Am I doomed?

H

HistoryJunky

New member
At the moment, I'm broke. But at some point in time when I have more money, I'd like to get a big bore revolver. I am not sure what caliber it would be yet, but I know I would want it to be .40 or greater caliber.

Money aside, here is the real problem. I have small hands. I'm talking men's size small or medium at best. I've noticed that a lot of heavier recoiling revolvers have what seems to me to be insanely huge grips, or wood grips. Are there exceptions to this rule in magnum revolvers, or am I doomed to not being able to shoot them or have battered hands?
 
That is the only one I have seen as well. Not that I have anything wrong with it, I actually think the Blackhawk looks pretty neat.

Unfortunately I don't think they make it in anything above .44 Magnum if I ever wanted something more than that.
 
You should get out and try a few before you buy or give up. My fourteen year old daughter shoots some of the big ones without much problem. She really likes shooting a friends DE .50 and is always begging me to buy a .44, .460, or .500. It is not her favorite but she also shoots my Coonan and it is about as much a handful as the big guys.
 
Definitely want to try a few out and will before I buy, I'm just getting an idea is all. I know that a good portion of double stack semi-autos have what I consider to be "unfriendly" large grips to me, and when I have shot these I couldn't use proper trigger mechanics.

I just want to know if I should be honest with myself and write off the idea of owning and shooting a big-bore handgun/revolver. My fiance has about the same size hands as I do as well and she has the same set of questions.
 
At one time I was intimidated by the big wooden grips on S&W and Colt magnums. The huge width at the bottom of the grip seemed like it would be very user unfriendly. But after a (very) little practice I adjusted and found they weren’t that bad.

I also found that replacing the stock grips with Pachmayr grips made many double action revolvers fit my hand much better and I became a real fan of Pachmayr.

Now I realize there are *lots* of grip manufacturers out there and you can almost always find a combination of guns and grips to fit your hand even if you want to shoot the big bore handguns.

Check out the after market grip manufacturers.

You might also take a look at the Ruger Super Redhawk:
http://ruger.com/products/superRedhawkStandard/models.html
 
If you have a chance try and shoot a Redhawk if your looking for a double action, or if you aren't comfortable with the feel of that one, you could also go with the Bisley.

Either of those can be had in up to 45 Colt. The 44 mag versions of either are very nice if you don't load your own. If you do then the 41 magnum is about as sweet as it gets for having both a magnum and a fine shooter. Nice recoil and will carry a serious punch.

If you want something bigger the older Bisley frame has been reworked by several highly acclaimed pistol smiths into some pretty heavy hitters. For more on that you might research some by Linebaugh, Reeder, or Bowen among others.
 
The Ruger 44 BH is a great value.
The DA Red Hawk is also a great gun.
I own both.

I’ll share a little experience.
I love BIG BORE Magnums BUT there is a point where they not so much fun to shoot.
454 Casull is a handful but still fun to shoot.
The 460 is about like the 454 Casull.
The 50 AE I would say is on pair with the 460.
Depends on the grips and load.
IMHO once you reach out past the 454 & 460 the recoil gets pretty punishing.
The 500 Linebaugh & S&W 500 are just down right nasty to shoot; massive recoil.
A buddy has an S&W 500 and even with down loaded hand loads it was still pretty aggressive in the recoil department
After 50 rounds I was done.
Not just shooting the 500 but done shooting for the day.
 
HistoryJunky! That name says it all. Colt SAA clone in 45. Historic caliber, big bore and an excellent fit for small to medium hands. A SAA clone of the Italian variety will be kind to your bank account as well.
 
No your not doomed.... The New Vaquero or medium frame BH from Ruger or a SAA clone should fit your hands pretty well. I too have small hands. I am still scratching my head for anyone wanting a bigger gun than a .454 as even that is a bit of overkill for most anything on planet Earth.... And to move beyond it is... well... unnecessary IMO. As for caliber, nothing wrong with the .44Spec or the .45 Colt. Both have a 'history' behind them, and and will still 'kick' a good bit (say .45 Colt 255g SWC at 950fps) without battering you hands even with wood/bone/plastic grips, yet will tackle almost all North American animals if needed when loaded properly. Hopefully you reload, because then you can 'adjust' the load to your comfort level and work up to the boomers if desired and get a lot more shoot'n in. Later, you can always move up to a .454 if not putting enough hurt on the hand :p . Most of us have more than one revolver BTW .... Anyway, hope that helps a little!
 
There are lots of options out there...Freedom Arms, Colt, etc in single action revolvers....in most any caliber you want ( especially Freedom Arms - because they have a medium frame - model 97 --- and a large frame model 83 ) although the large frame has a grip that might suit you just fine - and its a little longer than most single action revolvers which is a plus.../ or try their model 97's.

Freedom Arms will make guns in .357 mag, .44 mag , .45 Colt, .454 Casull , .475 Linebaugh, .500 Wyoming Express...etc / but you'll have to dig into the piggy bank a little...

There are also lots of options for grip styles on the N frame S&W's out there in .357 mag and .44 mag ( depends on what you're calling a big bore )...but guns like the model 29 or 629 S&W in .44 mag ...might work.
 
A S&W 625-JM has a small grip. It is a 45 acp. Have one and it is a great shooter. I had to replace the stock grip with Hogue grips because for the me, the stock ones were too small.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. Your words are very encouraging. I don't think I'll end up going above .44 Magnum without at least being able to put 20 rounds or so through any caliber of handgun I'd be interested in. The purpose of a revolver like this for me would be mainly for fun, but possibly hunting as well.

As you guys mentioned, I'm sure reloading can do wonders for any caliber. I do have a reloading setup, although it is pretty low tech. A Lee hand press, but it works. I still have a Ruger Security Six 6" .357 Magnum I haven't got the chance to shoot yet, so I guess I'll shoot that and go from there with how I feel about handgun recoil.
 
Just take it one step at a time....

I like a variety of S&W revolvers in .357 mag ....and shoot them a lot ( 5 or 6 boxes a week probably ) with my favorite being the N frame model 27 in a 4" Nickel finish....

but I have really grown to like the Freedom Arms single action revolvers too...they are really something special /check out their website....

N frame S&W revolvers in .44 mag ...especially in the 6" or 8 3/8" barrels are pretty easy on your hands ( stay away from the 3" and 4" models )...

but figuring this stuff out ...is part of the fun / part of the hobby....
 
Location: Freeport, IL
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Huh? Let's just say, I'm not far from you.

Go up to see Chad Snyder (Snyder's Gun and Archery) on North Henderson road, see what he can set you up with.

Unfortunately I don't think they make it in anything above .44 Magnum if I ever wanted something more than that.
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Fired one? I don't think you want more than that.
 
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I have small hands - maybe a little closer to medium than small.

I also have a S&W 629 44 Magnum. I put Hogue grips on it that expose the backstrap - this minimizing the distance to the trigger (square butt model). It leaves no cushion and beats up the hand a little. But hey, that's the price to pay for a better fit. You get used to it. And it's not like you kick off 100+ rounds of 44 Mag at a setting anyway. Works for me.
 
45 long colt with 250 to 300 grain bullets or 44 mag will take the wiggle out of any thing you can hit. Available ammo and components are not hard to come by if you want to shoot in volume. 45 blackhawk, old model vaquero are for the top loads. Italian clones and new vaqueros are for original colt velositys
 
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