Shooting those .44 Mags again today… really put the Wheel Gun itch back into me. Sure, revolvers have a limited supply of ammo on board. Sure, for most people, revolvers are slower to reload.
However, Revolvers have some other qualities that are big bonuses… They are not Ammo Sensitive like an Auto. An Auto has to fire ammo that is within a certain power range or they wont cycle. Revolvers don’t. You can shoot super light target loads, you can shoot super hot magnum hunting loads… all through the same cylinder without changing anything.
This means Revolvers are by and large more reliable and more powerful than most automatics. Revolvers are elegant in their simplicity and mechanical timing. They are more often, more esthetically pleasing to the eye than most autos.
Accuracy is generally much better than an automatic as well.
But all this is old hat to the Readers of MadOgre.com… I wrote an article about this topic many years ago. Everything I said then, is still applicable now.
I am still thinking very hard about a certain S&W revolver… a 686 SSR. Tempting… very tempting…
George, you are preaching to the choir on wheel guns here… my pocket carry is a 5 shot .44 special, and when I get another holster… the .44 mag Astra is going back into daily carry rotation.
The SSR is pure sex for a smaller gun… but is .357 really Ogreiffic enough?
😀
Jim
It is when loaded with ammo from Buffalo Bore.
I’m tempted to stop carrying my semiautos for a year, just because. Daily carry would be my 686+ sorta-snubby and bush carry would be my 657 Mountain Gun.
Yeah, I like that idea. I’m going to send my primary carry 1911 off to Crusader for some slipstream in the near future, so I’ll start my year of revolver carry the day I drop it off with UPS. After all, I’m much more likely to need one of my revolvers than one of my semiautos in a pinch, and I’ve been sadly neglecting them for a long time.
Ogre-san: if you reload, revolvers are the way to go. You can tailor your loads to whatever the task is (ie teaching granny to shoot, hunting wild hogs, etc.). ALthough I’ve had many autos and liked them, I’ve always thought the “more firepower” argument was academic for 99.99% of commenters. As a long term 44 mag shooter, I endorse your choice of caliber for this session…
Being able to put a massive heavy hit on target, with accuracy and reliability – That is Firepower.
3″ GP100 here makes a nice daily carry. I’d love to find a nice older 657 Mtn Gun.
If I had the money I’d be on one of those Chiappa Rino pistols
http://chiappafirearms.com/products/75
One big advantage to revolver ammunition is that you can use extremely blunt and thin jacketed bullets since the round doesn’t have to deal with a feed ramp like an auto loader does. You can get penetration with energy transfer that is hard to beat.
I fired a Rhino… and man… that thing feels like your shooting a 9mm pistol, even with full power magnum loads. I liked it. But they need a lot of work on their triggers.
I picked up my first .44 when I was stationed at Bitburg Air Base from the Rod & Gun Club, it was a Colt Anaconda 6″ that cost about 550.00 I ended up selling her when I was at Ramstein (along with my Springfield 1911 stainless) to fix my motorcycle. I’ve gone a good number of years without a .44 until about 5-6 years ago when I found a stainless Ruger SBH 4 5/8″ with the rounded trigger guard & Pachmyers for cheap. The shorter barrel length is perfect for me and the rounded trigger guard isn’t the knuckle buster that the squared off trigger guard that is common on the SBH. She is very accurate and if I’m well enough to do some hunting this is what I’ll take with me to get a deer.
Borrow a Ruger Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger ( a lightened .475 Linebaugh ) and give it a try.
I rather like mine. A big bullet, and less felt recoil than a .454.
I love my 329!
“Accuracy is generally much better in an automatic as well.”
Should there be a “than” ‘twixt better and in?
D’Oh! Edit!