Recommend me a big revolver caliber

[moroza]

I'm somewhere between a novice and intermediate shooter, finding as I try new guns a clear preference for heavy and powerful ones. With rifles, I've bought, tried, and sold a few, ending up with a Mosin and a milled-receiver RPK that clocks in some 15lb without ammo. With shotguns, I don't own any but regularly borrow from a relative's collection, particularly favoring a 10ga Benelli. With handguns, I recently amassed four CZ derivatives - a 9mm Jericho 941, 40SW Baby Eagle, 45ACP Baby Eagle, and a 10mm EAA Witness Hunter - and recently put the 45 up for sale or trade, specifically for a 357 or bigger revolver. I've gotten a few offers and am looking for some advice to guide my choice.

I'm aware of the most popular bigger calibers for wheelguns - 357mag, 45LC, 44mag - and also of what's theoretically out there in the Hand Cannon class - 454 Casull, 500 SW, 460 SW mag....What I don't know much about is how common the bigger ones are, and whether there's any meaningful difference between them other than a steady scale of increasing power, noise, and cost. Are they all rare and expensive exotics, or is there some big revolver caliber that's particularly common, affordable, or otherwise a better choice over the others?

Read More

 

[Yarome]

I wouldn't call 357 a "bigger caliber" in the same class as the others. I tend to prefer the 44mag. There are a lot of choices chambered in 44mag, ammo options are more plentiful and training with one... where you will be throwing a lot of lead per session... it's a more comfortable caliber than some of the biggin's that'll will break down just about anyones wrist in fairly short order.

Up from 44mag I think most of what you mentioned fall more into the "exotic" category with a signficant price jump. Fewer ammo options and fewer makes and models to choose from.

YMMV

 

[s1xty7]

As someone that owns a fair few 357s, I enjoy the round but think you may find it too tame. Of course, 357 is likely the most affordable and commonly available of the calibers you mentioned in factory ammo. 44 mag takes a jump up in scarcity and price if you don't reload, but I'd venture it's a lot more available and affordable than the larger calibers. You'll also find 44 mag in other formats, such as lever guns, that you probably won't easily find for the bigger options.

One other to consider that I've occasionally seen in hand gun format but is still probably more available than something like 454 Casull, although it is primarily a rifle option: 45/70 Government. But I'd also class a 45/70 hand gun as a relatively rare and expensive beast even if the ammo was more available.

Magnum research BFR (big frame revolver/biggest finest revolver; https://www.magnumresearch.com/bfr-biggest-finest-revolver/):


If you like the 10mm, there are 10mm revolvers available as well.

Ruger GP100 in 10mm, for example (https://ruger.com/products/gp100/specSheets/1780.html):


All things considered, I'd vote 44 mag as the cheapest/most widely available option of the bigger calibers you mentioned.

Good luck with your search!

 

[DirectDrive]

44 mag

 

[DunRanull]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hmmm.... Just a thought- I'd get a decent .357 revolver, very versatile caliber especially if you reload. For a large caliber, I personally have drawn the line at .44 mag. I don't handgun hunt and so I shoot pistol/revolver for defensive use and target/ "plinking" as it's called. I shoot a Redhawk .44 and a Rossi .44 carbine, and a single-action Uberti .44. Since I do reload I've made everything from butt-stompin bear loads on down to light plinking cast-lead slugs.

 

[po18guy]

Classic N frame Smith. Choose your caliber.

 

[nammac]

When you get beyond .44 Magnum, not only does ammo choices become more limited and scarce, it also becomes exponentially more expensive. If you reload, that's takes some of the sting out of the cost, but components aren't getting any cheaper either. Then there's the limited choices in revolvers for those calibers.

Personally, I've not ventured beyond .45 Long Colt, mainly as I see no need to venture beyond that caliber at this time. Seeing .45 LC has been doing the jobs for more than 150 years, seems like it'll take care of anything I need to take care of…

 

[moroza]

Well, the "job" in question is little more than sh-ts and giggles, and the general trend so far has been a direct correlation with power; if there's such a thing as "too much", I've yet to find it. The EAA is the only 10mm i've shot but is by far my favorite handgun.

Lots of votes for the 44 mag, and some solid arguments in its favor... noted. I especially like the idea of sharing ammo with a rifle, though that means further purchases and research. For starters, I wonder if anyone's chambered an RPK in 44 magnum?

 

[TTSX]

Personally I think .44mag is plenty, though boring. Lots of power but not so much you don't want to shoot it. And the ammo is pretty easy to find in general, though I see it priced at almost $1/round for new factory JSP.

Though if all you want is a big, powerful gun with big, powerful sound and big, powerful recoil I'd suggest a shorter barreled .454 casull as I've actually seen the ammo in person, not so much the other big guys. You'll pay several dollars per round BUT you could also shoot .45LC through it which is much cheaper, saving the big, powerful rounds for when you want to impress your buddies.


Just get a .44 and be happy

 

[NeoBlackdog]

I'll be the odd guy... .41 Magnum. It can be had in both single and double action revolvers and also in a few lever guns. More oomph than the .357, not quite as much as the .44. Ammo isn't ridiculously hard to come by and the recoil is manageable.

 

[Spitpatch]

Hmmm....

How accurate can you shoot a .22 Handgun?

Start there.

Stay there.

Until you're really good at it.

 

[JohnnyMac]

I have a .357 Security-Six that shoots fairly easy. I can shoot it one handed if necessary. I also got a wild hair (one of many) and for chitz and giggles picked up a Raging Judge that shoots .410/45LC/.454 Casull and there is no way in hell I'd consider shooting it one handed. I don't even think I could hold it out in front of me one handed long enough to get sighted it's so heavy. There is a significant jump in recoil betwixt the two so if you're seeking "heavy and powerful" then .357 is probably not what you're looking for.

 

[Vette991]

I always find myself taking my Ruger Blackhawk in .45LC to the range. You can handload down to Colt wheel gun pressures or load hotter due to the revolvers strength. A good dose of WW296 combined with a 335 grain Cast Performance projectile certainly helps you sit up straight.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I will second the vote for starting with a .22 revolver....then when you get good with that...get a large caliber revolver.

If something you are after is a loud boom and smoke...
Maybe try a :
Colt Walker , Colt Dragoon or Colt 1860 Army replica.
Or a Remington New Model Army ( AKA 1858 Remington )
All of the above are in .44 caliber , have plenty of "power"...and are fun to shoot.

That being said....
Percussion caps can be difficult to find now.....
Andy

 

[NobullSKS]

I'm personally curious about the 350 legend in a revolver.
SW350 is an option…. Magnum Research does one I believe.

But the have ARs chambered in it as well.

 

[41mag]

Beware too big recoil as it's all too easy to develop a flinch that can take years to escape.

 

[oremike]

There are lots of choices and I would say more common and easier to find ammo for the 44 Mag and 45 Colt. When you get above those calibers the price, and power goes up while the availability of ammo goes down. One not mentioned before is the 480 Ruger. It shoots a 410gr bullet at about 1200fps out of a 71/2" barrel but in my big and heavy Super Redhawk the recoil is about the same as that of my standard Redhawk 44 Mag shooting 300gr bullets.

 

[Stomper]

I recently watched this video at 3:30am this morning….

 

[Knobgoblin]

All due respect to @Andy54Hawken and @Spitpatch , who are very knowledgeable, I'd skip the rimfire revolvers for now. I've owned a few and shot/handled dozens. The intersecting planes of decent trigger and reliable ignition with varying ammo can make range day frustrating and unproductive. This applies to double action revolvers in .22lr and .22mag . While the single action can be crisp and wonderful ,the double action pull can feel like the trigger lock is still on . I described the last one I had as having a 40lb trigger pull. At the opposite end, some end up on the used market after a " trigger job " leaves them with about a %70 success rate in detonating primers. Get a few revolvers, decide you like them, and then start looking for a good .22 double action. It might take a few tries.

 

[BillM]

Big boomers are fun, but they get expensive fast. Both initial cost of the
revolver and what it costs to feed them.
If you want that flash and boom, pain in the palm/wrist/elbow and
shoulder---go lighter.
S&W 329 PD. 4" 44 mag, 26 oz. Guaranteed to get your attention.