is big bore mania over?

Love my .41Mag & would like a .45LC to play/hunt with. +P .45LCs out of a Ruger Blackhawk are fun, accurate & all that's necessary for anything I'm likely to see in NC.

No use for a .44Mag, tho. Owned one & shot two- way too much drama & theatrics for what it does, for me. If I need more than a stout .41 or .45, it's rifle time. Sorry, but I'm not a recoil junkie & if I don't enjoy shooting it, I won't.

Would like to try a .480 sometime, but you can keep that .454/.460/.500 mess. Not for me.
 
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....
Click to expand...

I'm 50 now and I love shooting my .480 Alaskan. How much older am I going to get?!

In my personal case, it isn't my hands or my elbows that is my age-limiting factor. It's my eyes. Every year my iron sight picture is getting worse. You young uns enjoy being able to see a sharp front sight because it isn't always going to be that way. I keep threatening to give in and buy an RMR for a Glock or something but they are expensive and that's not what a handgun is supposed to look like!

Gregg
 
While I think the .44 mag and handloaded .45 Colt guns are wonderful, and will always be with us for a variety of uses, I never could see carrying an "X-frame" revolver that weighed the same as a carbine. Carbines are easier to shoot and carry.
 
I have the 500 mag and use it for hunting. Wear I go hunting it is a shot gun only zone so I opted to just use a handgun. If I am going to use a hand gun than why not the biggest one. It is alot easier for me to have my handgun in a holster while walking to my spot and draging a deer out, than it is carrying my shot gun. I reload so the cost is only around 60 cents a pc(43 cents if I buy more in bulk). I feel it was well worth the cost to have such a fun gun. To me the 500 mag is a good range gun and hunting gun. The round down loaded do not have tons of recoil and even the high recoil rounds are plenty manageable. There are many things in life that are not needed but some things just make life alot funner.:D
 
I think the 480 is done.
I think the 50 will shrink to where the ammo is very expensive, there are no new guns produced, but there are reasonably priced used guns.
I think the stretched cartridges like 460, 445 and such will continue to grow.
 
I love my .44mag. I don't think it'll ever die. Where I live in WI deer hunting with a rifle isn't allowed. I have to head up north for that and I do for opening weekend but during the week I'll hunt nearer to home and that means its shotgun, muzzle loader and/or handgun. I prefer the handgun out of all three although shotgun comes in a close second.

I don't have any desire to go any bigger. My Super Redhawk will take most any game I'll encounter in North America and it'll definitely take down any animal I encounter in WI.
 
for 10 years, my inventory was 45 LC, a 45/410 contender, and a couple of 45 autos.

Now my favorite sixgun is a 32 HRM Single Six. I also shoot a Buckeye 32-20 and a 38-40. Still pop the 45 LC a bunch. I will have to admit that i like the smoother smaller bores as time goes on. A heavy H110 load on the 45 is fun though!:D
 
While the 44 mag is no longer the big kid on the block, I dont think that has really hurt it's reputation/sales. The 44 mag is about the biggest gun that the average shooter can comfortably handle. But even so, fire breathing 44 mag loads in an uncompensated revolver are pretty dang uncomfortable for even seasoned shooters.

When the 44 mag came out, it definately fulfilled a pretty big need of shooters/hunters. When the 454, 480, 500, and 460 started coming out the need was much smaller. Yes they can do it better than the 44. But the 44 can still get it done. I look at it this way. Most of us dont need a diesel pickup with as much torque as a peterbilt. The same for revolvers most of us dont need the super mags when something smaller or less expensive (44 mag)fulfills the need. A lot of shooters dont even need a 44 mag.

By the way, I know a guy who has a tuned duramax pickup, a 460 S&W and a 223 wssm. He's gotta have the biggest and the fastest, even though a 1/2 ton v8 gasser, a 44 mag, and a 22-250 would fulfill his needs just fine. Thats just the way he is. It's probably a good thing he doesnt reload, he'd probably get himself into trouble.

Some guys can definately make use of the extra power the super mags offer. If I was faced with a grizzly a 500 would be pretty nice to have.
 
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Enough is enough.
I love shooting the .44 mag. But event that with max loads and heavy bullets (300 gr. or more) are tiring and difficult to shoot.
I believe shooting must be fun or one will not practice.
Those really big-big handgun calibers are abberations with no real value for pleasure or accurate use.
Plus, there are many documented instances of very heavy calibers and charges doing nerve damage to the hand, wrist and elbow. Not worth it.
 
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