Most useful Six Gun Cartridge ?

[rintinglen]

I hold with those who hold with the 357 magnum. Shoot everything from 75 grain WC at 650 fps up to 180 grain boolits at 1180 fps, even more if you have a tight 6 inch or longer barrel. Not much you can do with a revolver that you can't do with a good .357.

[dverna]

Useful for what???

I have one .44 Mag., four .38/.357, one .22/.22mag.

For self defense, semi-auto’s, shotguns, and AR’s are my choice.

For hunting, rifles and shotguns

Revolvers are my fun guns....hate picking up brass.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Of all my guns my SBH 3 screw .44 mag is the most accurate however at 47 ounces I never carry it. I carry the .44 Special at 35 ounces in a SAA by far the most. The Smith & Wesson Model 69 at 35 ounces is a good carry size but I’ve never shot one with full magnum loads. A friend carries his with reduced loads. Brian Pearce claims to have a US Patent single action which he shoots .44 magnum pressure loads with. I don’t want to carry a 47 ounce handgun or shoot .44 magnum loads out of a 35 ounce pistol, so I vote for the .44 Special.

[samari46]

Before I got into the 44 spl I was a big 44 magnum fan, nothing ti spend an afternoon with 100 rds shooting my Redhawk with the 7" bbl. Since I got my3 44 specials haven't shot the Redhawk in years. 44 special is great as a target round, small game and loaded with 7.5 grains unique big game. Wadcutters for target,Semi wadcutters for small game and maybe hard semi wadcutters for big game. Frank

[drac0nic]

I'm going to go with .357 mag because it serves the role of concealed carry potentially as well with 6 rounds. If I was more in open carry country with aggressive animals I'd go 44 magnum or perhaps 454. The smaller stuff is just too small to be versatile and the bigger stuff you have to carry.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup the 44 mag can go from 700 fps with a 180 grain cast bullet to 1200 fps with a 340 grain bone crushing load and even higher yet in a redhawk. is and allways has been my hands down favorite handgun round. Add a 22lr for really small stuff and you can deal with anything in north America. Ammo is available about any place that sells ANY ammo. Most guns have proper dimensions unlike the 45 colt and ive yet to own a 44 mag that didn't shoot well. Even if you don't handload you have the option of ammo from mild 44 spec to buffalo bore 44 mags that will kill anything. I love a 44 special but NOTHING is more versatile then a 44 mag. I kind of chuckle at guys who heap praise on 45 colts or 41 mags thinking there a member of some cult that knows something everyone else doesn't. Ive seen it many times. Guys start out and there first big bore is a super Blackhawk and then they start reading gun magazines and magicaly they saw the light and buy a 45 colt or 41 mag or both. 10 years later there quietly killing everything with a 44 mag again. It wont get you a phony rep like occonor got for toting the 270 over the 06. But truth be told when you shove all the bs to the side the 44 mag sits on top of the handgun choices and the old o6 still cant be beat for a rifle. Don't need any gun writter to tell me. Its been that way for the 50 years ive been loading and shooting. I have and have had everything from a 22lr to a 500 Linebaugh and if I could only have one handgun to do everything from self defense to hunting small to large game it would be a 4 inch N frame 44 mag. If it was just hunting give me a plain boring 4 5/8s super Blackhawk.

[Went2kck]

If the 6 gun you have is needed, then the one you have id the most useful at that time.

[45 Dragoon]

45 Colt. Especially in a Kirst conversion cyl in a ROA.

Can be loaded up or down and replaced with cap cyl if wanted/needed. ROA = most versatile platform . (cap gun, 45acp, 45C )

Mike

[Gunslinger1911]

For me, 45 Colt. As always - load up or down as needed. My 4 5/8 Uberti for just kickin around. 4" S&W 25 for carry if I want. (Colt officers in 45acp is usual EDC). BH for hunting with "Oh WOW loads. Lever action - kickin / huntin.

That said, my opinion for the best all around revolver for general folks would be a 5" mid frame 357. Yea I know, 4 & 6 inch much more common. 4,5,6, what ever floats your boat.

Mild to wild in factory loads; what ever your warped mind can come up with in reloading. I've gone from 90g to 200 over the years. A 158g SWC HP rules them all.

This is my go to advice for anyone asking what to get, especially if they are a newbie to shooting.

My 2 cents, worth every penny. lol

[Don Purcell]

Right with Lloyd Smale, 4-5 inch N frame Model 29. It packs easy, carry mine concealed in a Sparks Summer Special. Any load that will run a 250-280 WFN at 1000-1100 f.p.s. will take at 90% of whatever you come up against. Don't forget a couple of speedloaders but by that time you better have the situation resolved or be on the way out of there! Everyone is different your mileage will vary.

[ebner glocken]

When I first read the question it seemed like being asked which is your most loved child. As Lloyd I've own or have owned .22s to the 500 S&W and many in between. Each seem to have their nitch with a lot of overlapping. Recoil is subjective and everyone has their comfort level. I was fortunate enough to grow up shooting a wide assortment of revolvers where's the 357 mag was considered a smaller gun, doing this conditioned me to be pretty tolerant of what some considered excessive. There are some standouts. Some just do about anything well, some do a few things great. What's not to love about a 4" 327 federal? The same could be said for a 7" .50 JRH. A .44 mag can be loaded to do about anything a .45 colt can do and vise versa. This could be lengthy but I'll stop there on that, you get the picture.

Now to answer the question. I would love to say my most useful was some obscure 357/44 Brian and Davis but it's not. Especially when stuck with factory ammo I would have to say hands down it's the .44 mag. It can be loaded up or down to do about anything. At the moment I can't decide which is my favorite revolver between a model 69 and a 329. The 69 is a joy to shoot but the 329 seems to disappear on your belt at 25 oz. A light jacket covers either quite well this time of year. Years of occupational injuries and such (tendinitis) make me prefer Skeeter loads these days. A few weeks ago I bought my first .44 specials ever for plinking.

Ebner

[bedbugbilly]

I think it's a hard one to choose as I think the comment on "geographical location" is a true factor

In MI where I was brought up and still live part of the year, I'd say a .357 - primarily because I can and do shoot 38 Colt short/long/special/357 and for the critters there, it's adequate for the most part.

Other places - like where we are in southern AZ - I'd go with your choice of 44 Mag as I would think the 44 spl/mag would pretty much handle the critters and the distances you'd be shooting.

[trapper9260]

For me I would say the 44 mag for all that you can do with it also shoot spl in it . also the 357 mag that you can do the same and shoot spl. if you want to get small and med I would say the 327mag for all that you can shoot in it . I have a rifle for all 3 I stated. You can reload for all of them and shoot the way you want for large to small in the 44 mag but also depend where you live.What will work the best.

[sixshot]

For me it's always been the 44 magnum but I like them all & love to read the arguments given on which is the best. Just be glad you have one, some people don't or can't!!

Dick

[Green Frog]

Here in Central VA, I might even suggest the 327 Fed Mag, especially if you reload. The high performance loads for self defense and even med-large game hunting will work, then you can download through the whole spectrum of 32 cal cartridges to suit your “need du jour.”

Froggie

[Hickory]

This is a wonderful thread, I like what you people say and how you think. The criteria in the original post would put the caliber options in 35 and up, in that 357 would be a more practical minimum choice for
big game. Not that even a 22 rimfire could not take a deer, they can and have.
For myself, I would feel comfortable in the woods with anything that started with a "4" in order to fill the criteria of small game to large game.
I don't feel there are any wrong answers here, what ever you feel will do the job for you and the caliber/gun that gives you the most confident.

[ebner glocken]

When you reply in a thread like this one you have to remember the original question. Sure there's ones I find more interesting, they have more history, more unique, ect. The question was "most useful". For me that covers a pretty vast spectrum of applications. I love my savage strikers for long range use but they're a bit tough to conceal them in a belt holster in public. I don't own a desert eagle in .44 mag, why? Because it's simply a fun gun that for me has no practical use that I even try to justify it's just fun to load for and shoot so the 50AE it is. As said above this is a fun thread to read. Many people from different places with different needs.

Ebner

[Harter66]

Most flexible is 357 without a doubt . Load it up or down cut back mouth cracked brass to any length from 357-9×17 , load data for all , plentiful cheap brass , BP compatible in a pinch and the mould and bullet choices are just dizzying .

Bears in the front yard out west and just as likely here in the south now have made me want more gun as an answer to the question . I chose 45 Colts over the 44s . I did so because of all of the great reasons listed with the 357 , obviously the range of cut back cases is 45 GAP- Colts and the RBH will manage all of them . As a bonus if you happen to have a S&W N frame in the cartridge a short visit with the smith will get it moon clip compatible and a Red Hawk is available so fitted also . As a real bonus if the platform handles ACP it will handle +P Colts and you can all but match the standard 44 mag loads .
45 is bigger than 44 . Moulds are readily available from 135-535 with a quick extra pass through a sizer , and with correct moulds available from 140-300 what's not to love about it ?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

This is, is it not, one of those questions that can't receive a hard and fast answer. It depends on what the desired use and outcome is. Stop a bear, .44 Mag. Shoot a squirrel, .22 L.R. Shoot the squirrel with a .44 Mag., not much dinner remains. Shoot a bear with a .22 L.R. and you'll likely be dinner.

[Todd N.]

Most useful for what???