Anybody else like me who likes the unconventional "mediums?"

P

P&R Fan

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
5,456
Reaction score
3,538
Location
NE Iowa
I like big bore revolvers like the .44 Special and Magnums. Really like the 45-70 rifles, and have several 12 Gauge shotguns. But I also really like the unconventional stuff.
One of my favorite revolvers is my M57 no-dash .41 Magnum. Not too many people buy them anymore, and I don't know why.
One of my favorite shotguns is a M12 Winchester 16 Gauge. Try to find shells for that one in any quantity. I also prefer #5 shot. Once again, very limited supplies.
These are all "mediums". The bigger stuff and smaller stuff is easy to find. Guess I just like the road less traveled.

Anybody else also afflicted?:cool:
Jim
 
Register to hide this ad
I had a few Winchester md 12s in 12 ga and decided I would like to
have one in 16 ga after seeing a nice one at a local trap range. I liked
the smaller 20 ga receiver that the 16 ga was built on. Well one led to
two which became four. Recently I added a nice Winchester md 97 in
16 ga to the herd. Fourtunately one of the local big box stores carries
16 ga game loads in the usual 6 & 8 shot sizes. The 16 is obsolete
no doubt but somehow that seems to add to the appeal. The
association with the "good old days" I guess.
 
A dozen .41 mag revolvers and a few 16ga shotguns here too! :D

Had more 16s , but safe space got tight. Still got my 16ga Rem Model 31 , 870 & 1100 , Fox Model B SxS , Savage 430 O/U , and Win 1897.
 
My first GOOD pistol (my first pistol was a Charter Arms) was a OM Blackhawk, 41 magnum. Have liked the caliber ever since.

I was always a 12 gauge guy. Anything any other gauge can do, the 12 can do, and probably better.

Then I met up with Husqvarna underlever SxS shootguns. So I'm up in New Jersey, going through Sarco's back room (they had sent me garbage, and I sent it back, and told 'em I was gonna be up there on business in a couple of weeks and I'd like to come chose my own, and TJ said "come ahead") and I pick up this one little gun and say, "What the heck? Is this a 20?" Nope. 16. While, nowadays, they put smaller barrels on a 12 gauge action and call it a 16, and smaller barrels on a 20 gauge action and call it a 410, back in the olden times they actually made different size actions, to fit the different guns.

Ooooohh. So THAT'S why the 16 gauge got popular.

And somehow I ended up with three Husqvarna 16 gauge doubles. :confused:

You really want "unconventional", though, you need pre-war guns, that are chambered in short cartridges, that are not available, so you got to make your own. THAT'S what separates the men from the boys.
 
Got a couple of 57s and 58. Might pick up a six inch 57 someday. I need another one :)

Dad had a Spanish made side by side in 16 gauge. It carried like a 20 and kicked like a 12. I took it grouse hunting one day and it taught me not to place my thumb behind the tang lever.
 
I think you have to be 'in pretty deep', in order to enjoy the 'road less traveled' in the firearms world. I.E., be a dedicated handloader in order to get the most enjoyment out of certain calibers and gauges.

And since I began handloading as a teenager, I REALLY enjoy stuff like shooting and loading for 10mm, 41 mag., .45-70, .35 Whelen, at one time the .225 Win., and a few others.
For shotguns, I really enjoy the 28 gauge and do almost all bird hunting with that, reloading Win. AA hulls for a Franchi auto and a CZ SxS.
 
I do! I do!

I dont own any due to price of ammo but at one point I had a 629 classic with a 6 in barrel, a Desert Eagle .50, a 45lc Derringer....

I enjoy going to the range and spending all day shooting surplus bolt rifles. I'll go through several hundred rounds of 7.62x54 then switch to 8mm Mauser and 303 Enfield. I shoot them the way they were ment to be shot. No rubber pads no cushioning. I don't shoot my 12G much because its kinda a close range firearm, I prefer trying to knock out clay pigeons from far away...basically I like wasting ammo :D

I have shot my friend's sing shot 45/70 and love it. I'd like to find a nice Ruger #1 in 375h&h or 9.3x62/74

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
 
Never thought of anything .40" as a medium be it .401" or .410" before this thread. I hear medium bore and I think .30" - .35" like .30 Luger to .357 magnum. But I do get the spirit of the thread and have to agree at least somewhat.
 
Maybe I'm not quite so alone after all.
After I posted this it struck me the most popular caliber in Law Enforcement today is in the "medium" range....the .40 S&W.

Yeah, I like that one too. Carrying my Glock 23 today.:cool:
Jim
 
Got a couple of 16s and bought a bunch of six shot during the last ammo panic. May carry one on the first day of MIs grouse season, if I don't
decide to use the flintlock blunderbuss.

Got .41s too. Short, long, blue, nickel and stainless. Even a few
Ruger .41s.

Favorite deer rifle is also an old, offbeat, one. Ruger 77RL in
.250 Savage.

Yep, got the road less traveled marked in the atlas...
 
I think that I do;

For a big game rifle, I like .270 (and consider .30-06 the archetypical big cartridge with .243 the small cartridge.)
For a shotgun, I like 20 gauge (and consider 12 gauge the archetypical big gauge with .410 the small gauge.)
For a handgun, I like .40 (and consider .45 the archetypical big cartridge with 9mm the small cartridge.)
 
Hmmm...I like 12 gauge shotguns and even have one of those M57 no- dash .41s. I've been thinking about a big bore lever gun too.
 
I also like 45/70's..................rifle or pistols, also have a 57 no dash. Also enjoy shooting and reloading for the Nagant revolvers I own. And the M57 Yugo in 7.62x25 is a hoot to shoot!
 
If ya really want a 'mid-bore' oddball , try my Herters .401 Powermag! :D Cartridge is the same length as a .41 or .44 mag , but a true .40/10mm cal. 10mm carbide sizer die and a .38/40 seater/roll crimp die works just fine.

 
I have two 41 mags but I don't consider them "medium". I prefer them over the 44 because they are typically a smaller frame but they can be loaded to do most anything a 44 can do. Remember, there is only actually 0.019" between the two!
 
I have a Simpson Suhl 16 ga side by side made in Germany pre- war...cheek piece, sling swivels, beautiful wood....a really sweet shooting shotgun....My Dad shot a 16 ga Ithaca Featherlight forever, my son has it now....I also have a S&W Model 53 in 22 Jet...haven't found anything on the forum about those so far.....
 
427mach1 said:
I have two 41 mags but I don't consider them "medium". I prefer them over the 44 because they are typically a smaller frame but they can be loaded to do most anything a 44 can do. Remember, there is only actually 0.019" between the two!
Click to expand...

All .41 mags from Ruger or S&W are built on the same frames as their .44 mags. :D


I've heard the Taurus Tracker is somewhat smaller , but who here would own a Taurus? :confused:
 
I have a dozen or so Army Specials in .41 Colt, so I think that qualifies. They go $ 50.00 to $80.00 a box of 50 if you don't reload.
 
I like "medium" cartridges and think they make a lot of sense, but IMHO "medium" refers to the power level, not necesarily the bore size. Geting the biggest loudest & fastest whatever seems to be the American way- which is why a lot of people who hunt smallish blacktails and whitetails carry 7mm magnums. The good old 270 is more than enough gun, in fact even the 243 or 250-3000 is plenty. Why carry a 300 Savage, 308, or even a 30-06, when you can have a 300 Win or Weatherby magnum? Or better yet, one of the new SSM's or Ultramags.
Big bore pistols-- 44 mag is popular, the 44 spl & 45 Colt not so much. People have come around some on this, but for a long time very few 45 Colts were being made and almost no new 44 spls. Seems like most people who buy new j-frame S&W's want them chambered in 357, when in most cases they're gonna be shooting 38 spls (+P or not) almost exclusively.
Persoanlly I'm happy with my 38 special revolvers, and 250-3000 & 7x57 rifles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

flundertaker
Safariland 25 Holster
Replies
12
Views
858
boykinlp
boykinlp
Glenn R. McMannly
Lil’ Slugger
Replies
1
Views
305
Yendor357
Y
H
Who's gone through their gun safe lately?
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
Bald1
Bald1
P
New Heavy Duty
Replies
2
Views
516
robertrwalsh
robertrwalsh
R
.38 Special or .357 for EDC
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
3K
daveboy
D

Latest posts

Back
Top