Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 - Dan Shideler - Страница 19

Life begins at ▪40

BY DR. GEORGE E.

DVORCHAK, JR.

Revockwise from top right: Freedom Arms and Mag-Na-Port custom Stalker single action revolver in .454 Casull with Bushnell Elite 2-6 scope; Ruger, a double action Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger with Simmons 2-6X scope; another DA Ruger but a Redhawk in .44 Magnum with a Burris 1-½X4 scope; .460 S&W with Burris 1-½X4 scope; and .500 S&W DA customized by Mag-Na-Port with a Trijicon Re flex sight.

Examples of four 40+ calibers in the T/C Encore and Contender. From top: SSK barrel in .444 Marlin on a Contender with a Bushnell 2-6 scope; ribbed SSK T/C Contender in .45-70 Government with Bausch & Lomb 4X scope; T/C Encore barrel in .480 Ruger with T/C 1.25X4 scope; T/C Encore in .450 Marlin with T/C 2.5X7 scope.

As we’re all aware, big bore firearms are known for their stopping ability, which is why we like them. On the negative side, they are also known for their recoil. Yet there are many big bores, meaning 40-caliber-plus, that depending on the round, load and firearm, will not bite the hand that feeds them. Also in this category there are cartridges that cannot reach out there as effectively as some others and are at their best at shorter range.

When it comes to handguns, we have single and double action revolvers that are usually chambered for cartridges designed for use in a cylinder. Then there are the single shots which, although they do chamber traditional handgun cartridges, can also be chambered in what most would think of as rifle cartridges.

It’s not always easy to categorize big bore cartridges as being “for” one application but not “for” another. Some cartridges such as the .45 ACP have a major role in pistols for both defense and target use, yet I’ve found that this round also makes for a great close-range varmint number. On the other side of the spectrum, the .450 Marlin was designed for lever action carbines for big game. Today the T/C Encore, which can safely handle high pressure cartridges, is also chambered for the .450, and it is a handful. Then we have other cartridges as the .45 Winchester Magnum, which most would think of as a competition cartridge but which is a great cartridge for game such as whitetail. (Unfortunately it’s slowly slipping into oblivion.)

The following is a summary of some popular – and some not-quite-so-popular – big bore cartridges that are found in revolvers and single shot handguns. All are effective for the jobs they were designed to perform.

(Note: For some bullets, two sizes are listed, an apparent ambiguity which is due to which make of bullet is available for a specific cartridge. This is an example of why it is important to use the loading data developed for a specific make of bullet and follow such guidelines closely. Variations also occur in bullets from the same company, depending on whether they’re lead or jacketed.)

.44 REMINGTON MAGNUM

(0.429" or 0.430”) This revolver cartridge, which was introduced in 1955-56 as a joint venture by Smith & Wesson and Remington, is likely one of the most well-known revolver cartridges of all time. Even those who know nothing about guns have heard about this cartridge and the S&W Model 29 because of the popular Dirty Harry movies of the 1960s. The positive aspect of the publicity was that the name got out there; the bad, at least for me at that time, was that to purchase a Model 29 for hunting, if a store had one at all you could expect to pay $100 or more than the list price. The other “bad” aspect was that the .44 Magnum had a reputation of being Mr. Punishment, especially when it came to recoil. What that did was scare people away from using this fine cartridge and revolvers for hunting.

Yet by the standards we have today, this is a middle-of-the-road cartridge when it comes to power and recoil. But when introduced, it was the most powerful handgun cartridge of all time. In reality, in a single action or double action handgun, the recoil is not that bad. What’s bad is the blast! This I feel is what causes one to flinch and close one’s eyes when the trigger is pulled, not the recoil. I have dispatched many whitetail with it and it was quite effective. But then, with a 2X scope or an electronic dot sight and most all shots within 20 to 70 yards, what a nice handgun and cartridge to use! My experience is with 180- to 300-grain bullets with a preference being a 200- or 240-grain. Shot capsules are also available which if used within 10 or so feet, drop a snake with a head shot.

.444 MARLIN

(0.429" or 0.430") This “rifle” cartridge is kind of like a .44 Magnum case that took vitamins and got taller. In a joint venture with Remington in 1964, Marlin introduced a new big bore lever action rifle appropriate for short to moderate ranges, and the .444 Marlin hit the market. In 1965, I bought one and used it until 1989, when JD Jones at SSK Industries made me a Thompson/Center Contender barrel so chambered. On introduction, the .444 cartridge lacked an effective bullet, since the thinner jacketed 240-grain .44 Magnum bullets were all we had available, and they couldn’t stand up to the .444’s increased velocity. Then Hornady in 1967 introduced a 265-grain bullet specifically for this cartridge, one that generated higher velocities than the .44 Magnum. I have used 240- and 300-grain bullets but in my handloads back then and with factory ammunition today, the 265-grain is what I prefer for deer and black bear. If your T/C Contender or Encore is ported or has a special brake, this cartridge’s recoil is in the 44 Magnum class.

Cartridges reviewed, from left: the .500 S&W, the .460 S&W Magnum, the .454 Casull, the .45 Colt, the .45 Winchester Magnum, the .45 ACP, the .480 Ruger and the .44 Magnum.

To interchange cartridges, as long as the bullets’ diameter is the same, Freedom Arms makes accessory cylinders available that can be switched in less than a minute. For the .454 Casull, for example, extra cylinders are available for the .45 ACP, .45 Colt and .45 Winchester Magnum, the latter of which is popular in Europe.

.45 ACP

(0.451" or 0.452") This 45-caliber is likely the most popular semiauto pistol cartridge of all time. With a 230-grain bullet, it found its place in the Model 1911 pistol as adopted by the military. A fine military, police and target round, I started to use it for small game in an S&W revolver years ago since in my state, semis are not permitted for hunting. Recoil is tolerable but as the handgun so chambered is reduced in size and weight, recoil begins to climb. In a revolver it is a pleasant cartridge to shoot. Yet even though a great military round, it is not recommended for game as large as or larger than deer. It will do the job, but I am afraid that more game will be wounded since it does not have the velocity, or really suitable bullets, for use at hunting ranges. Shot capsules are also available for this cartridge, again for snakes up close.

.45 WINCHESTER MAGNUM

(0.451") Around 1979 this rimless case, with bullets comparable in weight to those of the .45 ACP, was introduced by Winchester. Designed originally for silhouette shooting, my first experience with it was in a Wildey gas-operated handgun owned by a friend who was serious about knocking over steel targets. What it did for the semiauto was to give it .44 Magnum ballistics. My next experience was in a Freedom Arms revolver chambered for the .454 Casull for which a special cylinder had to be fitted by Freedom. (If you want to fire the .45 ACP round in the Freedom Arms .454, buy an extra cylinder from the company and you are ready to go.)

Unfortunately, today it is even hard to factory loaded ammunition for what the .45 WM, one of the most powerful semiauto cartridges. Due to the lack of ammunition, if you want a revolver with low recoil, then get a .44 Magnum or semiauto. A plus for this cartridge was that it was easy to fire due to its moderate recoil in the stout Thompson/Center Contender, the Wildey semiauto or the Freedom Arms revolver. When gathering data for this review, I called my friend to borrow his firearms so chambered but with silhouette on the decline I found he had quit the sport and then sold all but his revolver, which he now seldom fires. This goes to show that even if one has the handgun, the next hurdle is the ammunition if you do not handload.

.45 COLT

(0.451", 0.452" or 0.454") Back when I was a kid in the 1960s when few had .44 Magnum handguns, the .45 Colt was popular with handgun hunters. Adopted by the army in 1873 for their Colt Single Action Army revolver, the original black powder load was both accurate and effective with its 255-grain lead bullet. Today this cartridge is gaining in popularity due to Cowboy Action competitions, though I have seen a few hunters using it for deer with hand-loaded ammunition. For hunting, there are good bullets available but not much in factory loaded ammunition. Again, the new magnums and other cartridges such as the .454 made this cartridge less popular than it used to be. You can fire a .45 Colt in a .454 Casull cylinder BUT if you do that, make sure you thoroughly clean the cylinder’s chambers, especially the shoulders. This is critical since fouling can result in a tight chamber for the longer .454 round, with a hazardous increase in pressure. According to Bob Baker at Freedom Arms, this is one reason why they recommend an extra cylinder chambered in .45 Colt if you plan on firing a lot of .45 Colt ammunition in your .454.

.454 CASULL

(0.451" or 0.452") Note: When loading this cartridge and you desire maximum loads, you must use a bullet with a thick jacket, so check your manual’s recommendations carefully.

As the .44 Magnum raised handgunning up a notch, in 1957 the Freedom Arms single action revolver and 454 Casull cartridge took it up two notches. At a SHOT Show years ago when I was speaking with Dick Casull, he told me that he got started when he had the idea to push .45 Colt loads above and beyond what was thought possible in what I believe were Modified Colt single actions. To safely chamber this new cartridge, Freedom Arms then built what was and still is a premium single action revolver. Bob Baker, who is now the president of Freedom Arms and with whom I have hunted deer over the years, has taken deer, pronghorn and many elk that I know of with the .454.

What is interesting about the .454 is that until 1998 it was a proprietary cartridge available only from Freedom Arms. The premium Freedom Arms revolver, when coupled with the then most powerful revolver cartridge available, set the handgun hunting world on fire. My friend Lynn Thompson of Cold Steel Knives fame has used this combination with open sights to harvest the biggest and baddest game Africa has to offer. This is quite a revolver cartridge but one that is easy to control as long as the handgun has a Mag-na-brake from Mag-Na-Port, and as long as you use hearing protection, even when hunting. 250-, 260- and 300-grain factory loaded ammunition is available.

.460 S&W MAGNUM

(0.452") Note: When loading this cartridge and you desire maximum loads, you must use a bullet with a thick jacket, so check your manual’s recommendations carefully.

This cartridge followed in the footsteps of a truly big bore of S&W revolvers, the .500 S&W Magnum (see below). The .460, introduced in 2005, was dubbed the .460XVR. From its name designation, you may think that it uses a bullet different in diameter from that of the .45 Colt or .454 Casull but in reality it does not; therefore, the .45 Colt and .454 Casull cartridges can be fired in any revolver chambered for the .460. Like the .454, this is an extremely high pressure cartridge that must be loaded with bullets appropriately designed. When it comes to recoil, due to the weight and design of the S&W revolver, its bark is worse than its bite. Again, if you can handle a .44 Magnum, you can handle this one. The factory loads I use include 200- (Cor-Bon), 260- and 275-grain bullets.

.45-70 GOVERNMENT

(0.458") As an official military cartridge back in the 1880s, the .45-70-500 was a 45-caliber boomer loaded with 70 grains of black powder, which pushed a 500-grain bullet. It was the 1980s when Ruger, Marlin, SSK Industries (who made T/C Contender barrels so chambered) and Thompson/Center Arms in 1990 that brought this fine big bore back from the road to extinction. For hunting and taking shots from short to moderate ranges, say, 150 yards, I prefer the 300-, 325- or 350-grain bullets. Recoil in T/C handguns – especially if they have muzzle brakes from SSK, T/C or Mag-Na-Port – is moderate and again in the .44 Magnum class. In fact, I prefer firing the .444 Marlin, .45-70 and .450 Marlin in handguns to firing them in carbines since, to me, they’re actually easier to control in a handgun. In carbines, the shoulder takes the hit; in handguns, the recoil raises the firearm and if you hold on and don’t let the blast cause flinching, the energy generated doesn’t knock you around.

.450 MARLIN

(0.458") This cartridge originated from another joint venture with Marlin and Hornady in 2000. The result was a .45 suitable for big game at moderate ranges in the Marlin carbine. Then Thompson/Center chambered it in their Encore carbine and handgun. Now, in the handgun, even with a T/C muzzle brake, this one is a handful. In fact, its recoil is the most of any of the cartridges I cover here. Yet it is surprisingly controllable, though certainly not for the faint of heart. Common bullets I used are the 325- and 350-grainers. Today this chambering in the Encore is available only from T/C’s custom shop.

.480 RUGER

(0.475") Back in 2001, big news at the SHOT show was that Hornady and Ruger had worked together on a project, the result of which was the introduction of the .480 Ruger. Like many of the cartridges that can be fired in the cylinders of others, this cartridge can be fired guns chambered for the .475 Linebaugh. This is possible because the Ruger cartridge is simply a shortened Linebaugh. Again, if you do this, thoroughly clean the cylinder’s chambers so as not to increase the pressures of the longer cartridge. Although a step up from the .44 Magnum, I do not see it (or the .44 Magnum, for that matter) as a 200-yard revolver cartridge. In a Ruger revolver, the .480 cartridges I have fired were loaded with 325- and a 400-grain bullets. The most pleasant to fire was with a 325- grain bullet and that only makes sense. Recoil in the well designed Ruger is moderate: in the 44 Magnum class, and that is not bad.

For Additional Information:

Black Hills Ammunition: www.black-hills.com Cor-Bon/Glaser: www.corbon.com Federal Ammunition, ATK: www.federalpremium.com Freedom Arms Inc.: www.freedomarms.com Hornady Manufacturing Co.: www.hornady.com Mag-Na-Port International: www.magnaport.com Remington Ammunition: www.remington.com Ruger Firearms: www.ruger.com Smith & Wesson: www.smith-wesson.com SSK Industries Inc.: www.sskindustries.com Thompson/Center Arms: www.tcarms.com Winchester Ammunition: www.winchester.com

.500 S&W MAGNUM

(0.500") Introduced in 2003, this was the first big bore cartridge for the new S&W Model 500 revolver, built on their massive X frame. Weighing in at 72.5 ounces with an 8-3/8-inch barrel, this 5-shot revolver had to be massive to handle the new cartridge (and, later, the 460 Magnum). With a muzzle energy of around 2600 foot pounds, this double action handgun’s new Hogue designed Sorbothane rubber grip and factory recoil compensator did a lot to tame this cartridge’s ferocious recoil. Adding Mag-Na-Ports afterward reduced that even more! Although I feel most could handle the recoil, shop owners tell me that when a customer wants a handgun for deer and bear, they recommend the .460 over the .500 since it generates less recoil. In factory loads, I have used the 300-, 350- and 400-grain bullets and prefer the 300 for general use.

In my experience over the years, the best way to get the handgun/ caliber best suited to you is to start with the firearm rather than with the cartridge. If possible, handle a single shot, a single action and a double action revolver while keeping an idea in your mind as to what its use will be. To effectively do this, know the average muzzle velocities of the various cartridges and then check out which bullet weight and designs are available, as well as factory loads. Now select the action type that feels the most comfortable and can handle the cartridge you prefer.

Factory Ammunition: Comparative Ballistics

* No longer in production ¹ Mag-Na-Port ² Mag-Na-Brake ³ SSK Arrestor ⁴ T/C Muzzle Tamer

Last tip: purchase a .22LR rimfire in the same type of handgun as your centerfire and if you are going to put a scope or dot sight on that big bore, then do the same with the rimfire. Now shoot the rimfire a lot and when you go over to the much more expensive big bore to practice, you will be surprised just how effective you already are.

How things change! The Freedom Arms single action in .454 Casull can also fire the shorter 45 Colt cartridge. The double action Smith & Wesson below in .460 S&W Magnum can safely fire not only the .460 cartridge cartridge but the shorter .454 Casull and even shorter .45 Colt. Both guns customized by Mag-Na-Port, Inc.

In single shots as those from Thompson/ Center Arms, the .444 Marlin, .45-70 Government and .450 Marlin are great performers. Note that Hornady Lever Evolution loads, with their spitzer or “pointed” bullets, gives big bores a bullet that can reach out father without shedding velocity as fast as a blunt nose bullet will.

From mild to wild, cartridges larger than 40-caliber are hotter than ever and here to stay. The big bores are anything but boring!