.40 Cal get ya anything?

For bad 2 footers, probably wouldn't bother changing.
My main concerns are more of the 1000lb brown bear variety of which we have here aplenty.
I just bought this gun the other day as an upgrade to my 44 magnum for bear defense. It is a beast! Can't wait to try it out (on a unsuspecting beer can).
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Holy Snikies, have you ever put a Casull round through that? I don't think my old man hands could hold on to that! I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 10.5" barrel, scoped and laser ported that is about all I can handle, and it has big Pacmeyer grips.
 
A friend of mine has one of those big S&W 500 somethings. There bite's not as bad as there bark. A bit tamer than a 44mag. The 500 just lurches back. The 44 gives a real flipping motion where as if you don't hold it right it will leave your hand. Not to say my palm wasn't sore after 75 rounds.
The 460's suppose to have the biggest bite.
 
Same gun sizes? 500 is tamer than a 44?

Wow. Would not have expected that. At all.

Biggest I've ever shot was a Freedom Arms in 454 Casull with about a 7.5" barrel that wasn't ported or anything. He said you could buy less hot loads but he had Buffalo Bore hunting rounds and they were a handful!

I put 10 rounds through it with a break in between. They were WAY hotter than any 44 Magnum I've ever shot. I had a scoped Super Blackhawk and I could put 50 rounds through it in a sitting but I started to fatigue a bit after about 25. I can't imagine 75 rounds through a 500 unless it was the 10" ported bersion shooting light rounds.
 
It had the longest barrel option and was ported. The recoil is different from a 44 and seems less fatiguing. We have a range in the front yard and probably shoot more than most. I would rather shoot a big bore pistol than a rifle. I use reduced loads in my 06' I use for hunting pigs.
 
And while sitting here talking about revolvers it made me re evaluate big bores. Had a cycling accident a few years ago that left me with just 2 working fingers on my dominant hand. Not sure if I could hang on to anything bigger than a 44 these days. But I think that's big enough.
 
I think it's about how well the pistol balances out in your hand to control the sight picture while firing. Secondly, how quick it takes to switch out a magazine when doing pop up targets. Because if your shooting at twenty pop ups and miss one because the magazine doesn't easily slide in while replacement your a goner for sure.
 
It’s curious why the FBI would drop a round they commissioned 30 years ago for a round that was developed 115 years ago and cite over-penetration of ballistic gelatin in the justification. Byoungman1 probably hit on a big part of the reason – control.

The FBI cites this themselves in the list near the beginning of this thread. The difference in "stopping power" is largely immaterial, so better control takes the cake.
 
You know, I read an article in the NRA magazine many years ago that claimed for plain good old "stopping" power, the .44 Spl. (not mag.), has about the best of any common handgun?

Dunno about that detail, but I know for sure that 44 Spl out of my 6" Anaconda is a sweet-shooting combo. Bit big to be lugging around though.
 
Unless your hunting. And who the hell wants to pack anyway

If I'm pistol hunting it'll probably be the scoped, 14" Thompson Contender, also in 44 Mag. That hunk of lead packs a fair bit more punch outa that long tube.
 
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Holy Snikies, have you ever put a Casull round through that? I don't think my old man hands could hold on to that! I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 10.5" barrel, scoped and laser ported that is about all I can handle, and it has big Pacmeyer grips.
ICan't say I have fired it yet but am heading to the range tomorrow with some 45 colt that I loaded up. Should be mild. I also have a Rossi M92 clone chambered in 454 Casull and I have loaded some 355 gr hard cast bullets fairly warm which gets 1700 fps out of the Rossi's 20"barrel.. Not sure what I will get with these out of a 2.5" barrel, but hoping for 1100fps, enough to stop a bear at 20' if I am ever so unfortunate to be charged by one.

I shoot my 44 mag Blackhawk quite a bit so am used to the recoil at that level. 454 Casull is going to be a new level for sure tho !
 
You know, I read an article in the NRA magazine many years ago that claimed for plain good old "stopping" power, the .44 Spl. (not mag.), has about the best of any common handgun? Something about the slower than mag. muzzle velocity being more effective than the magnum? I keep a sawed off double barrel 12 gauge with the magnum Winch. shell with 3 00. buck followed by a one ounce slug in each barrel. I had an intruder one night that my good dog Nipper had cornered up in the downstairs bathroom. It sure got his attention when I laid it on his nose. I had fingers on both the triggers and it went through my mind what a terrible mess it would make in my driveway if I pulled them any harder. It really did. I thought about never being able to match the Cedar wood on the walls. Funny, but that may have been what saved his life. When I was showing him the door, I saw my wife in the kitchen with Her Lady Smith .357 backing me up. What a Gal I got eh?;)

I shot 1 cylinder full with a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Spl and it did have impressive stopping power ...
it made me stop shooting it. Little sucker with small wood grips was hard on the hands. :)

Glad the little lady had your back. IIRC correctly the .357 title came from real world compiled law enforcement statistics vs. a pile of jello. ;)
 
The FBI cites this themselves in the list near the beginning of this thread. The difference in "stopping power" is largely immaterial, so better control takes the cake.
Well they said "Handgun stopping power is simply a myth" which is dismissive unqualified BS. I think he is on point that the modern projectile makes the 9 mm more effective compared to hardball ammo, but the same projectile design (% expansion) with 21% more muzzle energy behind and higher mass it is going to do more damage. It's not a myth, it's physics.
 
Well they said "Handgun stopping power is simply a myth" which is dismissive unqualified BS. I think he is on point that the modern projectile makes the 9 mm more effective compared to hardball ammo, but the same projectile design (% expansion) with 21% more muzzle energy behind and higher mass it is going to do more damage. It's not a myth, it's physics.

Indeed it is dismissive, and one of the specific reasons why the FBI is changing out of 40.

The increased accuracy (of the shooter) and equivalent bullet performance outweighs the difference in energy. Rule #1 is hit the target. A 357 Mag means nothing if it doesn't connect, and connecting is also a big factor in their decision considering the apparent hit to miss ratio.

I don't know this guy from Adam but he sounds like he has some direct experience in these matters.

http://m.policemag.com/article/2994/9mm-vs-40-caliber
 
That is a very telling article, thanks for the link. Following Rule #1 for shots 2 through empty and between my wife's .380 Sig, my .45 Sig and my Ruger Security Six .357 the .380 would have the best chance of success in a home defense scenario. She'll like that, especially since she's a good shooter. I'll back her up with the .45 and then the .357 since it's the best club when the ammo's gone. :)
 
If the bear is within 20' :eek: you better be shooting over your shoulder! :biggrin:
That is an instinct that cannot be acted upon tho. One has to stand one's ground. Even a 1000 lb brown bear is faster than a sprinter in close quarters and you simply can't get away, and it is every bears instinct to chase. Also don't want to shoot further out as most often a bear will false charge, often stopping at 20 feet and moving off. The side arm is the last ditch, having a really bad day option and once the hammer drops there is simply no knowing the outcome. Best to have a gun at least capable of deep penetration cuz you likely will get just a shot or two.

As to stopping people, a gun that can deliver penetration might not be such a great thing if the bullet passes through and ends up going on through drywall and into another room, perhaps a nursery or bedroom. A 454 Casull would not be my choice for intruder protection, particularly in a suburban area as those heavy and projectiles have a way of going through anything, even a 15" tree! My choice, if I lived in a area where crime was the primary issue would be something like a double action revolver in 44 special or 45 colt. Practice shooting double action too, that way there is less of a chance of pulling the trigger accidently on someone that simply needed scaring and not dead.

If you need a 18 round clip perhaps you need to move to a better neighborhood.
 
If the bear is within 20' :eek: you better be shooting over your shoulder! :biggrin:

My best friend gets a bear nearly every year and has done so for 30 years. He uses a .44 mag from close range ...
He also uses contractors w/ dogs to run and tree them.
He's in forestry management. The bears eat the bark off the young doug fir trees and they die. They have to control the bear population to have economically feasible sustainable forestry. They don't go to waste - he makes most excellent bear salami.
 
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