New Hands-down winner in the only-one-handgun contest

F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
A 4.5" or 5" revolver chambered in .454 casull, customized/milled to accept moon clips and shoot .45 acp, as can be done now with S&Ws and the Ruger SBH -talk about massive versatility. .454 casull, .45 colt, .45 super, and .45 acp (and, I assume .45 winmag as well). I'm very pumped about this idea. What's the company that mills your cylinders? (that could be a candidate for top ten things that sound dirty but aren't.)
 
I beg to differ, please? The "new kid on the block", the S&W .460 is
going to be awesome to say the least. In talking with S&W factory
rep Robbie Robbins, I learned that the S&W .460 is suppose to retain
the same amount of energy at 200 yards, as the S&W .44 magnum
has at the muzzle. If this is true (?) and not a sales gimmick, then
this weapon will be an immediate success, and become very popular.

Best Wishes,
 
I'm guessing that the .460 will end up like the .480 Ruger, a nice round but not enough firearms chambered for it, and no niche that isn't covered yet from .44mag, .454 casull, and .500S&W.
 
Well, ya, Ala, you could in theory have a revolver that is a .460 sw mag/.454 casull/.45 colt/.45 winmag/.45 super/.45 acp all in one, but one big problem with that - that huge frame is not acceptable for the contest in question - one gun for ALL purposes, including concealed carry - it's too big for concealed carry. But then again, a large frame onto which a .454 will fit is also too big, so I guess that makes my choice all wet as well. Back to .45 colt on a medium-frame as the answer to the question.
 
I felt the .480 was a let down. None of the testing I have seen makes me believe that the round has any use what so ever considering the .454 out performs it.

Of course, this is getting off topic.
 
can't wait to get that .460. I shoot .45 colt, too afraid to get the .454. Already have the .500. Wife says I need a job. Oh well...sacrifices
good shootin
kid
 
Sounds wonderful BUT

If its a ONE ONLY are you planing of having a hand truck to carry it on your hip. I find a S&W 24 in a 4 inch ockward enough to carry so I will keep my ONE ONLY Kimber royal carry.
 
One do-it-all gun? Um...12 gauge...:).

there are plenty of revolvers that could do it all, and the difference between .45 colt and .45 acp is pretty much moot in their standard loadings, so there is no real advantage there.

I am leaning towards the .44 special/44. mag combo as more ideal for most. Many more factory loadings available, the .44 special is pretty close to .45 acp as far as performance, and .44 mag comes in loadings from fairly soft 240 grainers to 320-330's that will do the job on most heavy game, and I do not have to send my gun out to get moon clips. I am thinking thst an alloy gun from S&W or Taurus would be almost ideal, with a 4" barrel, a working gun, carried more than shot, light weight, etc.

With the plethora of loads available for the .44 mag, there is little reason to have to go with other cartridges to fill in perceived gaps in the performance spectrum.




But then again, having a gun that will shoot every .45 cal cartridge would be nice...kind of like a big bore medusa, that revolver that shoots every .38 cal. out there....you know, that gun that no one has ever heard of or seen....
 
Here is the link to the moonclip conversion for the .454 Super Redhawk as requested, there are other revolver moonclip conversions listed as well. One of my most loyal customers and a Saturday afternoon shooting buddy has this conversion on his .454 Super Redhawk.

http://www.moonclips.com/machine.htm

I personally have always enjoyed the idea of having a revolver that can shoot several different cartridges, in this case we have 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Schofield, 45 Colt (cowboy loads and magnum loads), 45 Win Mag, and of course .454 Casull. I call that versatile. I was having a discussion earlier this week about this exact subject and of course there can be sight issues, but there are aftermarket sites that allow for more adjustment if and when needed. While I like the concept of the Ruger .454 Alaskan, I am not sure that the short barrel really makes it a candidate for the all around category. Since we are talking hypothetically anyways, I personally feel a good 4” gun is the basis to start with, maybe a Bowen custom .454 Redhawk with a 4” barrel and the moonclip conversion, hmmm, yes the Redhawk can handle .454, Bowen has been converting them for sometime. I have a Redhawk in .45 colt that was cut down to 4” by Bowen and it carries as good as my 4” Model 29 does. Anyways, just my own fantasies being shared with all of you. Any gun in any caliber that allowed for such a wide range of options when it came to cartridges and loads would be a good candidate for the all around handgun category. Have fun everyone, enjoy your day.

.44mag
 
I beg to differ, please? The "new kid on the block", the S&W .460 is
going to be awesome to say the least. In talking with S&W factory
rep Robbie Robbins, I learned that the S&W .460 is suppose to retain
the same amount of energy at 200 yards, as the S&W .44 magnum
has at the muzzle. If this is true (?) and not a sales gimmick, then
this weapon will be an immediate success, and become very popular.
Click to expand...

Ala Dan,

These words have been uttered many times about many different new "wonder" cartridges that never made it. The ever popular .44 magnum took 30 plus years to become as popular as it is today, and it was helped greatly by the Dirty Harry movies! :) Just something to keep in mind.

.44mag

P.S. I have to agree with OldGunner though, get a good all around gun, but get a gun in each caliber too!!
 
This is my new offer for a one and only, at least for me...

I had a 4" pencil barrel that I aquired on the S&W forum and was looking for a 65 3" for the round grip frame and found one in the flurry of 3" S&Ws that went around a few months back.
I took them to Mark at Pinnacle High Performance and he did a marvelous job of putting the barrel on the frame, cutting the forcing cone and making a nice tight cyl gap. While the gun was there I had Mark cut the cylinder for Moonclips.
attachment.php

I now have a great gun for CCW, Woods walking, Hunting, Canoeing, and it is a great plinker. The Stainless makes for great weather protection and the pencil barrel gives it the extra length while handling very much like the 3" HB did.

attachment.php


I took it to the range on Fri and only had 6 round of 38 spec and 12 round of 357 handloads, the handloads were 158 gr LSWC over 7grs of 231.

The 38s shot just like a pencil barrel 38 would, with a nice group of 2" shooting a 15 yds, what can I say no practice and cold, while the 357s shot very well same group @ about 18yds and to my suprise they did not cause the gun to flip any more than my 3" 13 does.
I am totaly happy with my new aquisition and it will be with me for a very long time.
My biggest ????? is why didn't S&W ever make a pencil barrel K frame in 357?????

Pinnacle High Performance
9630 Ponderosa ct
Kempton, PA 19529
Phone/Fax: (610) 285-4392
info@pinnacle-guns.com
pinnaclenewsml.jpg
 
Wait, you mean to tell me it's possible to take that .454 Ruger Alaskan and mill the cylinders to accept moon clips? This wouldn't screw up the gun? Then you could shoot .45ACP in it too? Would the .454 Hornady cartridges fit in the moonclips as well?
 
Wait, you mean to tell me it's possible to take that .454 Ruger Alaskan and mill the cylinders to accept moon clips?
Click to expand...

Yes, see link below for the conversion I have personally shot and used in a SRH, which is what the Alaskan is made from.

http://www.moonclips.com/machine.htm

This wouldn't screw up the gun?
Click to expand...

No this does not screw up the gun.

Then you could shoot .45ACP in it too?
Click to expand...

Yes, as well as the .45 Win Mag.

Would the .454 Hornady cartridges fit in the moonclips as well?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I have never heard of the .454 Hornady? I assume that you meant the .454 Casull cartridges made by Hornady? If so then no, you do not use the moonclips on Rimmed cartridges.

Good luck.

.44mag
 
Thank you, brother .44Mag.

Yes, I meant .454 Casull cartridges manufactured by Hornady. I know these are rimmed, but I was wondering if the channel fore of the rim on a .454 Casull might accept a clip. I tried it, and I guess it's about more than having a channel, it's about having that taper at the bottom of a case past the rim of a .45ACP so the cartridges can kind of "wiggle around" and have some play in the clips.

But it makes me wonder, you mill the cylinders down to accept clips, then you DON'T use clips on the rimmed cartridges. So naturally I'm assuming that the .454 Casulls now sit a clip width's DEEPER in the cylinder. Which means the firing pin has to travel a clip width's FURTHER than it normally would. If not, what, does the front of the case hold the rim a clip's width AWAY from the newly milled surface? With all the fine tolerances on modern revolvers that is kosher? Has anybody asked if this instantly voids the Ruger warranty?
 
44mag - that's the one - thanks!

Not shotgun, not "gun", handgun. Guys, I'm only talking about the often-asked theoretical question posed on gun forums "What if you (for some reason) could only have ONE handgun to do everything, from hunting, to self-defense vs. dangerous game, to self-defense vs. goblins (CCW), plinking, everything?". My original post suggested a 454 casull / .45 colt milled to accept acp/super/winmag moonclips, but in my second post in this thread, upon reflection, I decided that guns in .454-capable frames are really too big to CCW for most any reasonable person in any reasonable CCW situation. Therefore, I said my original assessment was all wet. So, MY answer to the theoretical question is actually a 4.5" or 5" *medium*-framed revolver in .45 colt, not .454, (somthing like these: http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=5014&return=Y , http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=460SS4&category=Revolver ), but ALSO milled to accept .45 acp/super/winmag/gap moonclips - that is still quite versatile, because a hot-loaded so-called "magnum" .45 colt can start to approach .454 anyway, and a quality revolver can handle it, so that'd be my choice if the government, for example, imposed a one-handgun-only per person law on us at some point in the Orwellian future. You could plink and CCW with .45 acp (which is a little cheaper and a LOT more ammo choices than an alternative of say, .44 special, in a .44 mag gun). And have .45 colt regular or hot for hunting or dangerous game defense.

But, I suppose, OTOH, that a Large frame (N, etc.) is not too big to conceal if you try hard enough, and so the orginal answer ain't half-bad either, a close second choice perhaps...then you have .454 casull as well in the mix....something like this one:

http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=454SS5M&category=Revolver

Hmm, is the model 25 the only Smith in .45 colt right now? And is that an L or N frame? (the SW website says "large" frame). What smiths are offered in .454 casull?
 
Don't Forget the 4" .357 Magnum!

I know, you guys are going to say that it doesn't have enough power at the high end. But, I can't think of a more versitile handgun that a medium frame, 4" .357. You can go from cheap .38s for plinking to 200 gr. hard-cast loads for protection against dangerous animals. You can hunt with bonded-core soft points, and you can certainly defend yourself with hot .38 +ps or 125 gr. .357 magnums.

The big advantage to the .357 is ammo price. You will pay a premium for the specialty loads, but you can fill an ammo can full of .38s for a considerable bargain.
 
I was going to mention that the .38/.357 combo would work for some people as an all around gun....I am thinking of getting a 4" revolver for around the house. My wife likes them, and she is familiar with them and so on. And .38 is fun to shoot...just plain fun..
 
All around *Handgun*

If I could only have one handgun it would be my S&W 640 (.357 Mag 5- round snubby revolver) - Sounded silly to me too until I read First Freedom's statement again and realized that he was only limiting the quantity of handguns to one. Since every use except concealed carry can be handled by a rifle or shotgun (and in the problem as posed there is no limit on long guns) the 640 becomes the 'logical' choice for the handgun.
 
"can't wait to get that .460. I shoot .45 colt, too afraid to get the .454. Already have the .500. Wife says I need a job. Oh well...sacrifices
good shootin
kid"

Huh? Supposedly the new 460 S&W uses .454 Casull as a reduced load.

I to am interested in the 460 S&W, and have been reading about it. I own and shoot (a lot) three ,454 revolvers. I've observed the top strap cutting progress on all three, and I predict that even with the special polishing that S&W is using on the barrel forcing cone, the 460 may go the way of the .357 Maximum.

When you start using shorter cartridges in revolver chambers, you begin eroded the highly polished exposed areas in the chambers. I can picture what the inside of the chambers of the new 460 S&W will look like after a few hundred rounds of .454 Casull as a "reduced load"
 
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