is big bore mania over?

I have a 500, I wanted one since I first laid eyes on one and eventually saved up the money to buy it. For me it's just a fun range toy, I'd like to hut with it some day if I get the chance. Guys who own and shoot these guns know how versatile they are. Handloading is a must, I turned $200 into noise the first week I had it.
 
I have a 2 1/2" barrell Smith 500 magnum! It's so much fun I want the 4" ported version. I also have a Desert Eagle in .50AE and love it too! But then I have three different .44 magnums, and three .45 colts.

Go big, or go home, with great big holes in you!!
 
"I'm whole-heartedly in favor of the heavy duty calibers; I doubt, however, anything will ever knock the humble .22 long rifle from first place in popularity."

i agree with that. while it might not be the first caliber i would reach for it would be the one caliber i would never give up.
 
I have had a few different .44's, have a smith 6 inch 29 right now..... I love the .44, it has good power and is easy to shoot.
The bigger stuff doesn't really appeal to me, if I need more than a .44 I'll just grab a rifle.
I don't have anything against the bigger stuff, everybody has their own interests, that's the way it should be....... they just don't do anything for me.
 
When hunting anything with a handgun its compromise in power compared to a rifle. The 44mag has killed everything but perhaps not as cleanly as a rifle could have. I think the bigger magnums just try to bridge the gap in power for cleaner kills when handgun hunting. We surely dont NEED them but we dont NEED to be handgun hunting at all. There is a satisfaction of a clean kill when an animal drops in its tracks however and for handgun hunters imho the bigger magnums are a legitimate option.
 
Yes and No

I'm still waiting for someone to create a handgun that shoots the 500 S&W Magnum and a 36½ gauge shotgun shell - the Super Governor.

It's the closet possible thing to a shotgun pistol.

If that's introduced and people go "Meh..." then the big bore mania truly is over.

BTW it really would be more like a 36 and 7/12 gauge - 36.5835 but I'm not sure you can have a cool sounding gun name called the Thirty Six and Seven Twelths.
 
One of our range members has a S&W 500. He let me shoot it. Powerful yes, big bang, yes a absolute bear to shoot hell yes, fun IMO no.

Expensive to buy, shoot even reload for. No thanks I'll pass
 
bog bore mania over?
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Never started for me. All I need is the lowly .45 Colt. From mild to wild. Hunters like Ross Seyfried, Linebaugh, seem to verify that this is all you need. I am not a handgun big game hunter, so I have to rely on other 'experienced' (not armchair want-to-be) hunters. As a man-stopper, according to Keith (been reading his book) the .45 Colt (and .45 ACP) works really well. Anyway, I don't see the point of the bigger calibers as it just makes for larger, unhandier revolvers. Just 'curiosity' pieces so to speak. Not interested.
 
I'd really like a BFR in 45-70, heck I'd be very happy with a 45-70 Derringer. Yes, I like .22s alot but I also like the guns that hurt, well that are supposed to. I have some heavy hitting shotguns, a 45-70 rifle, but the handgun I have that kicks the most is my .357 mag. I've shot a .44 mag my dad had. I could've had it for free from him, but I know he bought it to sell and I ended up convincing my best friend to buy it. One day, maybe I'll manage to save up enough money to buy a big handgun.
 
As long as young men have testosterone the biggest, baddest handguns will continue to sell.

Humans are not rational creatures and advertizing proves it.

I don’t see why I would want to shoot one of those hand cannon rounds in a pistol when my hit probability is much better with a rifle, and the rifle won’t hurt as much.

But that is probably due to being much older.

Back when, I shot my 44 Magnums till the skin wore off the web of my hands.

Now I really enjoy my 38 Specials.

It will happen to you....
 
lol, and very nicely put.

Me, I'd like to shoot one or two of these beasts just for the feel of it. Something more than the vicarious pleasure I'm getting from reading this thread .... :)
 
I just bought a raging bull .454 6 1/2" and put a scope on it. I can't wait for next deer season to start to give it a try hunting with. I will be the first to admit it gets painfull after about 20 rounds of 300 gr.
 
Now I have a 41Mag and a 44Mag, with zero interest in any of the "super mags". I could get by the recoil, but the guns are just so big, heavy, and impractical I have to wonder....why? I've got some nice light carbines that are more convenient to wield and put a lot more power downrange.

I've considered myself on the cutting edge of several shooting fields that I've pursued, but when it comes to revolvers I guess I'm happy with "middle of the road" mags.
 
I could not fall prey to the big bore mania, even if I am a big bore fan. To me, a cartridge has to fill a niche. I've been a 44 Mag man for a long time. With all the moulds and components for it, it's easily the cheapest to feed and probably the most versatile.

We obviously needed a 45 Magnum (454 Casull). The 45 maximum (460 & 480) cartridges are largely unneeded, and fill no niche that can not be filled by a lesser Magnum. It makes no sense to get a cylinder 2 to 3 times longer than you need it just to shoot the short ones in it!

The 500 has a lot of cool factor going for it but what is it for? I would bet money that I could have killed the Hogzilla a lot faster with a 44 Mag and careful boolit selection, than the kid did with his over-sized and un-manageable 500. How many shots and hours did that take? Because he couldn't manage the gun! I like big bores but my max is 45 Colt and 454 Casull, sensible rounds that fill a niche.
 
^
How many shots and hours did that take? Because he couldn't manage the gun!
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He was just a kid. I wasn't there but I doubt he would have done better with a .44 magnum

I believe in taking your kids hunting and introducing them to the shooting sports an all that, but that dad was trying to propel his kid into the limelight and I think what he did was wrong.

That was a canned hunt of a farm-fed hog that was made out to be "Hogzilla" I think the pig's name was Ernie or something...

It's one thing to take your kid hunting its another to stage things and try to make him famous, especially when you hand him a a weapon that is oversized for the child.

What he did was wrong.

And maybe that's part of the big bore mania. That father couldn't just have his son take the hog with a rifle, or any lesser handgun. No - part of the story was that the kid was weilding the most powerful handgun in the world.

Shheeeesh :rolleyes:
 
Shooting and reloading 45 colt for my Ruger Blackhawk and Vaquero makes me really really want a 454 casull.

My Father in law has one (Ruger Super Redhawk) and I love it.

If it is going to die, I am going to do my part to make it slow and painful:D
 
We have hand cast the "Keith" type bullets in most calibers but the 44 out sells everything else by far. Not sure that says a lot cause many "gun people" cast their own.
 
#31

orsogato

If I can't get it done w/ a 5'' .44 magnum, it's time to step up to a rifle.
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Darn it, I hate having to carry my old C&R Mosin
M44 with me!

I thought my 44mag Buffalo Bore 340g hard cast +P+ loaded in my J-frame would take care of those darn gopher's!:mad:

Well, I guess I'm going back to my Red Ryder!:D
 
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