Waning interest in magnums

[mashaffer]

Am I the only one who's interest in high velocity handgun rounds is waning with age? I used to be very magnum minded but the older I get the less fascination they hold for me. More and more my attitude is that, short of Elephant hunting, if 900 to 1000fps isn't enough I should just move to a larger bore or higher SD.

I would rather have a .44-40 or .44 special than a .44 magnum, a .45 colt than a .454, a .32 S&WL or .32 H&R (I consider this a .32 Special) than a .327, a .38 special than a .357 mag or God forbid a supermag.

For a single shot hunting pistol it is a different thing as rounds like .30-30 do hold some interest for trajectory reasons but for revolver duty I just don't have a real desire for all the muzzle blast and drama. Besides if I want to play with some recoil (and sometimes I do enjoy a reactive firearm) I can just put a heavy for caliber bullet on top of a case full of BP and have at it.

mike

 

[intercooler]

Uh oh someone is feeling old. I like a mix!

Hey .22's are just not much fun after 50-100 rounds

 

[BYJO4]

I've never been a big fan of heavy recoil. I primarily load target loads for all my magnums. However, it is nice to know that I can load and shot heavy loads from time to time just for change of pace.

 

[Red Cent]

Its the age. I went through the 7 1/2" Super Blackhawk, the nickle 6 1/2" M29, bunch of K frame 357s, 7MM mag.......

Still got 'em. In the safe.

Now I shoot woose loads in cowboy and lovin' the heck out of it.

As an analogy, I can remember propping my elbow on the wall to brush my hair because the 80# bow was my man thing. No wonder I have osteoarthritis in the shoulder.

Toolman Tim syndrome.

 

[rcmodel]

+1 on age.

I always was a .44 Spl, .45 ACP, & .45 Colt fan.
I always owned .357's too, but mostly loaded them with 140 grain JHP's for coyote & jack rabbit hunting, etc.

Never did get on the .44 Magnum band-wagon too much.

I suppose I might have if I lived in a different part of the country with bigger or dangerous where the power had a useful purpose.

But in the end?
I'll take a .45 ACP, .38 Spl, .44 Spl, etc and not have to worry about blowing my ears off if I take a shot in the woods without double ear plugs & muffs.

Rifles?
A 218 Bee or 32-20 lever-action is a lot more fun anymore then a 30-06 or .375 H&H for sure!

rc

 

[chrt396]

We were talking about that at the range yesterday. I was cleaning the front screens of brass leftover from the days activities and noticed a TON of 22 brass...which is a pain to pick up. I mentioned that the "ppfftt-ppfftt-ppfftt" of a 22 caliber hand gun or rifle just doesn't get me all excited. I LOVE 45 cal's and my 1911's but they have a nice kick. I guess I'm addicted to recoil. Every once in a while...I'll pull the 41 mag out for an injection of adrenaline. With that said....I started shooting 38 loads instead of 357's out of my S&W 686 and I actually enjoyed it! Accurate and enough noise to make me happy! Maybe it's a noise thing! My wife always tells me that guys are strange because they like loud things. CARS, GUNS, PLANES...TV!!

 

[cfullgraf]

I am happy with my 45 Colt revolver. I have not loaded a 357 Magnum full house round in 15 or more years. Or any 357 Magnum for that matter. I shoot mostly 38 Special in them these days and not +P.

Just bought a S&W Model 14 and Model 24 with 6" barrels.

I am kind of keeping my eye out for a 44-40 or a 38-40 revolver.

I guess I am happy with non-magnum rounds as i age.

 

[Jim NE]

I also avoid magnums - higher price and not better quality, everything else being equal.

I have a cool old Highway Patrolman that I inherited from my dad, but that's the only mag I have.

I have been looking at .44 specials lately. Anything bigger than that and I start feeling like Yosemite Sam - a caricature of a handgun owner. But that's just me.

 

[Walkalong]

I shoot a lot of light loads these days, but still enjoy shooting full power .41 & .44 Mags some. I load mostly light .38 levels in .357 brass for my .357s, but I also load some 90% stuff in .357 Mag for a change every once in a while. My last purchase was a .458 Winchester Mag, but I load it at three different power levels.

 

[llwsgn]

depends....we have a handgun metal sillhouette range, (along with sporting clays, defensive pistol, a fake town for cowboy action, cmp m1 garand matches, ect), at the club that i belong to. you need a magnum handgun to topple that steel at those silhouette distances.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I prefer to stick with my 357magnums. I don't mind the recoil I get from them, I've been shooting them for so long that it's what I perseive as normal.
I just bought a 327 fed mag and I really enjoy shooting it. It's a little power house for all the bigger the shells are. I like to know I'm shooting something, I can't get into the light load scene.
But, that's just me.

 

[Walkalong]

I can't get into the light load scene.

I couldn't either, in my youth.

 

[MCgunner]

Uh oh someone is feeling old. I like a mix!

Me, too. I shoot, always have, mostly .38s to be easy on the guns, but I like the flash/bang, grows hair on the chest, manly as heck. I'm into mostly cap and ball lately. I have my phases. I'm only 59, so still a youngster. Still a little brown left in the grey, but funny, I don't have a problem getting senior discounts at the restaurants. Bummer.

 

[BCRider]

I enjoy .22's as well as my fairly newly gotten .44Magnums. But while I do load a few full house rounds I tend to run at around 80 to 85% of max speed and pressure. Backing off that little bit really makes them fun without being over the top. I find that more than 4 to 6 of the full power ones tends to leave my hands a little sore. Although I do enjoy them otherwise.

 

[jad0110]

I feel the same way, but I'm only 33.

It's not that I'm recoil sensitive. I'm just plenty confident that I am well armed with a quality .38 SD load. Plus it is easier to control in rapid fire and produces less flash and bang.

 

[oldfool]

Well, it's been so long since anybody asked me fpr my ID to prove my age, I don't even remember when. But I don't really think it's a age thing. "Magnum" always was far more a marketing tool than a need.

Magnums certainly have their place, but it's a fairly narrow niche, all things considered. Everybody ought own and shoot some every now and then, but most folks pretty quickly come to grips with the excessive noise and flame factor as simply not needed for most of what we do most of the time. The "real" magnums, 357 mag, 44 mag, 454 and such, unless the bear really wants to eat you, there really just isn't a whole lot of need. Same goes for rifle calibers. 30-06 for eastern whitetail at typically less than 100 yards... why ???

If there is one marketing craze that seems to have blown on by quicker than most, it is the fat magnum WSM/WSSM rifle cartridges. People apparently discovered that you really can have just only so much fun. Sure were a whole bunch of 'em for sale in the "hardly used" rifle racks around here, just a year or two after they came out. Same as a lot of Dirty Harry wannabees found out pretty quickly that 44 mag just don't make their day either.

Me, I have pert near given up 357 mag in my revolvers, in favor of loud enough and flashy enough 38+P. 357s are a total hoot to shoot in carbines, though, and that carbine barrel lets 'em do what they ought do.

 

[PRM]

I don't think its age. I've never cared for a magnum round. I've always shot a lot, and magnums have never been my choice for that. Along those lines, I try to carry what I practice with, at least in terms of velocity and recoil.

 

[Master Blaster]

Me too. I was never really into shooting full power magnums all the time.
The guns and my wrists get less wear and tear and both will work well for much much longer this way.
BTW I love shooting .22lr. Its my favorite round in both handguns and in rifles. A couple months ago I took some younger relatives shooting. I started them out with .22lr. after about 50 or so rounds apiece they were doing well and hitting the 50 ft target. They were bored though with the .22 and wanted more recoil, so out came the .45 acp and 9mm pistols. The first few shots they were hitting the target, after that they were flinching the rounds down into the ground below the target. I then had to work with them on losing their flinch. The .22lr is excellent for target shooting and getting the proper technique for accuracy down. While some folks love high recoiling handguns, I am not one of those, and if I need more power that's why I have a .308 rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun. BTW I have several magnum revolvers I enjoy shooting, Smiths and Rugers, .357 and .44 magnum but mostly I shoot target velocity loads I have developed that they shoot very well.

JMHO YMMV.

 

[trapper500]

Magums

I have always loved a magnum gun & it seems the older iam getting the more i like the magnums

 

[CajunBass]

I like 357 Magnum guns, but I almost never shoot a magnum load in them. Even back when I was much younger, I remember buying a box of 357 ammo. When my ex and I split up years later, I still had most of that box. I doubt I've fired two boxes of 357 magnum ammo in my life if you added it all up.

Same for a 44 magnun I had for a while.

 

[Ky Larry]

I like biggerboomers but not all the time. A few years ago I got a deal on a 1000 Nosler 240gr JHP bullets for my Model-29. I've gone thru 2-3,000 lead SWC bullets loaded at a little over .44 Spl velocity but I still have 900 of the Noslers.
Same with rifles. I shoot my .22-250, .243 , and .223s a lot more than my .30-06s.

 

[JohnD13]

I like my full house .357, I load my .41 a little milder now, and I hardly ever shoot my .300 Winchester anymore! I guess age does play a part in what you shoot.

 

[hq]

Yes and no. I've never really enjoyed recoil, even though it rarely has been a problem, just something that'll inevitably happen after you've squeezed the trigger.

I shoot .22, 9mm and .38 a lot, but every now and then I feel like I just have to send a few full house .44Mags down the range. Not often but at least once a month or so. The feeling of power is addictive, but only when enjoyed in small doses. That, of course, doesn't include the inevitable 2-3 week practise before every handgun hunting trip, which is borderline painful.

My teenage son, however, is happy to shoot dozens, sometime hundreds of .44:s during a day at the range. It may be an age thing or, alternatively, have something to do with his size. I remember being more tolerant to recoil myself when I was younger.

 

[mgmorden]

Don't think its necessarily age. I'm not young, but I'm not THAT old (30), and I've never had much of a fascination with magnums. As a matter of fact out of the 3 dozen or so guns I own the only thing that could be classified as a "magnum" is my shotguns that fire 3" rounds.

In autoloaders I mostly favor 9mm (and pretty much always have). In revolvers - aside from a .44 cap n' ball (which is a big bore but fairly weak by todays standards) the biggest centerfire I own is a .38 special. Last revolver I bought was a .32 S&W Long (H&R 732).

 

[MCgunner]

If there is one marketing craze that seems to have blown on by quicker than most, it is the fat magnum WSM/WSSM rifle cartridges.

oldfool, I think maybe it's market saturation. I don't know that it's the magnum thing, but just that there are SO FRIGGIN' MANY redundant hunting calibers for rifles out there. I mean, .30-06, .308, .30-30 were never broken. There are 6mms, quarter bores, 6.5s, 7mms, .30s, .338s, yadda, yadda and a bazillion versions of cases that push those calibers. Where does it end? It's definitely marketing. Deer have evolved tougher, now, so you NEED this .30 super short get down, lay down remchester ultra funky magnum. Rifles last a long time, so you must market the new super calibers to sell more, my theory, anyhow.

Revolvers really don't get the new calibers that much. There was a push for a while to have "the most powerful handgun ever made that could blow your head off faster" with first the .454, then .480, .460, .500. There's the .327, the mild "magnum", just a hot H&R. What's nice about revolvers when you're a rifle nut/hunter is the lack of all the latest and greatest and most up to datest.

Me, I've got no use for anything beyond .357 magnum and .45 Colt. We don't have brown bear in Texas or New Mexico, where I hunt and explore. I have my revolver bases pretty well covered.