Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns One-Caliber Rifle-Pistol Combo?

This topic came up on the Hunters Campfire page, and I thought many of the responses were kindasorta bullschitt because the guys writing them weren't really pistol people. Which kind of blows the whole deal outta the water, since if a guy has little or no ACTUAL pistol experience, his opinion is pretty much bu... Anyways. I expect y'all know what I mean.

So I thought I'd repeat the question over here, where the handgun experience factor is a tad higher than the General Population, so to speak:

Hypothetically speaking: if you were able to have only ONE pistol and ONE rifle, and they both had to be chambered in the SAME caliber, what would you choose?

Okay, so I'll post the first response.

I've done a fair bit of reading & research on the "one-caliber-only" question over the years. There are a thousand questions you can ask to try to make your choice, including which caliber(s) you have come to love, which particular guns are your pet guns, and so forth. But those are all of secondary consideration, IMHO.

If you're going to do a one-caliber exercise, IMHO the first question you need to ask is "which caliber/cartridge is suitable for all-purpose handgunning, yet can be loaded-up to produce true rifle performance?"

When you apply that criterion, your choices become vastly limited. This is because case capacity in the wonder-auto calibers limits powder capacity, and has nothing to do with the strength of the action of the firearm. NONE of the modern semi-auto calibers really gain anything in velocity or bullet weight when loaded in carbines, and by this I include 9mm, 357 SIG, 40 S&W, 10mm, and 45 ACP.

So what you're left with are cartridges that descend from the black powder era. The only ones that truly make the transition from pistol to rifle with any appreciable difference in performance are the 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, and 44 Magnum. And since 41 Magnum carbines are more scarce than powdered unicorn horn, that means you've only got 2 real choices.

The 44 Magnum is a poor choice for most people. Even in modest factory loadings in a stout handgun, it recoils like a sonofabitch. Yes, you can download it to 44 Spl loads if you like, I'll give you that. Standard 44 Magnum pistol loads will fire a 240 gr bullet at 1200+ fps, but in a strong carbine action like the Winchester 92, you can make that puppy REALLY bark: try a 280 gr bullet at 1800 fps, or a 200 gr bullet at 2100 fps. But, as I said, the problem is that 60-70% of people can't shoot a 44 Magnum handgun with the degree of comfort needed to make it a useful everyday tool.

Which leaves us with Elmer Keith's venerable 357 Magnum, which is, IMHO, the most versatile cartridge ever invented. EVER.

In a very handy and portable handgun such as the S&W Model 13/19/65/66 (they're all the same frame, just different sights and finish), you can shoot the lowliest, tiniest 38 Special loads (hell, you can shoot 38 short Colt, if'n you want!), and you can shoot barn-burner SuperVel MAGnum loads. In my experience, there is no normal adult who can't handle a K-frame S&W revolver loaded with 357 Magnum ammunition.

Now, if you put the SAME ammo in a Uberti or Rossi Model '92 carbine, you'll gain 200+ fps... but it gets even better. If you put stout-loaded but still SAAMI loads with a 180 gr bullet in that same '92 carbine, you can push it to 2200 fps... which puts you into the same performance category as the 30-30 Winchester was when it was the whiz-bang Wunderkind of the shooting world in 1894!!!

So that's my deal. A K-frame S&W or Colt's revolver chambered in 357 Magnum, 4" or 5" barrel, and a Rossi or Uberti or USRAC carbine chambered for the same cartridge. For me, given what guns live in my safe at present, that breaks down to a Rossi 1892 carbine (20" bbl) and a S&W M66 (4" bbl).

Those two will get anything done that can be done by one man or woman with a firearm.

EDITED TO ADD:

Thanks to crowrifle's incisive intellect, I gotta add this:

If I wasn't thinking of other folks' needs, I'd have taken a slightly different tack: the .45 Colt, my all-time favorite handgun caliber. I'm a biggish kinda guy, and I like biggish kind of guns. The big Colt fits me in that manner.

So, my personal rifle choice would remain the same, oddly enough: a Rossi 1892 carbine. Chambered in 45LC, though, of course. Standard factory 260 gr bullets that poop along at 860 fps from a handgun will step out at close to 1100 fps out of the 22" barrel of the Rossi. Using my own handloads, I can drive a 300 gr hard cast bullet at close to 2000 fps, which is a motherthumper on the receiving end and capable of killing any quadruped on the North American continent, the big bears included.

As for pistolas, that gets harder. I prefer double-action revolvers, and am really fond of the M625 Mountain Gun. But it's just not as light and handy for every day carry when you compare it to the pistola the cartridge was designed for: the Colt's Single Action Army. So I'd go with a modern steel (4th Gen) Colt's Single Action Army, 4.5" barrel model for my pistola.

That's enough from me. My late friend DonOTMW would be proud.

Your sig line says it all. .45 Long Colt. Great in a wheel gun and a potent thumper in a lever action.

Well, yes it does. Damn. Thanks for pointing out my logical inconsistency.

The only reason I didn't pick a 45 Colt combo is that the guns so chambered are harder for smaller folk to work with. And since I have a fair number of smaller folk in my family, I was thinking I wanted to have guns that not only me, but ALL of my kin from my petite youngest daughter up to my 6'5" stepson could use.

But it's true, and I will amend my first response to include the 45 Colt.

But that's the beauty of the Colt. I can load it down for my wife and daughter to enjoy, or load it hot for any situation.

I suppose it would depend on the situation..Hunting or defense being the issue. I have had combo guns for many years. Some have worked out well some not. I quess my early thinking was to have a handgun and rifle/carbine in the same caliber that shot well with the same ammo/load because I was primarly a handgun hunter but had ocassion to hunt at times in an area where I needed to use a long gun due to area regulations. Usually I hunted several states on a given trip and the ease of carrying only one caliber seemed useful. I could hunt the handgun area and then move to the rifle area without much issue. The problem with my train of thought was that the carbine seldom shot well with the pistol ammo so they had to be segregated and that kinda shot the idea somewhat.
In those days I had mostly single shot Contenders and always had a pistol length and a 18 inch to 24 inch barrel in the same chambering, usually a rifle caliber. I aquired a fairly large collection of these over the years but recently lost my job due to health issues and have been forced to sell many of them. Currently I have just two of those combos remaining. A 30-30AI and a .358 Bullberry.
I also have some more conventional combos in pistol calibers like .357 mag, 41 mag and 44 mag,and 45 colt.. all Ruger/Marlin combos. These are hunting combos that can do double duty as defensive arms.
I also have 40SW and 45acp combos that are limited to defensive duties and plinkin/fun at the range..and they certainly are that!
I suspect my thinkin on combo guns was influenced by my upbringin in the west where all the cowboys carried pistol/rifle combos in like caliber as a general rule.

My rifle pistol combination is in 45-70..My 45-70 BFR and 45-70 Guide Gun.

If you look at the recoil charts,the 45-70 BFR has less recoil with factory ammunition than the 44 Mag.



Jayco

I'd dig up a Ruger Bisley Blackhawk with 5.5" I want a switch cylinder for 45 Colt and 45 ACP (Just for the sake of cheating) Then find one of the Marlin Cowboy's like I had back in the late 90's. As much as my first love was the .44 Magnum, the .45 Colt will do all the work I need done out of a shortgun, and is fairly impressive out of a rifle barrel.

I had my "one caliber" combination. It was a 94 Trails End Winchester and Blackhawk combination. The winchester had some of the nicest factory wood I have ever seen.






It was perfect for the under 100 yard area's I hunted at that time. Plenty of power and ten rounds in the magazine for hogs. Nice quick handling combination. I have since sold both in the last year and am looking into building a custom Blackhawk in stainless in .45 colt ofcourse. Love the round!!

I see virtually no difference between the 45 Colt, 44 WCF and 44 Mag. I've already got a combo in 44 Mag, so that's what I'd choose. If my wife and kids had to use it too, I guess I'd pick up a Marlin or Rossi in .357 Mag. and use it instead.

An Auto Ordnance Thompson semi-auto might be a good wild card to go with either of my 45 autos.

Oh no you di'nt! You didn't just post a pic did you? Well...

200-fps is reeeally conservative, IME. I'd say more like 400+ fps faster with 'conventional' .357 Mag loads. It seems most loads top out, or at least have greatly diminishing returns, at a barrel length of 14" or so and it's not uncommon to lose some velocity beyond 18".

For me the whole point of a one rifle-pistol combo would be one load. A pocketful of different loads defeats the purpose - I may as well be carrying both handgun and rifle cartridges. The one cartridge would be a 158-grain .357 Mag at 1,200 fps from a 4" K-frame and 1,600-1,700 fps from a 18.5" Ruger 77/357.

Are we talking strictly revolver calibers, or both revo & semi-auto calibers?

45 Colt, hands down... 340g hard cast loads at around 1,200 fps in a Ruger BH, SBH or Vaquero (pre-2005 model) 5 shot conversion or a Freedom Arms and the rifle a stout lever gun.

Man, that would be a hard call for me. The only overlap I have right now is .22 LR. I guess I would have to go to a 3 inch Ruger SP101 and a .357 lever gun if forced to choose. I have to give preference to the defensive capability and concealability of the handgun over the versatility of the .22. As a bowhunter, a .357 magnum rifle would feel like cheating.

Location is everything and where I'm at the .22lr wins the discussion. Here in rural Iowa I don't need and sometimes don't want anymore than the little rimfire in rifles and handguns and if I had to sell off guns the rimfires (and shotguns) would be the last to go.

Now if we have to stick to centerfires than the venerable .357 would be my pick with a .32H&R combo being a sentimental runner up.

While my location definitely bias's my choice and I'm far and away a revolver/lever gun/bolt action guy I'll throw out that there are many semi-auto combos that could get a lot done albeit a little unconventional in threads like this.

CB

I won't subscribe to scenario of being reduced to just one of anything.
That said, I'll state here what I did in the original thread. Marlin 1894 and Ruger SA in .44 Mag would be my choice.
I hope that it is a valid choice, my not knowing if I am a 'true handgun person' or not..............

Mine is a Marlin 1894m and Colt New Frontier in 22 mag....

other days it's a Marlin Mountie and Colt Peacemaker in 22LR....

Sometimes, when I'm in auto-mode its a TC Classic and Woodsman in 22 LR...