Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Recoil Sensation of large bore FA revolvers

I could not dissagree with this more. The FA doe not roll in the hand like a Ruger Blackhawk, if it did one would need to remove the hammer from their wrist after each shot. Just shoot some 320 grainers in a 44 Mag RBH at 1300+ FPS to see what I mean



I can't believe that anyone with full power loads and stock grips would prefer a RBH over a Bisley or FA. Shoot some 320 grain cast at 1300+ FPS with the SBH gripe frame and stock grips and the hammer will bury in your wrist every shot. Now that is rolling in the hand a FA of R Bisley will not do that

I have never found that FAs roll in the hand. That's a particularly bad idea with the hard kicking calibers. FA incorporated a Bisley-like grip frame to better control recoil.

Well...all I can tell you is the 6" .454 FA that I had did rolled up much like a SBH...as much, no but it rolls a lot more than the Bisley did. The Bisley for me comes back right into the palm...

The Ruger Hunter comes two ways...Bisley grip and SBH grip....I passed on the Bisley...so I am one of those who would rather shoot full power loads with a SBK style grip...

Bob

I'd love to see you shoot a few 320 grain loads at 1300+ FPS in 44 mag, out of a SBH with stock grips. I'll bring the band-aids

I own and have shot them all and the SBH is a poor grip for HEAVY recoil. 240 grainers ain't HEAVY recoil

The FA and the Ruger Bisley grip are close in the way they handle recoil and design

Well..the Blackhawk is lighter and the grip smaller than a SBH and with a .41 Magnum 300 grain LBT or SSK with 19 grains of H110 it runs 1300 fps from a 5" barrel...1400 from a 7.5"....and seems to be just fine...no band-aids needed...

And I really love the way the Bisley grip feels and looks...I've had one .44 and four .41s...and they all went down the road. But all the standard gripped guns are still here.

..you know what they say...ymmv...and ours apparently do....Bob

Try shooting something with a big kick like a .475 or .500 Linebaugh with a plow handle. You will probably change your mind. There is a reason most big-bore customs receive a Bisley grip frame. They're not perfect, but they are more controllable when recoil gets up there. I have a custom D-Max framed revolver in .50 Alaskan, that would be unshootable with a plow handle as it would burry the front sight in your forehead. You don't want any roll when they kick hard.

Mr. Moosemuncher- My .44 Special has the short barrel that is just the same length as the ejector housing (4+ inches). It is easy to shoot accurately and balances nicely.

I have shot a 4 5/8" sbh 500 linebaugh with stag grips and a thick glove. As I recall they were 440 gr max loads. It was a memorable experience.

I find the bh/sbh grip is fine up to max 200 gr loads in a .357, but it is not the proper grip for a heavy kicker.

I know that bisley is touted as the best sa gripframe, but in my hnads the most comfortable sa I've ever shot was an FA 83 5 1/2" 454 that had been rounbutted.

A few years ago, I shot a plow handle Linebaugh .475 Ruger conversion that another member brought to the range. It was loaded with 400gr JSPs that according to the latest Speer Manual should have clocked between 1,250 and 1,300 fps. I had a good grip on the gun and I don�t remember it rolling in my hand (at least it didn�t� slam into the web of my hand which I would have remembered). It was however painful, hammering both my middle knuckle and the bottom of my trigger finger.

In comparison, My FA83 (6�) shooting 420gr WFNGCs at a chronoed 1,300 fps doesn�t touch my middle knuckle or the bottom of my trigger finger, however it does impact my palm with some authority (not painful, but noticeable). Shooting the .475 with loads at this power level requires a great deal of concentration and fatigue sets in fairly quickly with the grip required to keep from goose egging your noggin. (at least for this 60 yr old). Comfort wise (not fatigue wise), I would rather shoot the FA 475 with the 420gr/1,300fps than a Ruger Super Blackhawk with 250gr/1,400fps � the square back trigger guard on the SBH hammers my middle knuckle unmercifully.

The M97 is quite a bit smaller and weighs about a pound less than the M83 in similar calibers (the 6� M83 .44 Mag weighs 52 oz and the 5 �� M97 .44 Special weighs 38 oz.). The M97 grip frame is a downsized version of the M83 and from my perspective handles recoil extremely well. I can�t think of a better packin� pistol than a 4 �� or 5 �� M97 in .41 Mag, .44 Special or .45 Colt � compact, light weight, finely crafted, fun to shoot and can be loaded to handle anything commonly hunted in the Lower 48. To some the short cylinder is a drawback (max OAL is 1.600�) � I�ve not found this to be a problem, and have loaded bullets up to 335gr in the .45 Colt. Bullet weight might be limited in the .41 Mag (not having one, I don�t know) but in .44 Special (300gr) and .45 Colt (335gr) this is not the case.

Here�s a picture (not real good) of the Linebaugh .475 with the standard grip (notice that this gun also has a flat top frame) � interesting variation of the Linebaugh conversions.




Here's one of my favorite packin' pistols -- FA M97 4 1/4" .45 Colt. If I could have only one gun, this would probably be it.



Paul

I've heard now several times that the round butts offer better ability to handle recoil. Is that the consensus or is it determined by hand size, strength etc?

...well, having not been there and done that with anything over a .454 with 300 grain full factory loads in a FAs 83 and a Super Redhawk I will have to defer to your experience.

As to "getting wrapped on the knuckles" by the squarebacked SBH gripframe, I kept wondering what people were talking about...now I realize that because of the length of my fingers the knuckle of my right hand never takes a bad rap like that because the knuckle is slightly beyond the rear of the triggerguard...

Roundbutt Frames...The one on my 97 is a round butt and the one on the 83 a square. I was at the SHOT Show in January and handled an 83 with a 6" barrel and round butt...it felt real nice. Mr. Baker was standing there and he said that he also liked them but didn't think it handled recoil as well with the real heavy kickers... I am thinking about sending mine in for the modification.

Bob

I have two .454s, one is a Ruger SRH 7.5" barrel and the other is the snubbie Alaskan..

The SRH is stout but manageable and not uncomfortable..

The Alaskan, when you touch it off, hurts - pure and simple.. That one is a true handful and not for the meek, or recoil sensitive shooter.. A set of PAST gloves is nearly mandatory for that beast..

Following are my personal observations � yours may be (most likely are) different

Actual/perceived recoil with different grip frames/platforms has a lot to do with hand size, hand position on the grip, grip tension, stance, etc. � it is very specific to the individual.

I have a 3 �� Round Butt FA97 .45 Colt. It is very well balanced, very comfortable in the hand and extremely easy to shoot well. Shooting 320gr SWCs at 1,130 fps, I don�t think it handles recoil quite as well as the 4 �� standard grip .45 Colt mentioned in my previous post. Velocity from both guns is about the same (1,130 vs. 1,138fps � chronoed one after the other on the same day). The 4 �� is slightly heavier (maybe 2 � oz.) due to the non fluted cylinder, extra �� of bbl and the octagon bbl � doubt this makes much difference in perceived recoil. Both will get your attention, but neither recoil as heavily as top end .475s or .454 loads in the standard gripped M83.

I don�t have, and haven�t handled, a round butt M83, so I can�t comment.

With all that said, I don�t shoot a lot of heavy recoiling stuff anymore. I shoot the .475s mostly with 400s at 1,100 fps and the .45 Colts with 280s at 900 fps. These loads will handle the majority of all the shooting I�m likely to do and do it comfortably.

Here�s a couple of more pictures.

FA M97 3 1/2", round butt, .45 Colt.



The 3 1/2" round butt, compared to a 5 1/2" .44 Special (not a real good picture).



Paul

Thanks for the pics Paul. More good info and I appreciate it. Thank you, Kurt

Paul, very nice guns! I am thinking of sending my 5-1/2" 44 special in and having the barrel cut to 4-1/4", the grip roundbutted w/ micarta, and the cylinder fluted. Would look a lot like your .45. Also, what sites do you have on the .45?

Tom

Tom,

The .45 has Freedom Arms standard adjustable rear (square notch) and fiber optic front.



Paul

Went shooting today with a friend who has a Ruger Flat Top Bisley .44 Special. He had some loads with him taken for that Ross Syfried (sp?) areticle...18 grains of H110 with a 280 hardcast. I fired 12 rounds from the gun and it is just like I remember...most of the impact hits right in the palm of the hand just below the web.

I had the FA 97 .41 Magnum with a 220 grain bullet at 1250... It was far more pleasant to shoot although the recoil seemed about the same.

This is my friends first Bisley and he is now talking retiring it and getting a standard gripped one...it hits him in the same spot and is not near as comfortable to shoot as his heavily loaded Ruger BH 4 5/8" .45 Colt...

Bob

I have had a FA 454 for 20years now and it is a great gun. I run 350 grs at 1550 fps in the gun and your hands really need to be in shape to shoot it well.

No matter how conditioned you get there will always be a limit to the amount of beating you can take before starting to do damage.

One thing to think about is that the 454 will run 45 Colts and, in my opinion, you will have less blast and softer recoil from the 45 Colt than the 41 Mag when both are loaded to the same game killing potential.

The 45 Colt can get more done at less pressure and this will reduce blast and soften the recoil impulse. A 275gr or so bullet at 1000fps is a very deadly deer load and pleasant to shoot in the Freedom Gun.

Another advantage is the easier availability of decent commercial cast bullets and loads for the 45 Colt.

Nothing against 41 Mags, but they sure are loud when loaded to full power and the 41 will never equal the 45s if you ever want to run a few heavy loads for fun.

Getting the FA 22 would sure be nice no matter what you choose for the big bore.

I personally prefer the FA grip frame to the Ruger Bisley (close second in SAs) but the Super BH and BH don�t work very well for me. To each his own.

A set of well made custom grips for the Bisley that are wider in the area that the web of your hand sits and have a better blended radius does certainly help the Bisley, at least for me, and this is the area where the FA grip is better. A lot of the factory Ruger grips are also undersized and let the frame lead in the recoil.

Here's my model 97 4.25" .45 colt. It balances very well and I like its grips a lot better than the ones on by SBH. But, if I had to do it again I might get the round butt. When I shoot heavy loads, the edge of the grips do bite into my right hand.

Paul - I see you have both. Do you like the round butt better?

John...I see your point...I just have never cared for .45s...not in revolvers or 1911s.

In all the reading and field work I have done it seems that once one crosses the .40 caliber line there are no more complaints when it comes to general game shooting. I read the acounts of many posted here who use cast .41 bullets down the 1000 fps MV area that punch nice holes through really big animals who travel a short way and then just drop over. I'm sure when shooting the REAL BIG stuff it would be nice to have a .45+ caliber but the last elephant I saw was in a zoo so the .41 will easily handle anything on this side of the pond that I am likely to run into.

Bob