Nomercy

I really didn' t read all of what' s been said, but I' m gonna bite on a couple of these:

recoiljunky: I really wish I could remember what issue it was in, but about 5-6 years ago G&A ran an article on dB ratings of handguns, in " equal" muzzle velocity loads in equal barrel lengths, a .357 is louder than a .44mag, according to their study, and I generally tend to believe that they know what they are talking about, but you can take it up with Grits or Craig if you like. It was very interesting, they went on to claim that why guys like yourself believe that the .44mag is so much louder is much simply because they are thinking about it being more powerful, kind of like how a guy will shoot a 12ga 3" mag all day long for ducks and never complain, but put him on a bench with a .375H&H mag and he' ll take two shots and pack it up, claiming too much recoil (average weight shotgun with 12ga 3" mags gives around 3-8ft.lbs. more recoil energy than average weight/load .375H&H), it' s all in your head. My self, I' ll very much confirm that .357' s are capable of being as loud or moreso than .44mags, a buddy of mine brought out his hand-rolled .357' s and his 8" bbl S&W custom, and I had my 7.5" Ruger SBH (shorter barrel should be louder), he claimed that he was pushing his rounds an average of 25fps faster than the printed data for my own (which I had chronoed to be accurate for my SBH, for once!!!), I usually get by with only a good set of muffs when shooting, even when we' re having a " auto-day" , and I doubled down when he went barking fire with that S&W!!!!

Big bore, I did mention the .480ruger, but it was very early in the thread. I think why it hasn' t gotten more premise here is because it is simply overpowered for what a guy needs/expects out of a deer hunting handgun. It' s great that you can reach out and knock a deer in the dirt at 150yrds with it, I' d own one if I didn' t have a .45-70 custom done by Magnum research, however, for most hunters, handgun hunting signifies getting closer than one would have to with a rifle, so where' s the fun in taking a handgun as capable as your rifle??? Most people consider the .44mag' s recoil to be more than enough for a hunting pistol, many claim it is horendous, advise those people to get a .480....well, you can only imagine what they' d be calling you shortly. I won' t agree that the .480 would do " bad things" to deer, in the loads available (especially opportune in handloads), there are several bullets that give outstanding performance on deer, meat damage isn' t noticeably worse than even with a .44mag, let alone a .454cassul. Often times the peripheral meat damage caused by .357' s is worse than some of the .480 and .45-70 wounds I' ve seen, with similar placements.

I' m sure theres more I should chew on, but this is already pretty lengthy.

recoiljunky

Although I' ve never shot one (hell of a way to start an opinion) I can' t vote for the 480 for one specific reason. The 480 is a short 475 Linebaugh. By comparison, the 357 gets my vote over the 38S&W, the 44mag over the 44 special, and the 454 Casull over the 45 Colt. I just can' t bring myself to by a firearm that is the foundation to a souped up version.

The counterarguement to my dismisal of the 480 would be " ever price a 475 Linebaugh?"

If you shop right, buy used compared to new, you can get the 44mag / 357 mag for little more than their smaller counterparts.

Magnum Research makes the cheapest 475 Linebaugh ($900 I think). Ruger' s 480 is probably around $650. Truthfully, that price difference makes the 480 attractive.

I' m sure the 480 is an excellent hunting round.

neweboarhunter

[8D] I like the 44 mag you can load it to equal 44special or load' em heavy. Heck you can shoot 44special for practice. Would like to shoot the new 480 ruger I hear it doesn' t kick much more than a 44 mag and alot less than 454 cas. The hand rifles I see no need for them the recoil and muzzleblast is terrible. If you want to shoot rifle cartridges buy a rifle. The things are not even handy to deploy in a real world hunting situation. O.K. I see two uses that might make sense, though a rifle is handier: 1. Praire dog plinking caliber 2. target practice. Nothing above a .223

Nomercy

The .480 doesn' t really kick all that much less than a .454 cassul on average, it' s about the difference between a standard velocity 180gr .308 and a standard velocity 150gr .30-06, not really that much difference, it' s mostly in your head, you' re thinking it kicks less, so you believe it does. The major difference is in the type of recoil, the .454 cassul feels like someone place-kicked your palm, while the .480 feels like a linebacker running into it. Both hit incredibly hard, it' s just that the .454 does it in a sharp kick, and the .480 does it in a longer shove, kind of the same reason you can shoot 3" 12ga' s all day but only take a box of .30-06 before packing in, even though the real recoil is quite similar, the longer period of time in which it is exerted in the 12ga doesn' t make you think it hurts as much as the sharp snap of the .30-06. However, both recoil a very considerable amount more than .44mags, as opposed to what has been stated by someone here.

I don' t remember what sales were in effect (or if there were any) when I bought my Magnum research .45-70gov, but it was equally priced to the .475 and .500 linebaughs, and it came at only $725. That said, as you mentioned the Ruger SRH at $650, they' re a bit cheaper around here usually, I' ve seen them as low as $500, but that was a special sale (the shop picks a fist full of guns every month and puts them on EXTREME sale, regardless of make/model/whatever, it' s a great deal).

Why did I buy the .45-70, I' m not sure I guess, but it wasn' t for a deer hunting gun, even though I use it for that. No one needs that much gun to hunt deer in a handgun, it' s just too overpowered for the SHOOTER (not for the game). If a second shot is necessary, in the same time period, I could throw two follow ups from my .44mags before I could rewind and follow up once with the .45-70, but I don' t miss, so it' s not a problem, but it could be.

neweboarhunter

Some shooters and hunters have stated their opinions on rifle round in various handguns. What about true pistol rounds in light carbine rifles. Lever action, single shot, or bolt action. I think the lever gun makes the most sense.

ths78

hey everyone, check out this page for 357 hunting ballistics. And keep in mind that these figures are from a 4" barrel, so therefore they' ll be even better from a 6" or 8" .

This 180 gr. sp is what I have used, and I highly recommend it for deer. With a well placed shot into the heart/lungs, even though energy figures may be lower than some hunters are comfortable with, it will kill deer very quickly at 75+ yds.

From an 8 3/8" barrel, you shoud be getting over 600 lbs of energy at this distance, which is more than enough if you do your job with shot placement.

http://www.corbon.com/357magnum.html

Nomercy

neweboarhunter: I LOVE hunting carbines...most often I use .44mags in marlin 1894' s, I' ve used a couple .45colts and a .357. I' m planning on trying out a .44-40 this season too. It' s really great, the funniest thing is, I get almost the same range limitations with my .44mag as most .30-30' s, with a third of the powder and about 1 and a half times the bullet. Out to 125-50yrds, hot loaded all lead bullet .44mags will drop deer like stones. I wouldn' t shoot that far with a wheelgun because I can' t shoot them well enough out there to be ethical, while that' s a snap with my carbines. The only thing I don' t really like about it is that I am still hunting with a rifle, at cerca rifle ranges, if I' m taking out a .44mag, I' d rather just take out one of my revolvers and actually change the way I have to hunt. Hunting with a carbine or with a handgun, even in the same cartridge are two totally different animals, the lever gun gets so much increased accuracy and velocity just from having three-6 times the barrel, not to mention that modern levergun actions can take more pressure than most (if not all) wheelguns, so you can increase the power even further, like I said, it' s not a handgun hunt with a rifle, it' s a weak rifle hunt, you get nearly the same range capabilities as most guys take with high powered rifles anyway, it' s just that you' re using a handgun cartridge instead.

Don' t get me wrong, I love leverguns, especially in handgun cartridges, but I just don' t think they should be equated with their handgun counterparts, because the hunting style isn' t the same, granted it' s close if you use the same ammunition, but the carbine will almost always outshoot and out power the handgun, no matter what the load, at least extending your range to 100yrds, where the handgun might only be accurate enough to hunt at 50-75yrds. (both without glass).

neweboarhunter

Nomercy, I too think the idea of a carbine chambered for big bore pistol rounds say .41 mag and up is one of the ideal woods rifle. If you want to include the .357 thats fine too. Also they make good youth rifles and for other people who don' t like a lot of recoil. Like you said keep the range to 125-150 yards MAX. I usually like to get the distance a little shorter than that, say 100-125 yards, but w/ a good disciplined shooter squezzeing the trigger 150 MAX o.k. Here in Indiana we can only use shotgun slugs, muzzle loader, or pistol. They allow those hand cannons wich can reach out farther than a carbine, slug gun, and muzzle loader I don' t understand that. I have called the DNR and tried to get carbines made legal, but I' m not gettin anywhere. I am NOT trying to get the hand cannons outlawed by no means. I Just feel they should reevaluate their criteria.

dodger02

I' m a hunting/firearms newbie, and just to interject something, here:

A friend and I went shopping for my first handgun on Friday (I just recently bought my first rifle). I hadn' t payed the " hunting handgun" section much attention in prior trips. But, they had a revolver in .45-70 (which I had never seen). I almost crapped my pants. Lady said it weighed between 6-7lbs.

To all those who shoot these monsters: ya' got a big pair of brass " ones" !

444/44

wHAT ABOUT THE 444 MARLIN IN THE T/C CONTENDER?