Favorite Revolver Cartridge -- Poll

[Greebe]

As the title says, which is your favorite revolver cartridge and why? Keep in mind I was limited to only 10 poll options so I had to choose only the most common.

Mine is the .45 Colt. I guess that is because I have been a fan of .45's for a long time shooting the .45 ACP and .45-70 for over a decade. In fact I started shooting the .45 ACP when I was five out of my dads Colt 1911. So I guess I have been shooting .45's for around 3 decades now.

I have a .357Mag, .41 Mag, and a .454 as well. The .41 is fun to shoot and unique so I like it a lot as well, however it does not see the use of my .45 Colts. The .357 never really made much of an impression on me. Just not the same a shooting the big bores.

I also enjoy the .45 Colt as I have several lever action rifles so I can use the ammo in both pistols and rifles which is fun. This obviously is not limited to the .45 Colt, but it is what I have. I think a combo in .41 Mag would be sweet as well.

One cartridge I have often thought about is the .44 Special, but never owned. I think it would be a cool one to mess with.

How bout you guys. What is is favorite and why?

Greebe

 

[cellar701]

Mine is 44 special with 45 colt close behind. Why? Because I reload and it is a "big bore" which is fun to shoot from light loads to pretty stout - similar reasons apply to the 45.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Despite my forum name I voted 44mag. Nothing like loading-up those big cartridges in a handgun and knocking the stuffing out of whatever you are shooting. :D

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I shoot .45 Colt in Cowboy Action so it is my most used caliber. As far as favorite goes, I don`t really have one. I like em all!

 

[Sam Johnson]

.22 LR,, more shooting, more fun….

 

[GA Cracker]

45 Colt for me. All of my Rugers are Bisley except a couple and I have gripframe for one of them. I just like the Ruger Bisley 45 Colt. I have a Marlin and Winchester rifle in 45 Colt and like the rifle and revolver that match. I also have and like the big caliber lever guns in 45-70, 444, 450 magnum, and a 1895 405 Winchester. For me the bigger the meplat and the bigger the hole to let air in and blood out the better I like it. I had both rifle and revolver in 44 Mag and shot completely through a 350 lb black bear with the 44 mag in 2001. 2009 my 45 Colt shot through a 280 lb black bear. I sold all of my 44 mag guns and kept the 45 Colt guns. I helped some friends with pay hog hunters for ten years. Three young guys came three years in a row and shot big wild hogs with their 357's. I never saw the 357 do anything to impress me. I have a couple of 357s but by far not my favorite. I am beginning to like 44 special as my second choice. And I am just a fan of the old west.

 

[sheep.dog]

You left out .327

 

[Greebe]

OK, so I edited the list. Since I am limited to only 10 choices I took off the following, .454 Casull & .475 Linebaugh and added .22 and .327 Fed. I originally had those on the list but removed them to get down to 10 items. There are probably more fans of the latter then the former. Sorry to those who voted other who would have voted for either the .22 or .327

 

[rawly1]

45 colt then 22mag

 

[DGW1949]

45LC....because;
In it's "standard" form, it'll do everything that I need done without the noise, blast and recoil that is associated with "magnum" calibers.
It can be safely used in a smaller, more balanced, and much handier-sized platform than can the more powerfull "Manly Man" cartridges that some folks love to campare it to.....which, when ya get down to it, don't do much that can't be done with a 45LC anyway. What I'm getting at there is that in my experience, the actual power of a "standard" 45LC is way-more than it's "paper ballistics" suggest.
Aside from "Bench resting" to prove a pointless point, I've found it to be as accurate as any, and more-so than some.
There's no big mystery to reloading it. In fact, I find it to be boringly-simple. The key there is to just let it be what it is, stick to what has worked for a hundred years, and don't get carried away trying to reinvent the wheel.....because that particular wheel rolls just fine.
It's cartridge case will hold more shot when concocting "snake loads" than any other commonly available revolver case that I know of. And if that aint enough "payload" for what I might be doing at the time, I can modify a .444 Marlin case that will still fit in the cylinder and hold even more.

On the other hand....nope, it aint perfect. There's stuff that I wouldn't use it for, but that's why I got a rifle. There's also stuff that I like a .38 for instead, which is why I got's one of them too. All in all though, if I was to limit myself to just one cartidge, the 45LC would certainly be the one.

DGW

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I voted .45 Colt because I shoot more of that than all others combined, by far.

Were I forced to choose only a single chambering to last me forever, come what may, for all uses, it would likely be the .357 due to it's flexibility and the myriad of components available for it. Besides, Skeeter shared that opinion.

;)

 

[LaneP]

.45 Colt followed very closely by .357 Mag.

If you reload, the .45 Colt is extremely vesatile in Blackhawk strength actions, and can be loaded up to meet or exceed .44 Mag power levels.

 

[charlesappel]

My favorite would have to be the .45 Auto Rim followed by the .45 ACP. These cartridges offer sufficient power for self defense and can be loaded down for pleasant practice sessions. I particularly like the fact that the cases are short because they were designed for smokeless powder. This makes it extremely easy to visually check the powder charges while reloading. It also means that a little gunpowder will go a long way.

 

[Bob Wright]

I am very sorry, but I can't narrow it down to one.

Bob Wright

 

[Rclark]

Favorite Big Bore: .45 Colt. Because I really like it :) . There isn't one thing I can think of that the .45 Colt can't do in the bore bore class. From target shooting to hunting in Africa. And has a lot of history behind it. I wonder some times why we even have .454s, .460s, .480s, .475s, .50s .... Just because I suppose for those that have to have the biggest and baddest :) ... Still, you have to be a reloader and have acquired the right revolvers to really take advantage of the power available to the .45 Colt cartridge. I like the .44Special too... But it doesn't quite have the versitility of the .45 Colt. But still will do what needs doing around here for the most part. Not sure why I still have a few .44Mag revolvers around but I do.... Just because I suppose :) . Same with .357/.38 which really isn't a big bore in my mind.....

Favorite small bore : 22LR.

 

[P90]

My favorite Centerfire is the .45 Colt, and Rimfire the .22LR.

 

[WESHOOT2]

My fav is the 357 Magnum; my most useful is the 44 Magnum.
Ay?

 

[jimbo1096]

45colt because I'm almost as old as it is and was brought up respecting the big hole in the end of the barrel.

 

[Greebe]

Go .45 Colt :mrgreen:

 

[375supermag]

I picked the .41Mag.

I shoot it a lot, maybe not as much as some others like the .45Colt and .357Mag, but it is my favorite.
Close second would be the .44Special.
Let's face it...like most on this forum, I shoot almost all of the ones on the list and a few more as well. And see no reason to eliminate any..in fact, am always looking to expand into other calibers.

First step in solving a problem is admitting that you have one...my biggest problem is usually deciding which revolvers go to the range this trip, the second is getting one away from my son long enough to send some rounds down range. I wish all my problems were so easy to deal with.

 

[doublebarrel]

Mine is .32 H&R mag. Sweet shooting cartridge

 

[bearskinner]

without a doubt the 45Colt. Load it up or down it does everything. A true classic

 

[Snake45]

I voted .38/.357, but it was a photo finish with .22LR and .44Mag tied for second place and .45ACP a strong third. :wink:

 

[WAYNO]

The .357 and.38 Special were lumped together.

The .44 Mag and.44 Special were separate choices. Had these been lumped together as one choice, I think they'd be the winner.

I voted .44 Mag. There's lotsa cartridges that do lotsa things, but I think if I could have just one gun, (heaven forbid), this would be it. Magnums for my next meal, Specials for social occasions.

But I'm sure glad this poll is rhetorical, and I don't have to be limited to just one gun/cartridge. :mrgreen:

WAYNO.

 

[Joe S.]

Before i started reloading my choice would have been 44 mag. But now i do and i have gradually eased away from 44 caliber all together and have grown fond of the 45 Colt, which was my choice. Close second would be 38 special. Can load and shoot it as cheap as 22 almost. Hard to argue with that. I shoot 22 maybe 50-100 per year tops. I shoot many more 45 and 38 than that.

 

[Onty]

I voted 41 Magnum.

I like to shoot silhouettes, and considering required power, medium load in 41 starts where 357 ends. I just do not like to shoot high pressure loads all the time in my guns. If more power is required, like for hog and deer, 41 could be loaded, especially in Rugers, to a such level that is more than adequate.

44 Magnum? Good round, but I couldn't shoot 200 rounds in a single day. With 41 Magnum, no problem. And if 41 Magnum is not enough, I would start with one of 375s in rifle.

BTW, I had 357 Magnum, and 45 Colt. And still have 2 revolvers in 44 Magnum: 5.5 SBH converted to Bisley and 7.5 Redhawk.

Now, looking for S&W 657-3 or -4. Dreaming about 41 Magnum Bisley in stainless, with fluted cylinder and #5 cylinder pin.

 

[varminter22]

I checked "other."

Its a very, very difficult question! Favorite for what purpose?

In single action revolvers, Single Six .32 H&R Mag for critters up to coyote size and general hunting/camping carry; sometimes a Blackhawk .44 Special. Also really enjoy using the SA .32 at steel plate matches, SA Division, and (usually) do quite well with it.

For ICORE and steel matches (and now USPSA), M627 with .38 Short Colt.

For bowling pins, M625 or 1911 in .45ACP.

And, of course, the venerable .22 for lots of fun too.

Yep, pretty hard to narrow it down to one favorite!

 

[contender]

I like too many of them to pick a favorite. I can't vote.

 

[Selena]

32-20, it hits hard and doesn't kick so bad.

 

[pawncop]

I would a 38/357 kinda guy. I see all the advantages of the other cartridges but 357 Magnum is a solid all around choice for me.