The 44 hasnt gone backwards, the others have just gotten bigger. Just cuz a 454,475, 460, 500, 480 gives ya more doesnt mean anything about how effective the 44 can be. Id argue with modern bullets and the fact we have more good choices than ever means the 44 is better than ever.

I agree, tradmark. Like I said, I love my SBH and it was my favorite carry gun when I owned 18 horses and was so active on horseback, running my custom trail ride business and packing hunters and camps in and out. One of the last scenes in my handgun hunting video shows me wearing it cross-draw style.

The big bore revolver race is kinda like the pick-up truck diesel engine thing. I will just give info on the Dodge Cummins diesel engine for now that is available in Ram 2500 trucks.

In their very first year, 1989, the Cummins diesel produced 160 horsepower and 400 foot pounds of torque. For 2017, yes the motor is a bit larger (just like the big bore cartridges are) but you get 370 horsepower and 800 foot pounds of torque.

Apparently, here in the good ol' USA, bigger is always better.

I was actually thinking along those lines and my 2016 Cummins when I posted that. When I was a truck fiend in the mid to late `90's, I never would've imagined I'd one day be driving a truck with 900ft-lbs of torque AND getting 19mpg.

Yup and i never imagined how awesome it would be to tow my rv over wolfcreek pass, coalbank, molas and red mountain pass with all that extra power.

I shot a B&C record book bear with my .44 mag. Hunting from home in Colorado, came upon the bear and shot him as he was facing me. At the first shot he froze, at the second he dropped and rolled down the hill. Fish and Game estimated his weight at 600 lbs. Bullets went through him end to end, from point of right shoulder to lodge just under the hide in left hind quarter. 325gr Cast Performance WLN. Shots were at 10 yards.

Dang, nice shooting and a helluva bear.

COBRAD: WERE YOU OUT HUNTING OR WAS THIS AN INCIDENTAL KILL, IF THE LATTER, I AM SURE YOU WERE GLAD YOU WERE CARRYING.

Cobrad, quite a story, bet that got the heatr rate up a bit at 10 yds. Good job!!

Dick

I'm a 50 caliber guy, at least I was before cancer attacked my body. I haven't shot in several weeks, just completed a series of chemotherapy and radiation. Lost 50 pounds of my precious muscle that took me 43 years to build.

I'm just HAPPY TO BE ALIVE, typing on this thread. Thanks guys for such thought provoking questions.

.44 is plenty

TALKING ABOUT REVOLVERS AND THE BIG STUFF, THE OTHER DAY AT THE HIGH POINT RANCH I GOT TO SHOOT TRADMARK's 7 1/2 INCH BFR BISLEY IN 460 LOADED WITH 300 gr BULLETS @ 2,000fps, HIS PRIMARY GUN AND LOAD FOR AN AFRICAN SAFARI NEXT MONTH. RECOIL WAS NOT BAD AT ALL WITH THE BFR BISLEY, I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. 300gr BULLETS @ 2,000fps IN A 7 1/2 INCH REVOLVER, SOMETHING SPECIAL.

Impressive, although I don't have the 460 yet, I do have the 500 s&w, 500 wyoming express, 480 Ruger, and 454 casull. Bisley grip is the only way to go on the big bores.

I'm interested in the size and bulk of the BFR. What is your expert opinion on firearm. I am waiting to take delivery of a BFR Chambered in 45-70. Mine is equipped with 7.5 inch barrel.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

I HAVE VERY LIMITED BFR EXPERIENCE, BUT THE BARREL/CYLINDER GAP ON TRADMARK'S 460 WAS UNDER .002, AND THE BISLEY GRIP REALLY TAMED THE RECOIL. TRADMARK SAYS THE BFR GIVES HIM 100fps MORE THAN HIS 10 1/2 INCH S&W PC 460, SO THE BFR SEEMS TO BE PUT TOGETHER WELL

45 Man, what 300grn bullet does Tradmark use in the BFR. I have a 1"x15" MGM Encore barrel with their break and I'm shooting the 200grn Barnes copper hollow point. Not sure of the velocity yet but it's smoking. With a red dot and Pachmayr grip it is not bad on the recoil.
Mike

HAWKEYE: IT IS A 300gr CEB

In 2009 I was able to hunt water buffalo in Australia. Australian law doesn't allow you to import handguns for hunting purposes but you can legally get a hunting license and use your guide's handgun. I was using Hunt Australia and the owner Matt Graham offered up his 7.5" Ruger Redhawk chambered in 44 mag for the hunt. I ended up taking one trophy bull, 2 management bulls, 1 cow, and 1 large wild boar with the Ruger. I was using Matt's handloads, which consisted of 300 gr Hornady XTPs over a max charge of Australian powder equal to H110. Every shoot I felt the pressure to be perfect. The 2nd and 3rd largest bulls required 3 shots. The trophy bull required 2 shots. The hog and cow were 1 shot kills.. All of my shots were heart or lung shots. So, the 44 mag will work on big critters but I would have loved to have my 454, 460, or 500 for that hunt. I believe the larger heavier bullets would have hit the animals harder and put them down quicker.

When we had hound hunting (with not for) in California, I conducted my own private survey on the most popular rifle and pistol among bear guides that I knew. The winners were Pistol: the ,44 Magnum by a wide margin; and for Rifle the .300 Savage, which was a surprise to me. Smallest caliber rifle and pistol cartridge was the .223 Remington on both counts. Most unique was a T/C Contender pistol in .223 Remington ("Shoot 'em in the eye"). Pistols were preferred over rifles by a 3 to 1 margin for portability and because the Client usually had a rifle. This was a small sampling in one area, but interesting nonetheless.

The original BFR was made by D-MAX for Magnum Research. These guns were replaced by stronger more refined version approximately 18 years ago. The D-MAX guns can be distinguished by a DM prefix in the serial number. I am not sure of the exact date, but the first caliber produced on the new frame was the .480 Ruger. This was around the time the MRI custom shop first offered the JRH models.

I have one of the DM guns in 45/70 that has been given the Stalker treatment by Ken Kelly at Magnaport. It is a beautiful gun and is very accurate. That being said, both the barrel and cylinder have been replaced by MRI/Magnaport, as being out of spec. When the original 7.5" barrel was replaced, I requested a 10.5" replacement, and had Ken Kelly cut it to 8 3/8" before he gave it the Stalker treatment. For me, this is the perfect length for the extended frame BFR calibers. This gun appears in my avatar.

I also have the newer model BFR in .480 Ruger. This gun was perfect out of the box and shoots both steel and lead equally well. How does it compare to the Ruger SGH and Freedom Arms? As one writer put it, the new BFR is far and away a better gun than the Ruger, but the standard gun is not quite a Freedom Arms. I like all three makes, but I agree with that assessment. All of them are superb hunting guns, but the best combination of price and features, the BFR gets my vote.