a few bits to consider...
To take full advantage of any of the big bore revolvers, you really have to reload. Reloading lets you take advantage of loading the big boys down to levels that make them a true "all around" gun.
As bore size increases, so does the flexibility of the cartridge. Not because you can load it beyond the smaller cartridge's capability, but because as bore diameter increases, pressure works more efficiently. This allows you to load a larger diameter, heavier bullet with a lower pressure and achieve the same performance as a smaller caliber loaded to much higher pressure.
Many shooters find that lower pressure, even when delivering a heavier bullet, to be a more comfortable recoil impulse. as bullet weight and diameter get smaller and pressure goes up, the recoil becomes a sharper, more like a slap than a push. I find a 454 using heavy bullets and loaded down to achieve 44 mag energy levels, to be much more pleasant to shoot than full bore 44 mag loads.
Larger bore diameter also allows you to load the same weight bullet as a smaller caliber, to the same velocity, with less pressure. Remember when I said that larger bores allow for more efficient use of the pressure? This is because the pressure does more work when distributed over a larger surface area. Just as a larger hydraulic cylinder will do more work than a smaller one (pressure being equal), a larger bore will do more work than a smaller one with equal pressure.
I own big bore sixguns in .41 mag, .44 mag, .45 Colt, 454 Casull .475 Linebaugh, and 500 Linebaugh. The above information holds true across the board as you step up in caliber. Both the .41 and the .44 are fine cartridges, but you would be amazed at how much flexibility the really big boys enjoy. A fun load in both the 475 and 500 linebaughs is a 420 grain cast bullet seated backwards over 3 grains of Unique. I have no idea what velocity this load produces, but it recoils about like a .38 special standard load, and only penetrates about 1/4" into a 2x6 at twenty feet, and is very accurate out to about 50 feet. Great plinking load!
Even if you don't need the power of the larger calibers, they hold noticeable advantages over the smaller calibers. I would also recommend the .45 Colt. In an appropriate gun, it's performance surpasses that of the .44 by a little bit. Not to mention that the .45 is just SO COOL!
As a general rule, bigger is gooder!
JW
