snub nose BIG bore?

[Mainer2009]

I can't imagine how much recoil you'd get off one of those 454/460/500's with a 2 inch barell, it must be really heavy, my God. My 44 mag with a 4" ported barrell has enough, quick follow up shots would be tough. I've seen a few Taurus 454 casulls like that, with the porting, just how much does that porting help, firing a large round like that from such a light, short barrelled gun? I don't know, I wouldn't mind trying one out sometime! I guess those guns are made for sort of a last ditch effort type situation...the bear is nearly on top of you, and you stick it in it's face and pull the trigger.

 

[BhmBill]

btw, I have a Magnum Research BFR 7.5" in .500 mag. Nothing i've shot (as well as friends as family) has put a bigger smile on our faces faster than the .500 mag. The BFR doesn't have a compensator like the S&W models do, so the recoil and muzzle rise is quite a bit more. I've shot .357's and even .38spc's that have more recoil than some .500 loads. The recoil is quite manageable, but i've never fired a gun whose recoil was too much for me (not tryin to sound macho, but i'm 6'4" 350lbs). Follow up shots are pretty easy, even for a SA revolver.

 

[Mainer2009]

BFR makes a nice gun, a buddy of mine has one chambered in 30-30, he brought it took work to show me once, I was impressed by the quality and finish. If I were to get one the big bores, I'd get a nice single action like the BFR....I'd love to have a 460, all 3 cartridges out of one nice big revolver, perfect for just about any kind of hand gun hunt.

 

[marsofold]

While I now have a 7.5" barreled 454 SRH, I'm considering getting an Alaskan and putting small grips on it. For me, the perfect CCW revolver bullet is for the biggest diameter in the flattest bullet at the slowest velocity that can be counted upon to go 75% into a human. And it has to be on the shelf at most little gunshops. Which adds up to a .45LC SWC. No worrying about whether the hollowpoint will expand enough. And over 100 years of man-stopping documentation on record. Perfect!

 

[Fat Boy]

I don't know if it qualifies as a big-bore snub, but I think the S&W scandium/titanium .357 mag snub from their performance center is a great looking gun, and would love to have one. Only the price tag reaching nearly $1,000 keeps me out of the running. I don't believe this gun is terribly practical for CCW given the frame size, I don't know how accurate it would be given the snub-nose set up, I question the durability of the scandium/titanium material composition. Do I want one?? YES!

No reason, other than that-

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

[/IMG]I'm getting some confused "logic" here. A 3.5lb. pistol is harder to carry than an 7-8 lb rifle? Hard to shoot, too much recoil, inneffective? There are many seasoned shooters that can shoot the 460 or 500 snub guns quite well. I recently shot my 500ES at 50 yards, and put all five shots into 7 inches from standing unsupported. My load was a "warm" 375gr. @ 1200fps. This is about 1.5x a full house .44 Mag. I can easily load the 500 up to 2x 44 mag power, but this is the gray area. I can exceed the power of the .45-70 in a rifle, at the price of punishment from a handgun. For bear defense, it might be worth it. For hunting elk at 50-75 yards, my 2 3/4" 500 with my warm load will easily do as well as ANY rifle. I can carry this "snub" in a nicely designed Sparks holster on a 1 3/4" belt, and not be burdened. THAT is the pupose for these guns, and even the .44 Mags and .454's that others might choose. Shot placement capable, and power to spare, Elmer Keith would have LOVED these guns.

 

[flat top]

SharpsDressedMan; You make a good point. As most pistoleros know, the 44 Mag has taken every large dangerous game animal in the world. The larger calibers, if they can be handled by the shooter, offer just that much more power to get the job done. I shoot the 44 Mag because it is all I can handle well (I have some physical problems that limit caliber use in a handgun), but if someone can handle more, I say more power to them! We just have to find our comfort level, and I think that most folks if given the chance to experiment with different big bore snubbies would probably find one that would suit them well.

 

[bromdenlong]

I read somewhere (on this forum, I believe) that Slide & Cylinder and other establishments can cut the cylinder of a Redhawk or Super Redhawk to take full moon clips.

An SRH Alaskan in .454 could then shoot .45acp, .45 Colt in all its variations, .454 Casull, even .45 auto rim and .45 schofield if available and desired. Possibly even .45 glock, though I think someone wrote that that would require different moon clips.

I'm sure I'd shoot .45acp and .45 Colt almost exclusively with it, probably mostly cowboy-level loads with the latter. I just really like the idea of shooting effective and reasonable lower-pressure loads out of a revolver made to shoot much higher-pressure rounds. I find over-engineering comforting, especially in a self-defense weapon. I don't know how comfortable it would be to carry, but I'd think it would be great for home defense.

If you don't care for moon clips, it still seems like it'd be a great home defense gun with .45 Colt. I've shot .45 Colt loads in a 7.5 inch .454 SRH and I liked it quite a bit. I might opt for a smaller grip.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I probably should have emphasized that the really big guns CAN be loaded down, or wherever you desire to compromise with power and control. I am not worried about grizzlies here in Ohio (although I have a neighbor with a Siberian tiger, 400+ pounds of cat, that he admits got out once but was re-acquired before he had to report it). I load the Rem 375gr bullet in the 500 to about 1200-1250, and that gets my (and my neighbors' ) attention. The nice thing about the .460 S&W is a user has the choice of .45 Colt, .454, or the heavy .460's. Some like it for that reason alone.

 

[SP Shop Foreman]

I dunno. From that picture it looks like the recoil about knocked the Kid's pants off!

SP

 

[batmann]

I am going to vote in favor of the big bore 'snubbies' because I have one. Mine is an Alaskan in .44M and to be quite frank, it is easier to shoot well than my 4" S&W. The Alaskan balances better, has almost as nice a trigger and I can see the front sights better (old eyes) it, but my main reason is I like it, shoot it well, add that to the reasons Mainsail has stated and that is my justification

 

[Wolfeye]

I've read the posts... here's my rationale for big bore snubs:

• a snub big bore is generally more powerful than a long barreled gun in the next smaller caliber
• snub barreled handguns are easier to pack when hiking off-trail, a concern in areas like AK were there are few trails to choose from
• snubs clear the holster & point very quickly
• you don't need a long sight radius in defensive situations where your target is at point blank range; instict would be to point & shoot anyway
• you don't need the extra velocity a longer barrel gives; your target is probably within spitting distance, not 50 yards out
• going from a 4 or 6" barrel to a snub doesn't decrease velocity as much as one would think

So, snubs are practical for defense. I carry one about half the time, though I often prefer a medium barreled gun in a smaller caliber because it's cheaper to shoot.