By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The bigger the bore, the bigger the boom, and maybe the harder the hurt, though not necessarily.
I’ve fiddled around over the years with some handguns which were handfuls, and a couple of them weren’t even six-shooters, but each of them had the muscle to make an impression. And, they were all wheelguns.
Gun writers often times get their greasy little mitts on a firearm which gives one second thoughts about ever pressing the trigger. Of course, by then, you’ve already dropped the hammer and are perhaps thinking about orthopedic shirts and gloves! My bad is that a couple of these fire-breathing boomers were kind of my idea, or at least had some input.
In retrospect, I should have learned years ago to keep my mouth shut.
Seriously, each of the wheelguns I’m about to remember with some fondness genuinely delivered the goods. A couple were from Ruger. Two more came from Charter Arms. At least one was a Taurus.
We’ll start with the Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull, a Howitzer-class handgun cartridge which, at least in the gun I was shooting, had all the subtle appeal of a 6.5 earthquake!
As I recall, it was at a SHOT Show Range Day several years ago. I happened to be standing behind the late Wiley Clapp, waiting for a turn with this cannon, and should have taken the hint when I not only saw the recoil but felt it as I watched his arms rock upwards. He fired, as I recall, five rounds out of this monster, and then he turned to me and said something to the effect, “It’s your turn.”
Clapp was a fairly large guy, he knew his way around handguns, and it occurred to me a fellow his size still had his hands full. So, after the Taurus guy reloaded and handed me the revolver, I took a deep breath, brought the sights down on a target and cut loose. I quickly counted all of the fingers on both hands, brought the gun back down to eye level, cocked the hammer and let ‘er rip a second time.
This was on an overcast day and I think it was raining a bit, but I could clearly see a muzzle flash capable of broiling a steak, and even with ear plugs and earphones, the blast was, shall we say, impressive!
Having expended my five rounds, I quickly concluded this Raging Bull had plenty of “rage,” and that’s no bull! A fellow with reasonable marksmanship skills, strong wrists and no desire to be a concert pianist could level a buck, bull elk, moose, caribou and/or a grizzly with a grouch on, no question. The cartridge is something of an icon among big bore handgunners, and the Raging Bull is a classic.
My next misadventure came sometime after having chatted with Charter Arms’ Nick Ecker about chambering one of his five-shooters for the .45 Colt cartridge. After all, he had produced guns in .44 Special and .45 ACP, so why not the venerable .45 Colt?
Now that right there was one big snubby flame thrower, with comfortable rubber grips and, as I recall, a fairly decent single-action letoff. I had rounded up ammunition from Remington, Hornady, Speer and Winchester. That gun digested them all, and wasn’t too bad in the accuracy department, as I recall, at least at close range.
But boy, howdy, for someone not used to handling a big bore snub gun, I had to acknowledge it would be challenging to novice handgunners. I cannot recall if I had a holster for this gun, but I remember suggesting it might make a good trail gun as well as a personal defense sidearm.
About that same time, I got hold of my first Ruger Super Redhawk test gun in .480 Ruger, a cartridge which I actually took a liking to, with what I consider a surprisingly manageable recoil. This is one big wheelgun, bigger than my Ruger New Vaquero in .45 Colt and my Blackhawk in .41 Magnum.
I can honestly say I was surprised by this revolver, and concluded by the second or third shot that it was a handgun designed for hunters and even long range silhouette shooters.
The .480 Ruger is definitely a game-stopper, so for folks willing to buck the recoil, this boomer might be a good choice. Where I had a bit of trouble was dealing with the size of this gun. It’s big, and if I were going to pack it anywhere, I’d opt for a shoulder holster.
Now, Ruger came up with a short-barreled wheelgun in .480, and it’s not for the weak! I had this gun along on my last trek afield with my late lifelong buddy Bob Johnson some years ago. I used Uncle Mike’s shooting gloves when shooting this big snubby, which proved to be nicely accurate at 100 yards. We were able to punch holes in paper, and actually came pretty close to some old tin cans; close enough to call them tag-notchers, had we been hunting for live game.
Where I had my hands full with the Charter Arms in .45 Colt, I probably should have had my head checked when quickly volunteered to shoot the Charter snubby chambered for the .41 Magnum cartridge. Now that was a blaster!
The .41 Magnum is capable of roaring pretty well when fired from a 4-inch or 6-inch Smith & Wesson or Ruger. From the Charter Arms Mag Pug’s short barrel, it can light up a dark room. The muzzle blast could deafen someone temporarily without hearing protection, but when I ran a bunch of 175-grain Silvertip ammunition through it, the gun handled ‘em very well. I think the wraparound rubber grips did a lot to reduce felt recoil, and in a pinch, I can think of a lot worse guns to have with that kind of ballistic performance.
What all of these wheelguns have in common is that they represent good old American ingenuity. The folks responsible for designing such handguns have definitely put lots of thought into each one, and they appealed to shooters willing to be a little adventurous.
These days, I’ll stick with guns which are just a tad more “conventional,” although I’ll acknowledge there’s a bit of the twenty-something still hiding in my psyche which may still whisper into my ringing ears, “Go ahead, tell ‘em to hold your coat and let’s see what happens!”
