High caliber handgun of choice

[aflineman]

My favorite (Which was my Grandfather's)
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Colt SAA, 2nd generation, .357mag

[Rick]

Is he still looking for it? You know, Coot loses pistols all the time. I'm beginning to fear for him something awful. One of these days he going to sit down on the couch and Kaboom!

[SARKY]

That colt is a fine piece of machinery, I hope you're not shooting it as it is quite the collector piece.

As to the S&W mountain guns, they are fine purpose built pieces, but the Taurus Titanium Tracker does the same job and won't weigh you down as much.

[aflineman]

That colt is a fine piece of machinery, I hope you're not shooting it as it is quite the collector piece.

As to the S&W mountain guns, they are fine purpose built pieces, but the Taurus Titanium Tracker does the same job and won't weigh you down as much.

Thank You.
I still shoot it, that is what is was bought for (at least that is what Grandpa used to tell me).
My knock about the woods revolver is normally a Security Six in .357 mag though.

[lucznik]

As to the S&W mountain guns, they are fine purpose built pieces, but the Taurus Titanium Tracker does the same job and won't weigh you down as much.

I've owned two Taurus handguns so far. One of them, a 6" .357 Mag was one of the first guns I ever bought. Its build quality left a lot to be desired. It just couldn't hold a candle to a Smith & Wesson or Ruger.

The other is a PT-22 in .22LR. It's a cute little gun that is super easy to carry concealed (I can slip it in a front pants pocket and it just disappears) but, it too falls a bit short in the quality arena. Its double-action-only trigger is really heavy and it is the least accurate handgun (regardless of caliber) that I have ever owned. Pretty much it's just a noise maker. I would have sold it too, but it has no marketable value.

I've heard that in the last few years the quality of Taurus products has drastically improved, but these two guns have pretty well soured me toward giving them any more chances.

[TomChemEngineer]

I'm coming in late to this thread, but I have been shooting .45ACP through a 1945 vintage Ithaca Government Model 1911 ever since 1967 in my misspent youth, and just recently shelved it and bought a new .45ACP Rock Island Armory 1911 Government Model. Now, I am not afraid to use the RIA, scratch it up, run a bunch of rounds through it (assuming I can get ammunition in the post-election ammo frenzy), or let it get some holster wear from concealed carry. The best one is the one that can shoot consistently and feel confortable, I think.
Plinking calls for the .22 Ruger Model 1 SemiAuto or the .22 Ruger Single Six, though!

[SARKY]

As to my pet pistol, It is a Ruger Bisley model chambered in .41 Magnum. I've taken deer with it and loaded it with shot to take wood grouse. I'm just partial to the .41 over the .44

[Rick]

Is it mounted on wheels or do you strap it to a tree? I don't like shooting a .357 very much. I can't imagine what a .41 would be like.

[2dumb2kwit]

I want a .44 revolver, to go with my lever action, but I can't decide if I want a SA or a DA. (And work is too slow to go out and buy both.)

[Ole WV Coot]

Is he still looking for it? You know, Coot loses pistols all the time. I'm beginning to fear for him something awful. One of these days he going to sit down on the couch and Kaboom!

The COUCH ! I haven't looked there yet. Now to decide how to get the wife out for a few hours while I check all couches, recliners etc. I'll bounce the beagle off the things just in case.

[SARKY]

Rick, The .357 is a puppy! The .41 in the heavy Bisley frame is a little stout but quite manageable.

2dumb2kwit, I would go with a single action Ruger, tough as nails and very little to go wrong with it. Check out both the standard single action and the Bisley model to see which fits your hands better.

[snaplink]

Normally pack a Springfield 1911 for the street. The .44 mag for the woods goes very nice with the marlin lever in the same caliber

[Pict]

I carried a 4 inch S&W Model 57 on my Alaska hunt. I had it loaded with Buffalo Bore 230 grain LSWC that brought it up into the mid range of the .44 mag ballistics. The gun was loaned to me for the trip, but I bought a decent chest holster for it and now really, really want to buy a gun that fits it.

The .41 is an odd caliber. Nothing wrong with it at all but it needs a dedicated hand loader to get the most from it. Factory loads can be hard to come buy and while there are some great loads out there in factory ammo finding them on the shelf in any given shop could be problematic. I have a friend who is a .41 addict who has a 175 grain load that brings the magnum down to "special" velocities and is a real pleasure to shoot.

That is one of the best features of a wheelgun IMO is that you have the .38/.357 or .44 Special/Magnum power range to choose from. With the .41 you have to come up with your own downloaded ammo as there never was a .41 Special round (other than some customs out there).

The big magnums don't have to be loaded to howitzer levels to be effective, especially for self defense. The .44 Special lead HP is plenty of gun in a fight. Mac

[Mountain Man]

Ruger SP101 for woods.

[Swamprat1958]

The Taurus has a life time warranty. The Taurus plants were originally a S&W plant and a Beretta plant including all the machinery, you should notice the similarities. Even though the Tracker is still being made the Titanium Tracker is not. I bought these trackers >357 and .41 mag to carry a lot and shoot a little. The .357 is a sweetheart to shoot with all ammo. the .41 mag is brutal with full power loads, but a teddybear with my .41 special loads.

I agree with Sarky, my .357 Taurus is stainless steel and is a pleasure to shoot.

[SARKY]

Pict,

That is why I took up reloading. The .41 mag was my first centerfire handgun and ammo was and still is tough to come by. I also cast my own bullets for .22, .308, .357, 9mm, .40, .410, .45, and.50 miniballs. Also the .41 special is comming on strong and may soon be a comercial round.

[2dumb2kwit]

2dumb2kwit, I would go with a single action Ruger, tough as nails and very little to go wrong with it. Check out both the standard single action and the Bisley model to see which fits your hands better.

I hadn't thought about the Bisley model "fitting" different. Thanks for bringing that up.
I'm hoping to find someone who has one, so I can shoot a few rounds through it, before buying anything.

I have been able to shoot a redhawk, a super redhawk, a S&W 686, and a Colt anaconda. The Colt was sweet, but that's not really a fair comparison. It had a ported barrel, trigger work, etc.

From what I have shot, so far, I'm liking the 686 mountain gun.

[SARKY]

The Bisley model has a frame/grip shaped more like a double action, ie your hand sits higher up on the frame.
You might want to look into the Taurus Tracker series of double actions. They a stainless (no more Titanium) and ported barrels. They feel very much like a S&W

[2dumb2kwit]

It's funny that you said that. A friend of mine has been saying that he's going to get a Taurus Tracker. I've been kinda waiting for him to get one, so I can try it out. LOL

[2dumb2kwit]

Oops.....I was typing S&W 686......I meant 629.