At my local gun store we were in a discussion about the end of the big boys the 41 magnum 10mm 44 special all seem to be really hard to find. 20 years ago nobody that I could remember would never carry a .380 for a EDC. 22lr was a cheap easy round to get. Now it's more prized than a silver bullet. Are we as gun enthusiasts collectively turning our back on powerful guns and ammo in favor of smaller less effective rounds?

You have got to be kidding

This year I added 3 41 Magnums, 4 45 Long Colts, 5 45 ACPs, 1 44-40 and 1 10MM Auto

More than half of these were just stumbled upon when I was not looking for anything

Nope. My 9's & 40's haven't been shot in ages. Still a big bore bore revolver for me.

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S&W Accumulator

+1

Seek and ye shall find.

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I'm with the banned ...

.44 Special has been pronounced dead more times than Nikki Sixx.
But, I'll be sure to inform my .44s and .45s that they are dead and no longer effective.

Yes, those rounds can be tough to find locally.
Not many gun stores carry a good selection of ammo, like they did 20 years ago.
These days, they just carry what sells fast.

A guy at the LGS recently told me that .30-06 is a dead caliber.
All I know is it's a deadly caliber.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

In a word...no.

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Turning our backs on big bores?! With the relatively recent popular releases of the 500 magnum, 460 magnum, and the less popular 480 Ruger, and probably some others I can't recall right now. Snubby big bores like the Ruger Alaskan in 454 Casull, 480 Ruger, and 44 Magnum, which people can't seem to get enough of. The ever popular Governor and Judge revolvers in 410, 45 (both ACP and Colt). I'd think the answer to your question is....... nope, not quite yet.

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

Gotta love those self proclaimed experts....Pretty sure the tables for 30-06 has the most pages dedicated to it in any of my loading manuals! Must be a zombie!!


And to the OP: Not no, but HELL no! Up till just recently my smallest centerfire was a 380. Now my smallest is a 38spl... Have a couple 357, couple 44, and a 460. They all have a purpose. And the purpose for owning a big bore isn't going away any time soon.

As long as people enjoy communing with nature (hunting, hiking, camping, etc.) there will always be an interest in large caliber handguns. To think otherwise is unrealistic, or simply out of touch.

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I'm with the banned ...

When I'm in the woods for a stroll, I like a hunk of steel on my hip. Most often it is a 45. A 1911 I built about 35 years ago or a nice old 1917 Brazilian contract on a lanyard. The old man with the old gun is often dismissed by the kids with their wonder 9's. They usually have no clue! Ivan

Horses for courses. I open carry a 44 when out in the middle nowhere at night with my telescope. However, there is no way I can conceal a big revolver on my frame without all manner of extra layers of cover clothing that don't fly in the local climate. So, in town a small, flat, semi-auto is the weapon of choice.

Let me see now. You walk into a pizza parlor wanting a hamburger. But the order taker guy steers you to his specialty. And then you stop at the car dealers and want a red car. But they don't have any in stock, so they begin singing the praises of white cars, of which they have a half dozen. Then in despair, you stop at a gun shop. And they don't have a single big bore, nor any ammo. So they suggest you consider a small bore.

Ya know why they don't have any of that obsolete .41stuff? Because they sold it all. Now the next lesson, sales people lie. Yep, they're trained to lie and to sell you on something they have in stock. Once you've announced your intention to buy or even be interested, you're a plump one ripe for picking. When you tell the guy you might be getting an order next week, he'll leave with all that cash. Your job is to sell him something, anything. So now another earth shattering revelation. Do your own research. Don't put a lot of stock in words spoken by a person with a vested interest in selling you something.

I spent years pumping sunshine up the skirt of a buddy. He used to get really irritated at me for suggesting some nice guy might not be telling the truth. You know how you can tell a salesman is lying? His lips are moving.

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Dick Burg

Never was much into "poodle shooters or mouse guns".....have a few, shoot them on occasion.....but serious business dictates serious hardware.....as far as big bores and their demise.....not here....I just concluded a four day casting frenzy that went thru 200 lbs of lead.....cast ten different types of bullets in several different weights.....solid wadcutters, HBWC's, a variety of HP and SWC some PB some GC......all destined to be loaded in 45 colt and a large Cramer HP for the 45 acp.
Gonna give the casting a rest next week....then go back and start casting for the 44mags and spl's, then the 41's, then the 38's and 357's, then the 9mm......then it will be time to start reloading.....when all of that is done....it will be Spring and time to shoot again......in my world big bores are very much alive and well, and will continue to be.

Are the cartridges dead? Not a chance. There a millions of 44 caliber revolvers in circulation, and all the major manufacturers produce and sell large numbers of new ones. They are still the best choice for hunting and use in the woods, so much so that even bigger cartridges have been created. And the 1911, the vast majority or which are still sold in 45 ACP, is so popular that even CZ is marketing one!

What might be said about big bore cartridges is that the days when they were the best choice for self defense are over. In decades past, when hollow points did not expand consistently and reliably feeding lead semi-wadcutters through a semiauto required plenty of tinkering, 44 Special and 45 ACP had a lot appeal for self defense.

Hollow points are much more consistent these days, allowing even 'small' calibers like 38 Special and 380 to hit 12" of penetration on bare gel and leave a large permanent would channel. Semiautos produced by reputable manufacturers will usually feed whatever fits into the magazine, regardless of bullet shape, powder load, or case material. While 44 or 45 caliber loads have benefitted from the same advsncements, the market is dominated by larger capacity and more leathal 9mms (and 40 S&Ws in police use).

Since my youth, I've always preferred the larger bores. .452" is where I max out though, the .50 cals and the size of the weapons that they're chambered in seem so unnecessary.

Bonus: Now that my eyes are older the the larger holes are much easier to see.

The only true long action caliber I now own is the 30-06. My primary deer hunting rifle is a long action Model 70 chambered 7X57. I own more .45 cal pistols/revolvers than all others combined.

If it ain't broke...

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

I'm assuming your LGS had more 380s in his display shelves than 44s.
Back in the 70s the only .45 Colt ammo made was the old 250gr. RNL, and the only .44 spl. was the 246gr. RNL. At that time the only 44 spl. in production was the Charter Bulldog, and the only .45 Colts were SAAs and their clones. I guess the last 40 years have been a revival of the old big bores, and I figure there will be fluctuations in their popularity, but they won't ever go away. They've been around almost since the beginning of cartridge ammo, and most likely they'll still be here when all of us are long gone.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Yep, big bores are dead. Please send them to me so that I can bury them.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

My Glock 29SF says no.



I used to grouse and complain that I couldn't find 10mm ammo locally. I finally gave into buying ammo online and wish I'd done it sooner.

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-John

In recent years more and more people are getting their gun permits and carrying a handgun. The vast majority of these folks aren't really "gun people". So the most popular selling guns are the ones that are small, light and easy to carry.
But big bores dead? Not hardly. Its just that the smaller, lighter guns are what sell the most and smart dealers stock the hot sellers.
Just let a big bore revolver show up in a shop and see how long it stays before it sells.

I agree with Gray Fox as I see the smaller carry gun calibers at the shops I go to as that's what sells. They may have some big bores as well but fewer today and usually not the older S&Ws I'm looking for either.
I do visit one shop often as he caters to odd ball calibers like .41 mag, .44 special and .480 ammo for his customers like me. Sure he's more expensive than online but I don't mind buying a box or two to help keep him in business.
One big bore I do see often is the .45 acp especially in all the 1911 models anymore. Seems every dealer has a case or two full of them anymore as they seem to be big sellers.

44s are my fave. They aren't scarce around here.

I can see the ammo price scaring some people off since not everyone reloads. That was the sticking point for me but RCBS got me past that.

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>>ARMED LIBERAL>>

Well lets see, I added these two to my "collection" this year..



And a while back I bought into all that little gun stuff and got the wife a 380 auto.. replaced it this summer with a Ruger SP101 in 38/357.. not really a big bore, but a bigger bore nonetheless!

When I go to the range and start sitting up gong targets at 50 and 100 yards the kids with the "wonder 9's" give me some funny looks. As soon as I break out the .41's or .44's they look again, usually with their jaw hung down, before they walk over and ask "what is that you are shooting?"
Long live big bores.....

WHAT???!!! All of my big bore guns are obsolete???

What am I going to do with them all? I mean if they are no longer effective there's no use for me to keep them around. Hmmm...I wonder if our little town is going to have a gun buy-back in the near future?

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Pack light and cinch tight.

I hope not!!! I need a .44 soon, always wanted one.

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Still just a kid at heart

I don't talk to counter people at local gun stores about their theories/predictions on guns as they are usually wrong about just about everything.

Sounds like you need to find a different gun store..

You will not be disappointed!

They key to most all ammo but especially the odd balls or big bores is reloading. Unless you are rather wealthy it makes little sense to invest in guns in hard to come by expensive or boutique calibers. While I am more of a 9/38/22 guy, I do not have anything against the big bores or those that love them, but in order to really do it right ( large volume reasonable cost shooting) big bore shooter and reloader need to be in the same sentence