Author Topic: End of the super big bore revolvers? (Read 4714 times)

His lordship. · « **on:** June 04, 2009, 06:09:17 AM »

I was checking the websites for Ruger and Smith and Wesson and noticed the reduced selection of the super big bore revolvers. Ruger only catalogs the 454 Casull and .44 Rem. Magnum, and Smith and Wesson have their 500, 460 magnum, and .44 Rem magnum. I remember when there were more to choose from, is it the economy or declining interest in a fad?

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #1 on:** June 04, 2009, 08:31:40 AM »

I would guess its poor sales . Its like every thing else , after a bunch of products come on the market taht do the same thing one or 3 prove to be the best buy and the rest go away .

buck460XVR · « **Reply #2 on:** June 04, 2009, 12:31:20 PM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on June 04, 2009, 08:31:40 AM

I would guess its poor sales . Its like every thing else , after a bunch of products come on the market taht do the same thing one or 3 prove to be the best buy and the rest go away .

I gotta agree. Those who shoot the really big bores have settled on a coupla platforms that perform well. There really is no need(other than just to be different) for more. The market for these types of guns is limited also, so manufacturers learn quickly what sells and what don't. Ammo for the heavyweights was always expensive, but nowadays like all other ammo, it has really gone thru the roof. I believe that may be a determining factor also.

salvo · « **Reply #3 on:** June 04, 2009, 01:29:34 PM »

How many more where there between those two manufacturers? Maybe the Ruger.480?
Don't forget Freedom Arms and BFR, there still making them, not to mention the custom made 5 shooters! Life is good.

gypsyman · « **Reply #4 on:** June 05, 2009, 02:37:10 AM »

You MIGHT, get a .445 super mag from CZ, but, I doubt it. All they seem to be interested in is the semi auto's. Here's one thing I learned from bouncing around the gun shows for years. When a company comes out with a big bore handgun, you get tons of new Clint Eastwood wanna bees, then after they shoot the gun about 5-10 times, know they can't handle the recoil. So they sell it, with very few rounds thru it.
I've seen quite a few big bore handguns selling for $200-$300 less than new, with less than a box of shells thru it. gypsyman

His lordship. · « **Reply #5 on:** June 05, 2009, 08:09:11 AM »

Gypsyman,

I have a book on Smith and Wesson from the library that talked about that with the model 29, in .44 magnum. How the writer would see a like-new gun with an almost full box of shells, only 6 had been fired, and the owner was selling it due to the recoil. I shot my first .44 magnum last summer, it was a Taurus with the muzzle compensator (recoil reduction holes). I found it to be accurate and pleasant, perhaps the regular barreled gun kicks harder, but otherwise it did not bother me. However, I have never shot the new big bores like the .454 Casull or the 500 Smith and Wesson.

Tom W. · « **Reply #6 on:** June 05, 2009, 08:28:27 AM »

I had a .480, but traded it so I could get another rifle. I liked the revolver, but would have preferred a shorter barrel, rather than the 9.5 inch one that I had. I put a lot of 400 grain cast bullets through that revolver in the time that I owned it.

I now have a .454 Encore pistol barrel, and it's a bit more lively than the .480 was.....

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 06, 2009, 01:30:01 AM »

The only big bore I don't see still made by Ruger is the 480. Almost all the other gun makers are still selling big bore handguns.

If you really want to know about big bore handguns, you need to look at customs, and they are still selling well. The 500 Linebaugh, 475 Linebaugh, 510 GNR, 500 Mag, 454 Casull and a few I know I missed.

Are big bore handguns a passing fad. No way, people have been shooting big bore handguns for many years now, and I don't expect them to stop, I know I will continue to shoot mine.

The current economy is making for less sales of expensive guns.

Masterblaster1 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 08, 2009, 09:38:42 AM »

For your average handgun shooter/hunter the .44 Mag is the heaviest caliber most can stand to shoot with some level of comfort. That might have something to do with the larger caliber guns disappearing from some manufactures catalogs.

blhof · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2009, 04:10:33 AM »

As said above, but even the 44 is a little rough for a lot of people. When the Dirty Harry movies were all the rage; S&W 44 sales soared and for a few years after used 44 prices were at an all time low, due to a surplus, and in the last 3 years the Ruger 455 were in abundance til the Obama scare. People buy them new and shoot them with a box of hot factory ammo and put them away for a few years, then sell or trade for something they can handle and afford to shoot; the big stuff is more expensive than the 22 or 38.

teddy12b · « **Reply #10 on:** June 09, 2009, 05:02:51 AM »

I think people are looking for more simple answers to hunting/shooting problems today. Those mega magnums sound great until you look at a box of ammo for one. I haven't read any accounts of an animal walking off a hit from a 44 mag and the ammo is plentiful and at one time was reasonable. The 44mag seems to be the 30-06 of handguns. It's not the biggest anymore, but it'll do it's job.

I like the fads that come and go for guns and I agree with all the remarks about the like-new 44 after the dirty hairy movies. I'm really hoping to start seeing that with all the AR-15's people have been buying. Sooner or later people will realize they have a nice chunk of change sitting around that they're not using or that they bought on a wim.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #11 on:** June 09, 2009, 07:12:41 AM »

Redhawk , i agree what you said about high end custom big bore . That is where the serious shooters go. Its the mass market that suffers whims . You don't order a custom big bore , wait a year , have to find/make brass , work up loads and learn to shoot a gun on a whim. But alot of folks go in a store or to a show get wrapped up in the moment and buy a big gun cause it is the biggest baddest thing they can afford . They shoot it their friends shoot it and they all realize that for a few days a year at the range that old 9mm was less expensive to shoot and didn't hurt .
WUSSY"S !

dakotashooter2 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 09, 2009, 08:38:26 AM »

Big bores have a more limited marketability than the standard magnum calibers. Once that market is filled recruitment is pretty small. I'd be willing to bet that 1/2 the big bores out there don't make it to the range more than once or twice a year and only then for a testosterone check. Cartridges like the 44 mag and souped up 45 colt are at the top of the tollerance list for a majority of shooters. The cost vs utility of the big bores is also unbalanced for the average shooter. I'm not saying they will die off, just that the novelty is starting to wear off.

Many of the earliest guns were hand held weapons. Eventually men started putting stocks on them which I suspect was for a reason.

salvo · « **Reply #13 on:** June 09, 2009, 11:01:08 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on June 09, 2009, 07:12:41 AM

Redhawk , i agree what you said about high end custom big bore . That is where the serious shooters go. Its the mass market that suffers whims . You don't order a custom big bore , wait a year , have to find/make brass , work up loads and learn to shoot a gun on a whim. But alot of folks go in a store or to a show get wrapped up in the moment and buy a big gun cause it is the biggest baddest thing they can afford . They shoot it their friends shoot it and they all realize that for a few days a year at the range that old 9mm was less expensive to shoot and didn't hurt .
WUSSY"S !

Good post SHOOTALL, the serious big bore shooter makes a commitment to master the weapon.

mk454 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 09, 2009, 03:43:50 PM »

well, i ignore what ruger does as they've quit making any sense to me at all. why the 44 in the single actions but no 454, 475 linebaughs in those make no sense whatsoever. that said, when i got my first casull, a raging bull mistake there was a taurus 454, 44 and a ruger 454, ruger and smith and wesson 44 mags customs and the FA crew. now there's bfrs which are as good as any, the two big smiths and all the above except the ruger 480 which made no sense to me. sooooo now we've got for factory choices

1) 4 choices for 454's, a great choice for perhaps the most versatile caliber in a normal size gun. elephants to deer and coyotes with these boys and great trajectory.

2) well over 6 or 7 choices in .44 mag, truly all you could ever NEED.........but want is a different thing, hehe.

3) 2 factory 475 linebaughs the superb FA and superb BFR. hard to find a better choice period if you're after the big stuff.

4) smith 500's -- taurus, bfr and smith all offer us big choices in the biggest of the big.

5) smith 460's -- most versatile cartridge in a big bore handgun imho. choice of smith and wesson and bfr. also counts as more 454 choices as they'll all shoot them as well as 45 colt.

6) now throw in the wildcard big bfr's with the 45/70, 450 marlin. gets crazy if you load them up high.

now throw in the high quality custom makers and just factory makers bring the count to around 20 big bore factory choices. about 14 or 15 non 44 mag choices. when i bought my first in the mid nineties there were about 3 or so non 44 mag choices that i knew of. seems with the silly exception of the .480 ruger circus (which would sell like hotcakes in a blackhawk with a 5 shot 480 and 5 shot 475 cylinder in a pistol pack and a 5 shot 45 colt and 5 shot 454 cylinder and ruger probably double they're profit margin in one year LOL)

there's more choices than ever.

roger460xvr · « **Reply #15 on:** June 12, 2009, 04:53:18 PM »

I see taurus droped the raging bull in the 500 cal.....that's why i like my smith 460xvr it shoots 45colts or 454 or the 460cal.........

henryb · « **Reply #16 on:** June 13, 2009, 01:40:11 PM »

I agree with many of the above posts. I LIKE handguns (cannons) I look at them, research them and do my research. I tend to look at em more like carbine rifles. I find them challenge and inspiring. Many of the large bore revolvers offer a pelthora of versatility. I'm not a "whim" purchaser.
My 45 Colt by Clements ranges in versatility from the 44 special to above 44 mag energy. My 460 has a 12" barrel and picks up where the 45 Colt leaves off. I sincerely consider it a revolving carbine, scope and all. I have shot it enough that I feel comfortable shooting deer at 150 yards with a 200 gr Hdy XTP. Then the 500 picks it up from there bullet choices run from 300 grain to well (if you want to ) 700 grains. It's a John Ross PC gun that'll stabilize the real heavy ones.

I enjoy hunting coytes, deer, pigs. My goal is to hunt a Grizzly with the 500 Next spring in AK.

The mass production revolvers could be called or labled as "fad's" in many ways like new rifle calibers. Many new rifle cal's are ballistic duplicates of currently existing ones where most of the true big bores have significant differences. Of course reloading your own is where these guns really come into the light.

My .02 cents For What it's Worth.

Old Griz · « **Reply #17 on:** July 03, 2009, 03:14:31 PM »

I have read nothing but good about the performance of the .480 Ruger. Ruger's response to their own cartridge amazes me. If you want a SA you have to buy a Ruger and send it in to a custom smith, pay out the wazoos, and he'll make you a SA .480 Ruger. Something you can't get from Ruger. I would have loved to have had a .480 Bisley. I understand that now they've dropped it for a second time. Shooter/hunters are more loyal to the Ruger cartridge than Ruger ever was. I wonder why?

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #18 on:** July 06, 2009, 02:15:27 AM »

sales maybe ?

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #19 on:** July 06, 2009, 08:47:29 AM »

That'd be my guess. The economy's really taking a hit. The idiots in my neighborhood that can't afford extravagaces like car insurance, but have fancy stereos in their cars didn't keep me awake for weeks on end around the 4th this year, so I guess it's getting bad.

Old Griz · « **Reply #20 on:** July 06, 2009, 10:16:04 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 06, 2009, 02:15:27 AM

sales maybe ?

My point was, you have to offer one before you can sell it. Ruger never made a SA .480. They only put it in the Super Redhawk and that's not what many of us wanted.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #21 on:** July 06, 2009, 10:44:20 AM »

Maybe the SA frame won't take the pressure in their opinion ? Its one thing to convert a 6 shooter to a five shooter for someone its another thing to put a product out on the market as a safe and workable product.

Old Griz · « **Reply #22 on:** July 06, 2009, 01:48:39 PM »

Evidently they're pretty safe or the custom gunsmiths like Gary Reeder, et al. wouldn't be making them on Ruger frames.

Again, that's the point. Other people make SA .480 Rugers on Ruger frames. Ruger will not make one.

v-man · « **Reply #23 on:** July 06, 2009, 02:56:46 PM »

I've been hunting with a 7.5" SRH .454 for about 10 yrs and a couple of years ago spent months atop a waiting list before receiving the first Alaskan .454 shipped to Florida. (so I was told)
If there is a slow down in sales I would attribute it to the extreme interest in semi-auto rifles and pistols since the middle of last year. I can't get anyone to take an interest in hunting guns I've tried to sell at the gun shows lately. But if I carry around any kind of semi-auto I am swarmed. Self-defense seems to be the market focus right now. Hmmm, I wonder why.

ratgunner · « **Reply #24 on:** July 11, 2009, 01:09:46 PM »

I'd say there is a slow down . Ruger dropped the .480. And I'll bet no new bigger cartridges are comming out anytime soon.

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #25 on:** July 11, 2009, 01:41:09 PM »

The company we all knew as Ruger has been replaced by a bunch of sycophantic thumb sucking morons who want to ignore the company's reputation for independence and innovation and jump on the bandwagon to crank out cheap plastic toys for weekend commandos.

ratgunner · « **Reply #26 on:** July 11, 2009, 04:13:41 PM »

Travis I never really thought about it.But I can't argue with that .

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #27 on:** July 11, 2009, 07:48:29 PM »

Remember how Dodges used to be butt ugly, but built to last? Now they're the same garbage as everyone else.

Bob Riebe · « **Reply #28 on:** July 22, 2009, 11:34:19 AM »

Quote from: Chris D. on June 04, 2009, 06:09:17 AM

I was checking the websites for Ruger and Smith and Wesson and noticed the reduced selection of the super big bore revolvers. Ruger only catalogs the 454 Casull and .44 Rem. Magnum, and Smith and Wesson have their 500, 460 magnum, and .44 Rem magnum. I remember when there were more to choose from, is it the economy or declining interest in a fad?

Possibly market saturation.

Linebaugh and Bowen led the way with their big bore revolvers, firing a cartridge created/used by Mr. Casull while giving Mr. Casull credit, and then they started creating, or perfecting old ideas who no one had ever taken credit for whilst getting air time (magazine space) for the big guns that get a LOT of peoples attention. Then along comes first Ruger then S&W, taking what already existed from both the Linebaugh/Bowen camps and plus some from the late Elgin Gates, and rather than pay homage to those who led the way, changed things just a bit and put their own name on another's idea.

Well what had been an OOOH and AHHH product became a every man's tool/toy and the bloom went off of the rose, while gun prices, seemingly without regard to economic condition went UP.

Until the "war" in Iraq and Afghanistan, is no longer a more, more, more things will stay as they are as at least some of firearm parts producers out there have all the business they can handle and do not NEED consumers to survive.

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #29 on:** July 22, 2009, 11:55:18 AM »

I think the pool of shooters willing to pay for the "big bores" is limited in size, and there are enough used guns on the market that sales are going to continue to decline.