What are your opinions on the Magnum Reserarch line of BFR revolvers? I'm still have not started the process yet to get my permit mostly because I'm waiting for tax season. However I am looking at guns and plan to make a purchase once I get my permit and was looking for a 41 Mag to carry as a back up/ thick cover gun for deer hunting. However the problem is finding a 41 Mag to begin with so I was looking and stumbled on the Magnum BFR line and was thinking of getting a 44 Mag or ever a 444 Marlin and using it as a primary weapon instead of a back up.

They are great guns. Check out some of the groups posted by 430man and Whitworth. Like anything mechanical built by humans, they are not all created equal, but there are a lot of them that shoot like rifles. The long cylinder guns are huge and long, but still weigh less than even a very lightweight rifle.

They are all I will buy anymore but will not turn down Ruger either. I have the 45-70, .475 and .500 JRH. All have shot 1" and under at 100 yards if I do my part and that with cast boolits.
I much prefer the .475 and .500 JRH over anything for hunting but do fall back to the .44 if I fail to cast boolits and load.
I was out last week with the .500 and laid shotgun shells on their sides, shot into the bases at 50 yards from a rest. I hit 4 but nicked the rail under one, peeled the brass off and cut the case almost in half. I only found 3 cases in the weeds.

This gun is out of box, I never even did a trigger job.
These are 3 shot sighters at 50 yards with the .475.

Very nice, Might I ask how much you paid? Just want to get a comparision of MSRP to actual retail.

I've seem 'em new for as little as $850.00. They are a great gun and tend to be very accurate out of the box. They need a little massaging, but they make a great foundation and are tough to beat for the price.

There customer service stinks to high heaven,Ive got a 454 bfr that I could never work a decent load up for so my son says let me use it and Ill try some factory loads out of it,long story short we sent it in and they said nothing wrong with it,scoped with their factory scope it shot just under 2 1/2 inches at 25 yds,your good to go.What a crock of hs.

Thats quite unfortunate but I do find that some times the person you get at customer service can make or break a company. I have contacted several companies and have gotten people that are rude or not very concerned with my particular problem. Also as with anything man made you do get lemons from time to time and yes there may be nothing wrong with it physically as to the manufacturer. The price seems good at that point.

840.00 dollars seems good to ya for a gun that shoots 2 1/2 inches at 25 yds, your in luck I got one here for ya to buy.

I paid $715 out the door for the .475, more for the .500 but have seen the .475 on sale at Jerry's guns for $500. You need to know a dealer to save.

The .454 is a funny round with a SR primer. You can't work loads with a slow powder and can only use max loads. The twist on the BFR is fast at 1 in 16" so it will favor heavy boolits. Factory loads might suck. The Freedom is 1 in 24" and favors lighter bullets. The START for the BFR will be 335 gr, don't expect 250 gr boolits to shoot.
We found most factory loads pulled crimp with a cylinder full too and they had excess crimps not needed. That changes case capacity from shot to shot.
Whit and I have cut primer pockets to take LP mag primers and increased accuracy a great deal. They allow working loads with slow powders.
Much of your problem might be the SR primer. it will blow boolits out before good ignition.
My loads have done 1" or less at 50 yards.
Don't blame the gun until you understand the caliber. It is a misfit at the start.
I made the thing work but it is a caliber I refuse to own.

No, it should shoot better than that -- much better than that. That said, they cost about as much as a new Ruger. They offer a lot of bang-for-the-buck as far as I am concerned.

If they would only offer it in a Bisley grip......

I discussed this with a Mag Research rep., hope'n to spark an interest; but he didn't even know what a Bisley grip was..LOL! He told me that several manufactures made grips for the BFR, if I didn't like the one's that came on it...

(There should be some kind of screen'n process)

True, it is what is done at the loading bench that will make most guns shoot.
But then, how does one shoot? Can he make a gun perform?
I have had guys shoot my guns that will do 1" at 100 plow tater furrows all across my range. The gun must be bad I guess!

I don't want no stinking Bisley and if all MR revolvers came with them I would never buy another.

...but I like a Bisley Grip.

Tim I did most of my load work with H110 and 296 the same powders I know,240 xtp mags 300 xtp mags ,300 sieera flat points using primers as called for in the manuals ,used as heavy a crimp as I could and after many many rounds didnt come up with a decent load evidently the factory couldnt do any better.I really like the Cassul round and believe that the vast majority of bfr revovers are accurate but you couldnt prove it by mine,and saying 2 1/2 inches with a scope at 25 yds garbage like we all know.

Ah yes, the one guy who doesn't like the Bisley grip frame speaks.......

I'm about done waiting on S&W to build a gun they promissed me in April AND, I can honestly say they dont give a damn about it. SO....since the money is spent, I'm going to cancel my order and go with my first instinct, and get the BFR. Just gotta figure which caliber I want. Gotta admit though, the last thing I need to hear about MRI is they have bad customer service....lol

I love my SRH in .454,that baby will shoot 2-2 1/2 groups all day long,using the Hornady 250gr.X.T.P.

I forgot to put the range-100yards.

Youre makin me feel bad John,my SBHH will do the same.My bfr is hard to decipher a group at that range obviousley.Going to see about sending it to Rod my son still likes the gun and it will be on his dime,after its shooting he can have it.

I would have to agree! i personally do not like the feel of the stock grips. If they offered a bisley or something similar, I don't think i would have hesitated in buying one. I opted for a FA instead.

I don't think there is any doubt in their quality, just a matter of what feels good in the hands of each individual. I still may end up with one someday

I love the Bisley grip and I want "NO STINKING PLOW HANDLE". tHE "PLOW HANDLE GRIP SHOULD HAVEBEEN LEFT ON THE "PLOW"

for such a misfit caliber i sure do have several 454 tack drivers that'll all shoot an inch or better at 100 yards if i do my part/ scoped of course,

oh my goodness, they're also FA and they shoot heavy bullets really well.


my son's bfr 454 shoots really really well, and it shoots sub 300 grainers well, pretty much shoots everything we've fed it well.

The comment as to the price was not in reference to the later post of the poor groups. It seems to me to be a fair price to pay since MSRP is $1050. I was on MRI's website and see that they do custom work and have a list of calibers not mass produced but calibers they have done in the past. What is the difference between a 44 Mag and a Remington 44 Mag? I'm thinking it might be a misprint and that they meant 41 Mag, but I will ask anyways. I feel that people get caught up in the hype of faster lighter loads. Twist rate has a lot to do with good groups, go to fast and you need a longer bullet, ie heavier.

Officially, the .44 is the .44 Remington Magnum, if I can correctly recall.

Yes, the cartridge was developed by Remington and the S%W was first, then the Ruger.
Anything that says .44 mag is the Remington.

Dont know where you see the hype for faster lighter bullets here most are proponents of heavier for caliber with decent velocite in my 44 mag I shoot 240 gr to 300 gr btb cast.

I based my comment on several factors.
1) Most factory ammunition is loaded to it's max
2) Most of the factroy loads for the 454 are below 300 gr.
3) One gentlemans comment was that he could not get his 454 BFR to group at all using factory and handloaded ammunition
4) Another member mentioned his BFR liked 300+ gr. bullets
5) If you're looking to use 240 gr. bullets the smaller the caliber the better especially if you have a fast twist, I have not researched the twist of other 454 makers but the BFR is a 1:16
6) Finally if you're throwing that small of a bullet from that size bore and cartrige you must be looking for speed since the 44 Mag shoots them very well.

i have all makes of the 454 caliber that are currently in production and have a bfr, it's my son's now, and it shoots 240 to 260 grain bullets incredible well, there is not an accuracy issue here.

there is no hype for smaller faster bullets when the original FA 240/260/and 300 grain bullets took every large animal in this hemisphere and did so well. they work and they do work well, the only time this is an issue is when a bullet without adequate construction is used at a high velocity, anything from winchester, the buffalo bore,grizzly, newer speer, hornady, corbon or barnes works perfectly well on large game.

without researching and just off the top of my head of over 300 grain loads available there's at least 3 from grizzly, one from HSM, 3 from corbon, 3 from double tap, 2 from buffalo bore and sure there's more 300 grain and under size bullets available, there's plenty of larger available as well.

You must see that you MUST match bullets to twist and velocity. You can't take one bullet weight and shoot it from 800 to 1800 fps. Doesn't work.
The SR primer does not allow working loads with slow ball powders so you need max loads when 100 fps less might be a tack driver. Other powders then must be worked with. A lot of other powders will work with the SR primer but NOT 296 or H110 if you move to starting loads and work up. That primer sticks you with one load!
A LP mag primer allows ALL listed loads for the slow powders to be worked.
If you want lighter bullets to work in a fast twist, just slow them down. It is hard for some because they want as fast as a caliber can shoot without regard of fit to twist.
Revolver shooters are the very worst to understand that and will go nuts to fit a rifle.
Revolvers have a large range of weights but faster twists have a higher starting weight and a heavier end weight. Slow twists have a lower starting weight and a lower end weight.
Slow twist revolvers do better with lighter bullets. Heavy bullets can be shot if shot fast. Don't expect a 320 gr .44 bullet to be shot at 800 fps if it needs 1350 fps for stability.
The .454 must be magic, shooting from 240 gr to 400 gr bullets all at max velocity.
Someone will claim to get 1" groups at 300 yards with a 30-06 and a 1 in 10" twist using 110 gr bullets. Another will make that claim with 190 to 220 gr bullets. Who do I believe?

I expect theyll start making 454 brass to fit large pistol primers now with that new knowledge.

sorry bfr, but you just go crazy on this, i use SR mag primers for h110 and w296 and i get great accuracy, and yes, with many different bullet weights and loads. true tack driving accuracy is better with some than others but they all shoot pretty well. amazing that all of these items you criticize for leading to inaccuracy were put in place by dick casull for accuracy. you seem to be the only one here not able to shoot a 454 well. i know of no one else with your problems. i've not seen any of the problems you talk about and i've been shooting and reloading this caliber for almost 20 years now. if i did i wouldn't use it and would've switched a long time ago.

I have one in 454 and love it . At 50 yds. it will shoot 1 1/4" groups or less, and that is with full power hunting loads. My BFR really shoots everything pretty good, but it does favor the 260 gr. Nosler Partitions and the 240 gr. Hornady XTP's. My pictures on the bragging board of my targets speak for themselves. The only thing I did to mine was to get some trigger work done to it. I didn't like the trigger the way it was.

You miss it all the way. What loads are you shooting? I will bet some lead you are at or near max. Have you worked starting, listed loads? You bought the gun for velocity without regard to accuracy and load top loads only.
You totally miss the point that any reduction in 296 or H110 can result in a failure to ignite and stick a bullet in the bore.
You ignore the danger if another shot is taken with a stuck bullet.
Working starting loads lead to 5 stuck bullets and only max loads worked. That with every SR mag primer. Only going to a LR mag did it go away. I am not the only one to report a problem with starting book loads.
Ask why I post this? Is it for safety or to rebuff your knowledge?
Dick went to the SR primer with triplex loads and extreme pressures. Did you know Bullseye was the powder against the primer?
If someone sticks a bullet and unburned powder in the bore and shoots another, I am not here, I don't want to hear about it, you explain it.
It took one range session to understand that 296 or H110 must NEVER be reduced to starting book loads and the books should be changed. Maybe you should care about fellow shooters and beginners.

i know all about the triplex loads and in the past have used them. however, i've never had a stuck bullet, and yes, i have many starting loads and if ya follow the load parameters i and no one i know have had a problem in any way shape or form.

why would you say i bought the gun for velocity and without regards to accuracy? that is extremely presumptuous. i bought the gun for accuracy and the fact it fit what i wanted out of a big bore pistol better than anything else.

bfr, ya know, i got a savage bull barreled 3006 that will group anything factory load i've fed it with anything from 150 gr to 180 grain sub moa, 110 grains right at an inch and hornady light mags running 200 fps faster than anything else and it's sub 1/2" group, but so is federal gold match and they weigh the same and the federal is over 200 fps slower. i've got another 30/06 made by another manufacturer and i FINALLY found something it'll digest that will produce less than a 1" group and they both have the same barrel twist.

meaning?.............it aint just about barrel twist and velocity.

If one doesn't load enough 296/H-110 into the cartridge irregardless of which caliber/cartridge then the loads will be erratic. Never ever seen one with powder stick a bullet in the barrel by not igniting in fact that is an absurd claim.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the 454. Anyone not wanting max or near max loads should not choose H1-110/296 to load with

In any caliber.......

Clear as mud, right? One man's max is another man's min. Even with the data! For whities this year I am loading my 45LC with 25 grains of H110 behind a 240 JHC, which is max by the Sierra manual. Yet, that is 10% below minimum according to Hodgdon's data for the Ruger loads. +P, +P+, -P squared to the root of P+, it is all relative.

But we digress.