Powerful semiautomatic handgun availability

[Barry54]

I was in my favorite reloading store last week and saw some 45 Win Mag brass...

Have we gone soft? Is 10mm the best there is now? Surely the entire younger generation isn’t composed of man buns with lotion hands?

[Sasquatch-1]

There is always the Desert Eagle in 44 mag and 50 AE. Or the Conan pistol, if you can find one.

[steve urquell]

.460 Rowland, 9x25 Dillon and .357sig come to mind

[shooting on a shoestring]

Barry54, yes.

My guess is 99% of the new shooters don’t want to look any farther than 9mm. Two big reasons are, one they can’t afford to shoot anything else using factory ammo and they won’t learn to load their own. Secondly, they’re only considering their shooting to be in support of self defense, concealed carry and such. The current political belief/propaganda says 9mm is perfect for that. So….yep, big guns, meaning >9mm, don’t appeal to the youngsters and don’t sell well.

[nicholst55]

Most people that buy the big hand-cannons shoot a few rounds and realize that they bought way more gun than they need - or want. I've seen several of them for sale annotated 'only fired X rounds.'

[Jtarm]

The local rental range had an M1A for awhile.

They said most people who rented it came back complaining about the recoil.

[Iron369]

Barry54, yes.

My guess is 99% of the new shooters don’t want to look any farther than 9mm. Two big reasons are, one they can’t afford to shoot anything else using factory ammo and they won’t learn to load their own. Secondly, they’re only considering their shooting to be in support of self defense, concealed carry and such. The current political belief/propaganda says 9mm is perfect for that. So….yep, big guns, meaning >9mm, don’t appeal to the youngsters and don’t sell well.

Biggest I have is 10mm and I just play with that. If I’m going to shoot a large caliber and waste a lot of money, I’ll shoot rifles. I don’t particularly care for shooting handguns even though I shoot them more often than anything. And yes. They are almost exclusively 9mm. And “plastic”. There’s nothing political or any propaganda about ballistic technology. I used to be a 45acp fan but technology has changed and a high quality 9mm is every bit as useful as a 45acp against 2 legged predators. And most 4 legged ones. Big bore handguns are novelty items and they serve no purpose for me.

[justindad]

I’m 40 years old. I work with 25-35 year old professionals. Yes, they are soft. It’s embarrassing, and not limited to their choice of firearm. I’m in South Carolina, the land of pastel shirts, so perhaps I have an unfair bias.

[country gent]

One of the best "programs" Ive seen was the ranges with rental guns. The new shooter can take a coarse then rent guns to see what model and caliber actually works for them. Before buying something they think they want.

Before ISPC, bowling Pins and some of the newer matches, the loading were all lightened to provide more comfort and accuracy. In NRA bullseye 2.7 grns of bullseye with a 148 grn HBWC was the normal load. 1911 were fitted with lighter springs and loaded down with 185 or 200 grn SWC.

Most new shooters are looking for the "doall" gun caliber combination. Older shooters now a carry gun in 45 10mm or other upper end caliber shooting a full day match makes for a long day.

The firearms of today are getting lighter and the big boomers are even more so in them.
My 2" J frame 340 is a great little gun but in its 12 ounce weight even wad cutters are a handful.

[charlie b]

I used to be a 'big caliber' person. .357mag was low end. Then I noticed my wrists would hurt for a few days after a shoot. About that time (early 90's IIRC) Taffin published his article on the permanent damage he had in his arm from years of shooting large bore pistols.

So I assessed my needs in pistols and downsized everything. I am a .45acp fan. My wife's pistol is a 1911 Colt light commander and I fire it frequently. But, when I admit it, the 9mm with modern bullets does almost as well (or sometimes better) than the .45 loads and can carry more cartridges in same space. The bonus is the recoil is not as bad so I can actually shoot it better (HK VP9). For recreation I still pick up the .45, just cause I am an old grumpy guy.

And, yes, my needs for a pistol now is limited to targets and 2 legged varmints. I don't consider the younger folks to be 'wimpy', just realistic about their needs.

[JohnForrest]

I like my 32 ACP's and I like my 460 Rowland.

[Tracy]

Interesting that you mention .45 Win Mag, since I loaded and shot some yesterday. With moon clips, in my Redhawk.

[Minerat]

I enjoy my DE 50AE..... For about 2 mags then go to my SRH in 454 Casull but when I get tired of those I go to one of the Ruger semi 22's

[poppy42]

I’ll tell you a funny story I was online at an indoor range a couple years ago waiting to sign in staying in front of me was a gentleman with his brand new concealed carry handgun. Just got his permit his first handgun and he sure was proud of it. It was a desert eagle 50 AE. The gentleman never fired a gun before in his life except for when he took the concealed handgun class here in Virginia and had to fire 10 rounds and he used one of the range guns in 380! This guy was tickled to death that he finally bought his first handgun and was going to go shoot it and try it out. Have no idea how does 5 foot six guy was planning on concealing a desert eagle and obviously neither did he . I just looked at him and said that’s nice. I get off the line and went home! I did not have an overly warm and fuzzy feeling about this guy firing this his first handgun for the first time. A full size desert eagle 50 AE, I won’t get into a lot of details other than to say this guy needed to take some classes and understand firearm safety first off as he was told several times by the RO and me to put his gun back in the case and stop waving it around. Really that’s when I decided to leave. The next time I went to that range I didn’t notice any new holes in the walls or stains on the floor so I guess everything worked out as OK as it could’ve. I bet I probably could’ve made a nice deal on a slightly used desert eagle if I had hung around.

[Barry54]

There is always the Desert Eagle in 44 mag and 50 AE. Or the Conan pistol, if you can find one.

Thanks for the reminder about the desert eagle. I wet and checked out their website. I had forgotten about the 429 DE cartridge. Not sure if it would be worth it going above 44 magnum power and giving up one in magazine capacity.

[Sasquatch-1]

Thanks for the reminder about the desert eagle. I wet and checked out their website. I had forgotten about the 429 DE cartridge. Not sure if it would be worth it going above 44 magnum power and giving up one in magazine capacity.

I own a first generation DE in .44 mag. I have enough brass to keep my adult kids going till their death. I look at people who buy the .50 AE and the .429 DE and tell them if they want to shoot a lot to get the .44 conversion set. For what they pay for 20 rounds of factory they could buy 50 rounds of .44. And... when they decide they don't like the gun they have a big extra selling point.

[Barry54]

I never met anyone who owned one or saw one out in the wild.

44 would my first pick. I just pointed out the 429 DE to offset the 9mm conversation above.

Tell me about your 44. Is it picky? Will the Lee 310 grain feed and function? What about mid power loads? What are the hang ups?

[Sasquatch-1]

I never met anyone who owned one or saw one out in the wild.

44 would my first pick. I just pointed out the 429 DE to offset the 9mm conversation above.

Tell me about your 44. Is it picky? Will the Lee 310 grain feed and function? What about mid power loads? What are the hang ups?

It is probably the most unreliable gun I own. Jams quite a bit. Needs high pressure loads to work the action. I load with Titegroup for this. It has to use jacketed bullets or you can clog the gas ports (this is why I got into swaging). Extra mags are expensive, last I checked $50.00 to $60.00 a piece pre covid.

I have never tried a 310 grain bullet, but I do shoot a lot of 250 grain.

[shooting on a shoestring]

The lady behind the gun counter of my local gun shop was chatting with me and the conversation turned to the gun she was open carrying on her hip. Glock 9mm. Why? She said 40 S&W was too snappy.

Later, at another gun shop, again I was chatting with another lady behind the counter, she was open carrying a Kimber 1911 in 45 acp. Why? She said loved the gun and it took her over a year to save enough to buy it, but now she was wanting to get a 9mm because although she loved the power of the 45 acp she didn’t cope well with the recoil.

I’m a big believer in guns are like shoes. You should get what fits you. Doesn’t matter what size fits the other guy’s foot, it’s what fits you that is important. Now to me, I lump 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 acp all in the same category as having so little recoil it doesn’t matter. But to the two ladies it made enough difference to be a difference. So I say power to them or anyone else who thinks 9mm is their optimum power/recoil level. Shoot your 9’s.

I shoot everything freely up to top end big bore magnums. Heavy loaded big bores are where I cross the line out of my comfort zone into the “I can do this but only for a short while”. There is no need for me to damage my wrists for a target. So I don’t. Yes I have worked up top end loads for 454 Casull. I know my limit and that’s it. My 32’s are way more fun to shoot and that’s where my primer usage is high.

I’ll let the .475 and .500 shooters scoff at me and my enjoyment of 32’s. I’ll let them have their fun and shake the earth with every shot. And the I’ll let the boys at the indoor range with their plastic 9mm PEZ dispensers pop away and pelt the targets, walls, ceiling baffles and floors. It’s a free country….sort of.

[Barry54]

I like your shoes analogy. Apparently there aren’t many people with big feet...

I doubt the people who own a Boss Hoss use it for their daily commute to work. Nothing wrong with having options. I’m just not seeing many good options above 10 mm.