DWFan

Buying new? Get a Dan Wesson .445 SuperMag. Considering used? Get a Dan Wesson .44 Magnum. Dan Wessons are arguably the most accurate and durable production double-action revolvers made. (Check their track record in silhouette shooting vs. Ruger or Smith.) You want/need a scoped 10" barrel? It's available. You also want a 4" barrel for a pack-around gun? It's available too and can be used on the same frame so you don't have to buy two weapons. Barrels swap in minutes using a simple wrench and feeler guage; no gunsmithing. If available grips/stocks don't suit you, you can get a blank and carve your own since the grip attaches with a studthat allows nearly any style or size.
Check your game laws carefully. Some states, such as Indiana, determine that a cartridge having a case length longer than a prescribedmaximum is considered a rifle cartridge no matter what it's used in. The .460 S&W Magnum, for example, is illegal in Indiana for deer hunting because it is .175" over maximum length.

crimedog

Looks like a big No for Southern Md. Sure I can use it in Vienna or Smithsburg but whats the point. Guess I'm stuck using the old smoke pole during rifle season here in Southern Md, if you can call an Encore a smoke pole. Thanks guys, the ammo prices and recoil of handgun mean nothing to me, I remember the day when handgun hunters claimed the same thing about the 44 mag that is being said about the 460, 480, and 500.

BigJ71

Dan Wesson makes a great handgun.....Highly underrated if you ask me. Here's one I'm quite fond of.

BigJ71

Another Pic....

BigJ71

Another...

BigJ71

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DWFan

I need to correct myself here. I was shown by a friend that in the 2007-2008 Indiana hunting laws, the maximum length rule only applies to "handgun caliber" rifles; not handguns themselves. My apologies for the misinformation.

Damn nice .44, BigJ71. Says it like it should be.

sixgunluvr

My fav. is a Ruger Super Blackhawk 10 1/2in. .44 Magnum with handloaded Hornady 240gr. xtp's over 23gr. of H110
Equally acceptable factory loads for everything from groundhogs to elk would be numerous.

bronko22000

Perhaps a shorter barreled version of the 460. You can also shoot 45 LC, 454 out of it. Best thing is to determine what you are going to use it for and what fits you best. You can't really go wrong with a .44.
One interesting thing I was just reading in my American Rifleman is a revolver from Freedom Arms and a cartridge labeled the 500 Wyoming Express. Freedom want to use their existing revolver but the cylinder was getting a bit cramped for the big 500 cartridge so they had to reduce thesize of the rim which caused headspace problems. So what did they do? They put a belt on the case. So I guess we now have the first belted Revolver cartridge. This beast can throw a 400 gr slug out at over 1600 fps. But the author admits, the recoil is brutal.

DWFan

"One interesting thing I was just reading in my American Rifleman is a revolver from Freedom Arms and a cartridge labeled the 500 Wyoming Express. Freedom want to use their existing revolver but the cylinder was getting a bit cramped for the big 500 cartridge so they had to reduce thesize of the rim which caused headspace problems. So what did they do? They put a belt on the case. So I guess we now have the first belted Revolver cartridge."

Freedoms Arms felt that, with a .524" case diameter, a .542" diameter rim wouldn't be enough to headspace on so they made the case with...(drum roll and gasp of awe)...a .542" diameter belt.

Uh-huh. Sounds like they took a page from a certain individual's book on "proprietary cartridges".