Big-Bore Snubbies: Who's a fan?

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Tamara

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Having owned a Charco Bulldog Pug in the past, and finding myself toting my DAO .44 Spl Rossi 720 a lot these days, I'm wondering; are these things seeing a resurgence in popularity? *&* offers two, Taurus offers their snub lineup in steel and titanium in .41 Mag, .44 Spl and .45 Colt. Does anyone else get a sweetly reassuring feeling from a small revolver with a big ol' hole in the end of it? There just seems to be something comforting about bullets that go *tunk* instead of *tink* when you drop them in the cylinder... :)
 
"Big Bore Snubbies"...aahhh, a subject dear to my heart! I guess I've carried and/or fired maybe a dozen over the last twenty or so years...and I always felt VERY well-armed! An old friend introduced me to "Big Bore" snub-guns back in the late 70's...he had an old Colt-a New Service, I believe-in .45 Colt that had had the barrel cut down to just a fraction of an inch longer than the ejector rod...with the front sight re-mounted,a SUPER action job and a set of custom grips, it was as pretty to look at as it was fun to shoot!
Another friend of long standing-a retired University professor-STILL carries a Charter Arms "Bulldog" .44 special...loaded with his handloaded lead semi-wadcutter hollowpoints, its an impressive-and effective-self-defense weapon! He told me once that the "Bulldog", as made by Charter, was not particularly robust...he figured they were good for about 1,000-1,500 of his reloads before they needed to be "tightened up"-or traded in!
I've also played with several S&W N-frame "snubbies"...a three-inch barreled Model 657, a short-barreled Model 629 and even a rare three-inch Model 625...wish I had bought that one!!! To my way of thinking, the best "Big-Bore" snub-gun to come on the market in recent years is a real sleeper...the Smith & Wesson Model 696...a three-inch barreled, five-shot .44 special built on the L-frame! The 696 is not as big as the old Colt "New Service" or S&W's own N-frame, yet packs quite an authoritative punch...with almost any SANE load, its very manageable as far as recoil control and follow-up shots go...and, owing to its [relatively] smaller size, its quite concealable, too!
I haven't had an opportunity to "play with" any of the Taurus or Rossi large-bore snubbies, but I expect they'd do just fine, too...seems like the guns they [Taurus and Rossi] have built in the recent past have really improved, quality-wise, over the product they put out eight or ten years ago....FWIW....mikey357
 
Tamara,

I am not sure this qualifies as a "snubbie", but I believe a Ruger GP100 with a three-inch barrel and full underlug is a very formidable handgun -- easily handling the complete range of .357 magnum and .38 Special loads -- and it is somewhat more concealable (coat pocket, for example) than its four-inch (or larger) GP100 cousins.

I like the concept: five or six certain and highly effective rounds should be more than adequate for virtually all non-LEO situations.

Regards.
 
Tamara, even though I don't onw one at present, a big bore snubby is definitely in my future.

I always feel better carrying a gun which makes big holes, regardless of the size of the gun itself. I'll probably end up with a Taurus .45 Colt. Now, if they just made it with a 3" barrel....
 
RWK:

While 3" qualifies as a snubbie, .357 Mag (despite its undisputed effectiveness) isn't quite what I had in mind by "big bore"... ;)
 
Tamara,

I bought a Taurus 445 when they first came out. WAS my favorite gun of all time...Those 44 caliber holes were too cool....however, my particular gun had firing pin spring breakage (twice) so I finally gave it up.

If I could trust Taurus' quality control, I'd have another in a heatbeat; got a drawer full of once fired brass ready for some work.......

I remember after having the 445 for a while, looking at .357 mag K frame, those holes in cylinder looked so puny...

Mike M.
 
Tamara,

I too have a Rossi 720 hammerless; it's my most-carried revolver. I'm a confirmed big-bore fan. The next wheelgun on my list is a Taurus 450. I only wish they offered it with a bobbed hammer.
 
Am I a fan of big bore snubbies? My first handgun I even bought/owned was one of the original batch of Lew Horton 3" round butt S&W 629's. Quite a handful for a newbie shooter but once I started shooting it there was no turning back.

I like em', I love em', I want more of em' :0)
 
My favorite revolver that I have and carry is a .44 Spl. I feel very contented knowing that I have a gun that I know will stop a BG even if my shot placement is a little off (train,train,train) I like the heft of the gun and I have always been a revolver sort of guy,However I have recently bout my first auto loaders and I really like them too!
 
On a contrarian note, the reason I never went this way is that with one more round available in the same size gun as the above and in .357Mag, I think you're better off.

The .357 is no slouch. You also have the advantage of cheaper practice fodder if you're not a reloader yet (my current situation) plus can vary the power levels between .38spl, .38+p and the .357s.

That flexibility *plus* the extra round is why I've skipped the .44Spl snubs.

Now, show me a six-shot, full-moonclip-eating .40S&W snubbie and THEN we're talking. Good power, good firepower, lots of modern loads and fast reloads would make that the ultimate snub.

Jim
 
I have a Taurus 415 with a sweet trigger job on it... Does that count?? :p

I want a 45long colt too, but some things have to wait.

Mikey
 
Tamara

Last year I purchased my wife a .38 Special Taurus Total Ti. She loves it and would NOT trade it off. However, now she wants the same pistol in .45 Colt to "keep it company". It would make a nice Christmas gift, wouldn't it? :)

Kentucky Rifle
 
I'm quite fond of my 696. I will say that I tried a 296 (Smith's Ti .44 Special) ONCE. 10 rounds was about all I could stand. I regularly shoot .45 Colt and .44 Mag in the big N frames, but that little lightweight L frame was just too hard on the hands. :( (I do have a touch of arthritis in both hands, which doesn't help anything).
 
I have always been a fan of the big bore revolvers...saving my ducats now to get a .41Mag snubbie from taurus...Have liked the .41Mag longer than I care to admit!
 
I like my 3"629 44mag. I've been wanting one of those titanium guns but havent found the money yet.
Usually I shoot light mag loads (240gr XTP's) but once in a while like to shoot full power loads (328gr cast) just for a reality check.
 
.45 colt is my preference, put it in a cut down Colt new service or used(I won't buy new) S&W and you have a winner every time.
 
I really like my stainless Taurus snub-nose in .45 Colt. The engineering has improved, the recoil isn't bad at all, and it's nice to know one shot will do the trick. I wish I'd gotten the Titanium one now, though.
 
Ms Tamara,
Of all my revolvers I would say that my Taurus M431 with a 3in barrel is my all time favorite, I have never had a problem with this gun. I would consider a S&W 969 if they made it with fixed sites. :cool:
 
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