How about this revolver collection?

[liv4spd]

If you are only allowed to own 3 revolvers, what would they be? I'm thinking of these:
- Ruger LCRx 22 LR
- Ruger SP101 327 Fed Mag
- Smith & Wesson 686 SSR

They cover a good range of calibers, and size categories.

[bamaranger]

SMALL-.22lr Ruger Single 6, 5.5", the convertible model would allow both .22lr and .22 mag, but the lr model only would see the most use

MED-.357 K-frame, or a Ruger GP, 4"bbl. About the most versatile handgun one can own. Ammo options across the spectrum, mild to magnum (.38/.357)

LARGE-.44 Mag, likely a Ruger Super B, 7-1/4". Big, but it needs to be. More power than most of us need, and all that most of us can handle. Medium to large game capable. The .44 spl cartridge a mild alternative in the same gun.

[upstate81]

Smith and wessons for me. Model 617 4 inch .22lr, model 66 2.5 inch .357 mag, model 19 6 inch .357 magnum

[Nathan]

3 total? OMG!

S&W 629 5” with red dot: big bore, bear defense, hunting, fun

Ruger Blackhawk Bisley 5.5” 45 Colt: hunting, plinking, single action

S&W 340: ccw

If I could add a 4th, a 14-3 6” Set up as a full target wadcutter 38 spcl

A 5th, 17-3 setup same as the 14-3 in 22LR.


….but dang….nothing old? Nothing combat style? Nothing high end? Oh wait 70’s S&W is pretty high end!!!

[jetinteriorguy]

Ruger GP100-4”, S&W Model 27-4”, and S&W Model 57-4”.
With a little polishing, some shims from Trigger Shims, and springs from Wolff the GP can easily have as good a trigger as any revolver I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a few.

[liv4spd]

What is the appeal of 44 Mag revolvers, unless you want to kill a bear or a moose?

[upstate81]

Originally Posted by liv4spd

What is the appeal of 44 Mag revolvers, unless you want to kill a bear or a moose?

Hunting deer, antelope, elk. Possibly mountain lion defense, just feels good to carry a big stick.

[Nathan]

What is the appeal of 44 Mag revolvers, unless you want to kill a bear or a moose?

It is derived from the movie wording where,

I know what you're thinking: "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?

I mean who doesn’t want to master the most powerful handgun in the world?! Ok, I get it that there are other big guns, but 44 magnums are generally built for high recoil, great precision and performance. Who cannot imagine a reason to strap on a 5” 44 magnum? What other holster gun is quite capable from 0 to 100 yds?

BTW, I’ve taken a mule deer buck at 125 with a 44 magnum.

They are also kind of a certain shoot ability limit. I can probably shoot a 44 mag about 2 per second, maybe a tad slower. Change that to something bigger and that slows to like 1 per second or slower in a big SA. That is why I consider the 44 magnum good bear defense.

[liv4spd]

Originally Posted by Nathan

It is derived from the movie wording where,


I mean who doesn’t want to master the most powerful handgun in the world?! Ok, I get it that there are other big guns, but 44 magnums are generally built for high recoil, great precision and performance. Who cannot imagine a reason to strap on a 5” 44 magnum? What other holster gun is quite capable from 0 to 100 yds?

BTW, I’ve taken a mule deer buck at 125 with a 44 magnum.

They are also kind of a certain shoot ability limit. I can probably shoot a 44 mag about 2 per second, maybe a tad slower. Change that to something bigger and that slows to like 1 per second or slower in a big SA. That is why I consider the 44 magnum good bear defense.

All good points. It seems 44 mag is a good caliber for who loves hunting and live in a suburban or rural environment.

However, I don't really see the need for urban dwellers. The cons: too chunky and heavy, the recoil is too much, it will probably deafen people's ears without proper protection.

[jar]

A SAA clone most likely one of my old Hawes imports.

A Colt Pocket Positive or S&W I frame in 32 Long.

a S&W Model 10 4" barrel.

[PzGren]

Easy enough, I would take some of my revolvers that have proven themselves.

[rclark]

Easy enough. .22 Ruger Single Six. A .45 Colt Ruger Flattop. A .44 Special Ruger Flattop. All 5 1/2 barrels. Simple. Of course, this is a VERY unrealistic outlook, as you also need a .45 Colt SAA, and at least one Ruger Old Army for black powder shooting. Then a revolver for Conceal Carry (at least a small .44 Special) . So it goes.

[The Happy kaboomer]

Never gonna happen......What's ya next "only" number? 6-18-4-23?????????

[liv4spd]

Originally Posted by The Happy kaboomer

Never gonna happen......What's ya next "only" number? 6-18-4-23?????????

Social media is wild. I was barely asking for the top 3 of something.

[liv4spd]

Originally Posted by PzGren

Easy enough, I would take some of my revolvers that have proven themselves.

Very beautiful. Which model is this?

[Pathfinder45]

Originally Posted by liv4spd View Post
What is the appeal of 44 Mag revolvers, unless you want to kill a bear or a moose?

This is a great and valid question... Thank you for asking! You've already partly answered it, i.e., killing a bear before it kills you....But there's more to it than that...
First of all, let me say that I have never owned a 44 Magnum, due to the fact that I've always been a 45 Colt guy, myself... That being said, I will readily admit that the 44 Magnum is a beteer choice than 45 Colt, [I]for most people, but not everyone.[I]

On the negative side, the 44 Magnum is way too powerful for most people to shoot well in a revolver. And so, part of the appeal is actually irrational, that is to have something so powerful. It appeals to Machismo. And these type of fellows aren't even honest enough with themselves to admit that it's really too much gun for them. Never the less, this fact drives many sales.
Another negative thing: Both 44 Magnum and 45 Colt ammo weighs twice as much as 357 Magnum ammo; take note ye wilderness backpackers! When ounces matter, your pack is still several pounds over your target weight! Think about it....

Enough negativity already! In praise of the 44 Magnum, all Hollywood B.S. aside, consider some of this:
The 44 Magnum came about in the search for more power than previously available in revolvers prior to that time. Experiments were conducted with 45 Colt and 44 Special primarily and weapons were tested to the point of destruction. While there was room for improvement on all fronts, it was found that due to the limits of cylinder wall thickness in the revolvers available at the time, there was more to be gained from the 44 Special than 45 Colt before the guns blew up.
To take things further would require newer, larger, stronger revolvers. Basically, the 44 Magnum was taking the next step from where they had to leave off. It could have almost as easily been the 454 Casull, since new guns were needed anyway; but that's another story.
So, the 44 Magnum is a direct enhancement and replacement of at least 3 other calibers, i.e., 45 Colt, 44 S&W Special, and not to be comletely ignored, the 44 WCF, AKA 44-40.

The main thing that makes the 44 Magnum better is not the extra power, even though that was the primary motivation for its creation. Rather, it was a new, modern caliber, made to closer, more precise tolerances than was possible in the previous century.

So, with a typical 44 Magnum, your going to get a lot more accurate shooting revolver than the average 45 Colt whithout having to get custom work done on it to make it so. How many of us 45 Colt shooters have had our cylinder throats reamed to get the gun to shoot a decent group? I know I have.

As mentioned, I'm a 45 Colt guy and don't mind tinkering with the gun to improve it. But the Ruger Super-Blackhawk in 44 Magnum is an excellent piece of hardware.

[Aguila Blanca]

Only three?

1) .22: Ruger Super Single Six convertible
2) Colt Detective Special in .38 Special (Or, if money is no object, Colt Python 3" -- Blued -- original, not the current production)
3) Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt convertible

[1972RedNeck]

What is the appeal of 44 Mag revolvers?

I agree. 454 Casull is a much better choice.

[PzGren]

Very beautiful. Which model is this?

They are all Korth Sports, 24 serial prefix from 1969, 26 serial prefix from 1971 and a 30 prefix.

Some people prefer the Mulhouse MR73 over a Korth but I love the post-69 Ratzeburg Korths, enough to have visited both Korth factories. The MR73 profited from the input of Sassia, inspired by his training with NYPD and use of revolvers in law enforcement. When the S&W 19-3, that was special built for the GIGN, did not meet his long term expectations, Sassia contracted Manurhin to built a gun to his requirements.

The result is a fine revolver.

from this:

to this:

[orionengnr]

I enjoy these thought exercises in "what if you can have only"...

Okay, I got this.

Small--1 7/8" M-638 J-frame .38 Spl
Medium--4" M-66 K-frame .357 Mag
Large--4" N25-4 .45LC

Wait a minute... no room for my .22LR 4" M18.
And my 3", 5-rd Taurus M441 .44 Spl is a "large" cartridge in a "medium" frame...where does it fit in?

Guess this isn't so "easy" after all. Maybe that's why I don't own just three?

All this to say, it's a great time to be a firearms enthusiast, esp. if you are a handloader.

[Henry400]

Hmm only 3.
Colt Python 4" .357 Magnum
Colt Cobra 2" .38 Special
Colt Diamondback 4" .22LR

[bamaranger]

A .44 mag revolver is largely a cartridge intended for hunting, though it had a strong following in the metallic silhouette game, but the ability to shoot .44 spl from them, or down load the magnum cartridges if one is a handloader, can tame the magnums and make them suitable for other tasks.

The question was posed regarding moose or bear, and I think the .44 mag would be marginal for moose or the big sometimes dangerous western bears. I've been around black bears a good bit in my younger days, and though there're a wild animal, and I don't fully trust them, they are not near the threat like their cousins, and a .44 mag would likely deal easily with the average blackie, and I suspect that such a bear would run under 300 lbs, though they certainly grow bigger.

The .44 is plenty of gun for whitetail and hogs and entirely suitable choice. Consider that one step down in the revolver world is the .41 mag, somewhat dormant, so the logical next choice is the .357, which will work for medium game certainly, but I would consider borderline in energy. Yes, lots of critters have fallen to the .357, but were I choosing a revolver hunting cartridge, (and I was, remember "your 3") it would be something bigger than .357. In the other direction, the .454 and .480 are bigger cartridges and begin to break into the realm of the speciality. Never shot either, but I suspect they are getting right up there in serious recoil. There are likely far more .44's in circulation and afield, than their bigger brothers.

The .44mag is no longer "the most powerful handgun in the world" and I'm sure many here can (and will) name others. The .44 is a handful, extremely noisy and with a lot of flash, but it is manageable and shot well by a lot of folks. Typically they are not shot a lot. One won't fire 200 full power rounds in succession at the range and claim they enjoyed it. But I think they can be managed by most enthusiasts. I would not hand one to bamawife, a younger kid, or any inexperienced shooter. But if you hunt with a handgun for medium game, want a poweful handgun in relatively portable package for protection from toothy critters, or play the silhouette game, they are the popular choice.

[rclark]

a .44 mag would likely deal easily with the average blackie,

Brian Pearce's son took a black bear with with the Ruger medium frame .45 Colt flattop... mention as a reference. As a 'defense' revolver .45 Colt, .44 Mag, or .44 Special will work just fine on most if not all large animals. The .357 is what I would call marginal. The appeal of the .44 Mag goes back to Elmer Keith (for us gun nuts) and of course Dirty Harry for every one else.

[stuckinthe60s]

ruger speed six 3" 9mm
ruger security 6 s/s 4" 38/357
high standard sentinel mk3 357 3"

[stuckinthe60s]

pzgren...how do the new beretta imports stack up against the older mr73's?

also too, a point usually missed on well built revolvers is...smooth d.action. pythons d.action is legendary.

how is a korths or mr73's d.action stack up against a python?

people always talk about looks and feel, but never say anything about what (should be) the most important feature.