cartridge.

Pressure limits really have nothing to do with effectiveness against man or beast. Elmer Keith said many times his 44 special loads at 25k psi were much more effective than 357 magnum. It’s about balance, between bullet size and weight and frontal area and velocity.
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This site proves its worth daily. .44 sure has a lot more frontal area than .357. Well maybe there is a .44 in my future! If nothing else, it will be a blast at the range! Maybe a S&W 44 Magnum (Model 69) with 4.25 inch barrel. Can shoot 44 Special too!
 
aaaaa said:
Thanks for pointing that out. I will put the .45 on my "do not buy" list. I only want a revolver with real revolver cartridges that have a proper rim. I may have to go in the 44 camp on this, but have not voted yet. Hard to do since the biggest handgun I have shot is a 38, I just got my .357 and have not gotten to the range with it yet. But I saw the pressure for .357 is 35,000 psi and for a .44 is only 36,000 psi, so I wonder do I need anything bigger than my .357. Not going after big game or fending off bears, wild hogs, or pumas, so....
Click to expand...

Hmm. In my three .45 Colt's. one lever and two SA replicas, I've never had that problem. Maybe the Starline brass has improved that "issue", as that is all I load with[400 .45 Colt].
 
aaaaa said:
This site proves its worth daily. .44 sure has a lot more frontal area than .357. Well maybe there is a .44 in my future! If nothing else, it will be a blast at the range! Maybe a S&W 44 Magnum (Model 69) with 4.25 inch barrel. Can shoot 44 Special too!
Click to expand...
Yes the 69 is basically a .44 Special that can shoot Magnums
 
CraigC said:
Not really. Seems when John dissolved some old myths he created some new ones. There's nothing the .45Colt can do that the .44 can't do with less powder. It's about as meaningful as the .45 doing it with less pressure. Comparing standard .44's to the "Ruger only" .45's, they both use the same weight bullets at comparable velocity, with the .44 having a slight edge in velocity.
Click to expand...

The vote choice was .45 Colt/.454...that kind of throws your supposition out of kilter. If it was just .45 Colt you might have an argument.
 
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