What is the most energetic hand gun caliber you own?

[JohnhenrySTL]

I have a .357. I may one day step it up, but I kind of doubt it. I'm wondering who has gone larger and why. Do the modern magnums, like .500's and 460's justify their cost and are they practical?

But above all else, what is your most powerful hand gun chambered in?

 

[Drail]

.41 Remington Magnum built in 1978. Carefully hand tuned. Handloaded.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

.44 mag

 

[rcmodel]

.357, .44 Special, .45 Colt, and .45 ACP does all I need to do here in Kansas.

We have no more Cave Bears, Saber-Tooth Tigers, or Tyrannosaurus Rex.

So I have no need for a harder kicking Loudinboomer to make me develop a terminal flench, and ruin my pistol shooting accuracy forever!!

rc

 

[Bama Drifter]

+1
.44 Mag does MORE than I need in a handgun; .45 Colt does all I need, but not all I want AFAIK, the guys who own .500 & .460 Smiths and don't reside in Alaska or Namibia, sure aren't toting or shooting their hand cannons as often as I shoot mine. YMMV, but mine doesn't!

 

[Zaydok Allen]

460 mag, because I recreate in big bear country, and shooting it puts a smile on my face.

But it is damned expensive to shoot. Hoping to remedy that very soon by taking up reloading.

 

[LUCKYDAWG13]

What is the most energetic hand gun caliber you own?
that would be my 41 magnum

But above all else, what is your most powerful hand gun chambered in?
that would be my Encore 13" barrel in 454

but the pistol i shoot the most is my Ruger SBH 44 magnum

 

[Bama Drifter]

I appreciate 460Kodiak's honesty in this and many other threads. If/when I move to Montana, a .460 would be in the cards... I like the idea of "plinking" with .454 Casull and .45 Colt ammo plus I'm well stocked up on the 250 gr projectiles.

Srsly though, besides 460Kodiak all the other dudes w/ the fire breathing, money burning boom slingers seem to be baby boomers who just want the "biggest production revolver". (Not gonna mention the BFR .45-70)

 

[rcmodel]

If I were in a position to need to carry a nearly 5 pound (loaded) revolver + another pound of holster??

I'd just carry a rifle or slug-gun, and be better armed for dangerous game.

rc

 

[Deaf Smith]

.454 Toklat. It's REAL energetic.

Deaf

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

Thanks for all the interesting responses so far. I feel I would be better equipped to with a long gun. However, the scariest, most distracting, and elegant bang I've ever heard was a .460 smith with either a 2 or 3 inch barrel at my local range. I just wonder if the financial price of that is justified to me.

 

[dirtengineer]

.44 mag. I am also messing around with .45 super.

 

[2zulu1]

The largest 4 legged predators we have are black bears, the last 4 bears killed near me have ranged in weight from 440lbs-520lbs.

There are times when it is absolutely still here, meaning no sound. When I hear a bear huffing at night it's extremely difficult to know how close a bear is, could be w/i a couple hundred yards or a quarter mile away.

M29 Mountain, snake shot and handloaded 255gr Cast Performance WFNs;

 

[silicosys4]

.44 magnum out of a 2 3/4" barrel feels plenty energetic enough for me. My Loudenboomer fascination hasn't flared up enough for me to seek a more energetic remedy than that.

 

[adcoch1]

I have had 44mag, 50 A.E., 454 casull, but presently 44 mag is the energetic one. It just feels like enough gun and is still fun to shoot.

 

[HKGuns]

44 Mag.

I've shot the 460 with a long barrel and it was the very first gun I absolutely did not enjoy shooting. My teeth hurt for days after putting a cylinder of 460 down range.

I imagine a short barrel is significantly worse.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

44 Mag.

I've shot the 460 with a long barrel and it was the very first gun I absolutely did not enjoy shooting. My teeth hurt for days after putting a cylinder of 460 down range.

I imagine a short barrel is significantly worse.

5" of 460 magnum isn't bad but qualifies as "a hand full". If you want to know how badly a 2.5" barreled 460 mag sucks, pm Ed Ames. I believe he owns one or has in the past.

If I were in a position to need to carry a nearly 5 pound (loaded) revolver + another pound of holster??

I'd just carry a rifle or slug-gun, and be better armed for dangerous game.

rc

That's certainly a more effective option and one I considered. I enjoy day hiking for 12-16 miles in mountainous terrain. Buy my primary interest is in revolvers so it seemed a natural decision considering I'm unlikely to ever even need a gun.

I carry it in a Desantis hip holster and use suspenders to keep my drawers up. It carries comfortably for me. If I was doing a multi day backpacking trip, it'd get a little old for sure.

Anyway.....

 

[rcmodel]

However, the scariest, most distracting, and elegant bang I've ever heard was a .460 smith with either a 2 or 3 inch barrel at my local range.

You need to get over that right now.

'Scariest noise' is not the best reason to buy a firearm.

You can buy fireworks much cheaper for that.

All loud & hard kicking will do for anyone is ruin any possible chance they might have had of ever becoming an exceptionally good handgun shot.

Once you start closing your eyes and Fleching when you pull the trigger??

Becoming a great shooter is impossible.

rc

 

[Panzerschwein]

My Maadi Griffin in .50 BMG is probably the most powerful in my vast collection:



KIDDING!

My Ruger GP100 w/ 6" barrel is probably the most powerful in terms of muzzle energy. It can easily make 800 ft-lbs of energy with Buffalo Bore loads.

 

[murf]

my perfect packin pistol is a 45 cal. blackhawk with the 4.625" barrel. once in a while i shoot 325 grain lead @ 1,275 fps out of it. normal load is 265 grain lead @ 1,200 fps.

we have range cattle up here and the bigger bullet wins.

murf

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

The inner urban youth who were shooting it, the short barrel .460, we're also shooting a gold plated 50 caliber Desert eagle.

It was a day an old friend of mine talked me into introducing him to his very first shooting. He thought the spent casings were bullets we had to dodge. One lane over, the target was 5 yards away. As I watched them, and they were cheering each other on, only about half the rounds were accounted for in the hAlf human sized target. My friend, brand new to gun cuture, was more concerned with the spent casings, than the missing holes.

Their guns were so loud at the indoor range, I wondered if my hearing was jeopardized even with my outer ear protection on.

We took a couple of long breaks before they were asked to leave. He was honestly freaked out. It took years for me to get him back out. I brought a .22 revolver.

The experience is stuck in my memory. For now, I'll focus on finding somebody who will take 9mm brass for .357 brass. And enjoying/mastering what I already own.

Thanks everybody for the replies. I assumed alot more people on here would have the big ones.

 

[rondog]

My .44 mag Virginian Dragoon is robust enough for me.

 

[murf]

i don't think anyone "masters" recoil. most learn to respect it (not fear it) and to deal with it.

murf

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

I agree with you murf about recoil. But my first handgun I bought and didn't just shoot or inherit was my sig .40 cal.

It took about 300 rounds, before I had a chance of tiny groups. The first couple of hundred were me just feeling it out and perhaps learning to enjoy the pop.

 

[murf]

yup, gettin comfortable is the key. time and practice

murf